Is literal translation between languages even possible?
I wonder how many of you have ever learned another language. I have had the privilege and the pleasure to study a few by now (other than English). And the most fascinating and difficult part, once you get your mind and tongue around pronunciation) is dealing with idioms. Idioms are words or expressions which are more or less unique to a language and/or culture, making them difficult to understand and translate into or from another language.
Three years ago, one of my housemates, who is from South America, asked me about an expression she had overheard: 'Speak of the devil!'
This was apparently spoken by an old woman to another person (of similar age), sounded fairly offensive, and yet was spoken with affection and joy as two friends were reunited. I mentioned a similar expression, 'Look what the cat dragged in!' I knew that both of these expressions are generally used in the context of the appearance of someone the speaker likes (although the opposite may be implied by a change in tone), but that meaning is not explicit in the phrase itself.
In a language session with our LRP (language resource person), when talking about colour, she commented that there is a term in Turkish for a shade of pink which is considered very beautiful, which literally translates to 'cat's-tongue pink'. Made us all laugh, as that does not sound like an attractive colour name in English!
There are different theories of translation which consider how to best transfer meaning between languages. Semantics looks at issues which need to be understood when translating a text from one language into another, such as the importance of the range of meanings a word can have, the range of contexts it may be used in, and the difficulty of finding any word in another language that covers exactly the same range of meaning and use. Most significant differences occur when a word is used in a secondary sense, especially if there is any figurative or metaphorical connotations - it is rare to be able to find an exact match to these in another language.
Consider the English word 'white': it refers to a colour (or lack of colour) as its primary sense, but what exactly does it mean in the phrase 'white lie'?
The more differences there are between the context and culture of two languages, the more difficult it is to find a direct equivalent to a word or phrase. For example, I have heard of one culture in which houses are roofed but have no walls - and therefore have no doors or windows. Knock knock jokes would be incredibly difficult to translate, and would have very little meaning! (As an aside, humour is often difficult to understand in another language, and loses much of its impact when translated.) Or think of how you would explain bread or pasta to someone who eats mostly rice, and has never eaten anything made with wheat.
What I find most interesting is how natural idioms are for native speakers of a language, and how hard they can be for learners of a language to understand and use well. I often find I only realise I've used one when someone asks what it means. I find myself amused when watching a show or a movie with subtitles when I understand some of the language being spoken. It is very common to spot something which isn't 'the same' as what was said, but conveys the same meaning in another language. In many cases, a literal translation won't actually help you to understand what is happening in another language. And that is what makes each language unique and fascinating.
Three years ago, one of my housemates, who is from South America, asked me about an expression she had overheard: 'Speak of the devil!'
This was apparently spoken by an old woman to another person (of similar age), sounded fairly offensive, and yet was spoken with affection and joy as two friends were reunited. I mentioned a similar expression, 'Look what the cat dragged in!' I knew that both of these expressions are generally used in the context of the appearance of someone the speaker likes (although the opposite may be implied by a change in tone), but that meaning is not explicit in the phrase itself.
In a language session with our LRP (language resource person), when talking about colour, she commented that there is a term in Turkish for a shade of pink which is considered very beautiful, which literally translates to 'cat's-tongue pink'. Made us all laugh, as that does not sound like an attractive colour name in English!
There are different theories of translation which consider how to best transfer meaning between languages. Semantics looks at issues which need to be understood when translating a text from one language into another, such as the importance of the range of meanings a word can have, the range of contexts it may be used in, and the difficulty of finding any word in another language that covers exactly the same range of meaning and use. Most significant differences occur when a word is used in a secondary sense, especially if there is any figurative or metaphorical connotations - it is rare to be able to find an exact match to these in another language.
Consider the English word 'white': it refers to a colour (or lack of colour) as its primary sense, but what exactly does it mean in the phrase 'white lie'?
The more differences there are between the context and culture of two languages, the more difficult it is to find a direct equivalent to a word or phrase. For example, I have heard of one culture in which houses are roofed but have no walls - and therefore have no doors or windows. Knock knock jokes would be incredibly difficult to translate, and would have very little meaning! (As an aside, humour is often difficult to understand in another language, and loses much of its impact when translated.) Or think of how you would explain bread or pasta to someone who eats mostly rice, and has never eaten anything made with wheat.
What I find most interesting is how natural idioms are for native speakers of a language, and how hard they can be for learners of a language to understand and use well. I often find I only realise I've used one when someone asks what it means. I find myself amused when watching a show or a movie with subtitles when I understand some of the language being spoken. It is very common to spot something which isn't 'the same' as what was said, but conveys the same meaning in another language. In many cases, a literal translation won't actually help you to understand what is happening in another language. And that is what makes each language unique and fascinating.
Interesting stuff. There is a very old tradition that Paul wrote Hebrews, in Hebrew, and what we have is a translation by someone else into Greek. At the time, literal translation was more or less unheard of; when you translated something, you read and digested the original and then wrote your own version in the second language, expressing the same ideas.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how post-modern schools view translation; since the more extreme wing sees communication as whatever the reader finds in a text divorced from the author's intent, what influence can the translator have?
Your example of, "Speak of the devil," is interesting because it actually has quite close analogs in many cultures and languages, sometimes about the devil but also many involving dogs, wolves, lions, money, specific people, donkeys and so on - see Wikipedia for a typically pedantically comprehensive list. (And can I quibble that it's technically a proverb rather than an idiom?)
I had not heard the tradition that Paul wrote the letter to the Hebrews in Hebrew, but it would surprise me if that was indeed the case when his other letters were all written in Greek first. Not impossible, perhaps, but as it is generally understood that not even Jews used Hebrew as a spoken language, I would consider it very unlikely.
DeleteThe method of translation used does seem to depend on what is being translated and who the audience is. Translating official documents would naturally be treated differently from translating novels. The more creative and personally expressive a text is, the more the style of both the original author and the translator will become a factor. It is one of the reasons a translated text will feel more natural if it is translated by someone who is a native speaker of the target language. For translation to be done well, the translator must have a deep understanding of both the source and the target language.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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