Nothing Really Matters(?)
Analysis of Translations of Kafka's Metamorphosis:
#1: Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.
This translation is the simplest, with nothing open to consideration through the author's individual words (compared to the other translations). The main character had uneasy dreams, and woke to find out that he changed into a "giant" bug. This is the least descriptive adjective of the size of this bug that he has transformed into, which I feel that since it's so simple, it loses some figurative appreciation. This translation is also a bit different with the name of what I would assume is the main character, Gregory. His name is different in this translation than all the rest, making it seem like the translation is the least reliable towards grasping what the author originally meant to say.
#2: When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.
This translation is a bit more descriptive than the previous one, and a bit more formal diction with the words "awoke" and "troubled dreams". The adjective to describe the bug that Gregor has supposedly changed into is different form the first as well. Instead of being a "giant bug" the translation says that he is an "enormous bug", which is a much stronger and descriptive word. This sentence also makes it seem like the transformation was the result of someone else's actions, not that Gregor did the act of transformation himself (the first translation makes it seem like he did the transforming). The translation also gives a little more of a hint to the setting of the story through the fact that he was transformed in his bed, something that wasn't previously mentioned.
#3: As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.
This translation, again, uses the more formal tone of awakening by using the word "awoke", but uses the less formal word of "uneasy" (as opposed to the "troubled dreams"). The structure of the sentence also it seem like Gregor transformed himself into the bug, and it wasn't as a result of someone else's actions. This is different from the second one, since it shows that he might have been the cause of the metamorphosis. Another difference is the word choice of the animal that he had been changed into: an insect. This is, again, a more formal choice of words (instead of just saying the word, bug). The adjective before the word insect is also different than the rest of the translations, "gigantic". This is close to the second translation of "enormous", emphasizing the size of the bug.
#4: One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.
This translation is the most formal and descriptive of all the translations. It shows more of the setting with the first part, "one morning" and the fact that it mentions that Gregor is "in his bed". The translation uses more descriptive adjectives like "agitated" and "monstrous", which gives the start of the book more of an eery feeling. By using the word "monstrous" it might signify that the bug that Gregor was transformed into could be involved in dangerous circumstances, or cause some kind of trouble, since the word has a negative connotation. This translation is also broken up into different phrases through the use of the punctuation throughout (the commas). This makes each part of the sentence separate, focusing the reader in on every word. The word "vermin" is also VERY different than just saying bug or insect. A vermin is a mammal (kind of like a rat or rodent of some sort), where as a bug is a small little insect creature (pardon my description of these nasty things) making the creature that Gregor is changed into, something different. INTERESTING
Translations - thoughts:
As shown in these four different translations of the same line from the book Metamorphosis by Kafka, translations can be different, and yet get the same message across. The sentence changes slightly with the implementation of the setting (and the use of the bed), giving the reader a bit of context, which is important with this confusing first sentence. The translations also use different adjectives to explain the size of the bug that he has transformed into, all saying that the bug is very big, and even monstrous. Another difference is the structure of the translations. The fourth one especially breaks up the sentence by using commas, to make sure the reader focuses on each individual part separately. This makes the reader focus on every word, emphasizing each little phrase. Each different aspect of the translations are important however, the most important part of the differences in translations is the fact that they use synonyms of descriptive words, that ultimately change the meaning of the sentence, making all the translations slightly different.
In broader terms, translations lose a lot of the original meaning that the author intended to put in the work (shown with the four translations). The lack of similarities can cause misinterpretations of the original text, which isn't the purpose of writing a book. I think that it is really hard to translate a work of fiction because there are two sides to it. You have to understand the work in it's original language, as well as the language you are translating it to (and well enough that you don't lose some of the meaning when in translation. I think that fiction is especially hard to translate because it's not as "set-in-stone" as non-fiction is. It uses a lot more descriptive words that can be lost in translation, ultimately losing important aspects of the book. This causes a lot of confusion when reading translated texts, and emphasizes the fact that it's just more efficient to read literature in their original forms, to really grasp the meaning of the work.
#1: Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.
This translation is the simplest, with nothing open to consideration through the author's individual words (compared to the other translations). The main character had uneasy dreams, and woke to find out that he changed into a "giant" bug. This is the least descriptive adjective of the size of this bug that he has transformed into, which I feel that since it's so simple, it loses some figurative appreciation. This translation is also a bit different with the name of what I would assume is the main character, Gregory. His name is different in this translation than all the rest, making it seem like the translation is the least reliable towards grasping what the author originally meant to say.
#2: When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.
This translation is a bit more descriptive than the previous one, and a bit more formal diction with the words "awoke" and "troubled dreams". The adjective to describe the bug that Gregor has supposedly changed into is different form the first as well. Instead of being a "giant bug" the translation says that he is an "enormous bug", which is a much stronger and descriptive word. This sentence also makes it seem like the transformation was the result of someone else's actions, not that Gregor did the act of transformation himself (the first translation makes it seem like he did the transforming). The translation also gives a little more of a hint to the setting of the story through the fact that he was transformed in his bed, something that wasn't previously mentioned.
#3: As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.
This translation, again, uses the more formal tone of awakening by using the word "awoke", but uses the less formal word of "uneasy" (as opposed to the "troubled dreams"). The structure of the sentence also it seem like Gregor transformed himself into the bug, and it wasn't as a result of someone else's actions. This is different from the second one, since it shows that he might have been the cause of the metamorphosis. Another difference is the word choice of the animal that he had been changed into: an insect. This is, again, a more formal choice of words (instead of just saying the word, bug). The adjective before the word insect is also different than the rest of the translations, "gigantic". This is close to the second translation of "enormous", emphasizing the size of the bug.
#4: One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.
This translation is the most formal and descriptive of all the translations. It shows more of the setting with the first part, "one morning" and the fact that it mentions that Gregor is "in his bed". The translation uses more descriptive adjectives like "agitated" and "monstrous", which gives the start of the book more of an eery feeling. By using the word "monstrous" it might signify that the bug that Gregor was transformed into could be involved in dangerous circumstances, or cause some kind of trouble, since the word has a negative connotation. This translation is also broken up into different phrases through the use of the punctuation throughout (the commas). This makes each part of the sentence separate, focusing the reader in on every word. The word "vermin" is also VERY different than just saying bug or insect. A vermin is a mammal (kind of like a rat or rodent of some sort), where as a bug is a small little insect creature (pardon my description of these nasty things) making the creature that Gregor is changed into, something different. INTERESTING
Translations - thoughts:
As shown in these four different translations of the same line from the book Metamorphosis by Kafka, translations can be different, and yet get the same message across. The sentence changes slightly with the implementation of the setting (and the use of the bed), giving the reader a bit of context, which is important with this confusing first sentence. The translations also use different adjectives to explain the size of the bug that he has transformed into, all saying that the bug is very big, and even monstrous. Another difference is the structure of the translations. The fourth one especially breaks up the sentence by using commas, to make sure the reader focuses on each individual part separately. This makes the reader focus on every word, emphasizing each little phrase. Each different aspect of the translations are important however, the most important part of the differences in translations is the fact that they use synonyms of descriptive words, that ultimately change the meaning of the sentence, making all the translations slightly different.
In broader terms, translations lose a lot of the original meaning that the author intended to put in the work (shown with the four translations). The lack of similarities can cause misinterpretations of the original text, which isn't the purpose of writing a book. I think that it is really hard to translate a work of fiction because there are two sides to it. You have to understand the work in it's original language, as well as the language you are translating it to (and well enough that you don't lose some of the meaning when in translation. I think that fiction is especially hard to translate because it's not as "set-in-stone" as non-fiction is. It uses a lot more descriptive words that can be lost in translation, ultimately losing important aspects of the book. This causes a lot of confusion when reading translated texts, and emphasizes the fact that it's just more efficient to read literature in their original forms, to really grasp the meaning of the work.
This is a great post! I really enjoy your last paragraph, as I agree that meaning gets lost a lot of the time within translation. I also agree that translating itself is very difficult. Job well done!
ReplyDeleteI really liked and agreed with how your overall message at the end of this post is that though the translations all get across the same message, it's all for nothing if the true meaning behind the work is lost in the process. I also really enjoyed how you put your theory in motion with the example of translating fiction. Solid, great post!!
ReplyDeleteThis post sounds like an essay I feel like you should use your creativity and personality to express your analysis, but that's just a silly thing. Anyways, great job on "ranking" the quotes from least formal to most formal and least descriptive to most descriptive. Also, I like how you pointed out specific words to analyze and later on connected them to a meaning.
ReplyDelete