Literary translation challenges both language skills and creativity. It is not enough to translate the meaning of a text; you also have to convey the mood, tone, and connotations of the original text. And how do you translate dialects and sociolects?
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. Bilde: CiRo / CC BY-ND 4.0
'Call me Ishmael' is the first sentence in the novel Moby Dick (1851) by Herman Melville. The story of a whaler obsessed with killing the white whale that cost him his leg is one of the most famous works of American literature. Study the original text first, before looking at translations of it.
Start by reading the original text. While you read, think about whether there are any parts that are difficult to understand, or any parts that you think would be difficult to translate.
The original text: Moby Dick
Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.
Herman Melville, 1851.
Step 2
Next, we will read an automated translation of the excerpt. This excerpt was made using a combination of translation tools that are available for free online. Make a note of any mistakes in the translation that you spot.
An automated translation of the excerpt:
This translation was made using an automated translation tool.
Ring meg Ismael. For noen år siden – uansett hvor lenge – da jeg hadde lite eller ingen penger i vesken, og ingenting spesielt interesserte meg på land, tenkte jeg at jeg skulle seile litt rundt og se den vannrike delen av verden. Det er en måte jeg har på å drive av milten og regulere sirkulasjonen. Hver gang jeg finner meg selv å bli dyster over munnen; når det er en fuktig, yrende november i min sjel; hver gang jeg tar meg selv ufrivillig pause foran kistelagre, og tar opp baksiden av hver begravelse jeg møter; og spesielt når hypotene mine får så overtaket på meg, at det krever et sterkt moralsk prinsipp for å hindre meg i å bevisst gå ut på gaten og metodisk slå av hatten til folk – da synes jeg det er på høy tid å komme meg til havs så snart som jeg kan. Dette er min erstatning for pistol og ball. Med en filosofisk oppblomstring kaster Cato seg på sverdet sitt; Jeg går stille til skipet. Det er ikke noe overraskende i dette. Hvis de bare visste det, nærer nesten alle menn i deres grad, en eller annen gang, nesten de samme følelsene for havet som meg.
Step 3
Finally, we will read a translation made for a Norwegian edition of the novel. Make a note of any changes that the translator has made compared to the original text. Why do you think the translator chose to make these changes?
A translation by a professional translator
This translation was made by Daisy Schelderup for the publishing house Dreyers Forlag, in 1948.
Kall meg Ismael. For noen år siden – akkurat når det var, er likegyldig – bestemte jeg meg for å gå til sjøs og lære verdenshavene å kjenne. Jeg hadde lite eller ingenting å leve av, og ikke noe særlig som interesserte meg på land. Gå til sjøs – på den måten har jeg ofte drevet tungsinn på flukt og regulert blodomløpet. Når jeg får et bittert drag om munnen, når det er fuktig, regntung november i sjelen, når jeg griper meg i å stanse utenfor begravelsesbyråene og slutte meg til hvert eneste gravfølge jeg møter, og særlig når sykeligheten får sånt tak på meg at jeg må ta meg selv alvorlig i nakken for ikke å gå med velberådd hu ut på gaten og slå hatten av folk – da finner jeg ut at det er på høye tid å dra til sjøs. Jeg velger den utveien istedenfor å skyte meg. Under filosofisk veltalenhet kastet Cato seg mot sitt sverd. Jeg går ganske rolig om bord i en skute. Det er slett ikke noe forbausende ved det. De vet kanskje ikke om det, men hver på sitt vis har nesten alle mennesker en eller annen gang omtrent de samme følelsene ovenfor havet som jeg har.
Discuss:
Work with partners and discuss the questions.
What did you think of the automated translation? Do you think it is likely that professional translators will be replaced by technology in the next 10–20 years?
Parts of the automated translation were difficult to understand. What mistakes did the program make when translating these parts of the text?
The professional translator did not translate the original text verbatim. Why do you think changes were made?
Language changes over time. Do you think a modern translation of Moby Dick would be different than the one made in 1948? If so, what differences do you think there would be?
Was the original text difficult to understand? Why / why not?
Translate 1:
In the expandable box you will find an excerpt from the short story 'A Scandal in Bohemia' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Translate the excerpt.
Excerpt from "A Scandal in Bohemia"
To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable things for the observer—excellent for drawing the veil from men’s motives and actions. But for the trained reasoner to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his. And yet there was but one woman to him, and that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable memory.
Share:
Share your translation in a group. Discuss what you have done differently and why. Write a shared translation for the group. This may be handed in for feedback from the teacher.
Discuss:
When translating a classic work of literature, should you aim to get the language as close to what Norwegian would have been at the time, or should you update the language to make the work more accessible for readers today?
Translate 2:
The following excerpt is from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. In this excerpt, we find examples of a dialect used in Missouri in the 1800s.
Work with partners and discuss how you can translate the text in a way that gives the readers the same experience and appreciation of the characters that they would get when reading the original text.
Write a translation of the text.
Excerpt from *The Adventures of Tom Sawyer* by Mark Twain
The excerpt is a conversation between Aunt Polly, a well-meaning but strict homemaker, and her nephew whom she is raising, Tom. Tom's half-brother, Sidney, is also present. Tom, Sidney, and Polly are middle class, and they live in a small town in Missouri. Polly suspects that Tom has skipped school to go swimming and she is trying to catch him in a lie.
Excerpt:
“Tom, it was middling warm in school, warn’t it?”
“Yes’m.”
“Powerful warm, warn’t it?”
“Yes’m.”
“Didn’t you want to go in a-swimming, Tom?”
A bit of a scare shot through Tom—a touch of uncomfortable suspicion. He searched Aunt Polly’s face, but it told him nothing. So he said:
“No’m—well, not very much.”
The old lady reached out her hand and felt Tom’s shirt, and said:
“But you ain’t too warm now, though.” And it flattered her to reflect that she had discovered that the shirt was dry without anybody knowing that that was what she had in her mind. But in spite of her, Tom knew where the wind lay, now. So he forestalled what might be the next move:
“Some of us pumped on our heads—mine’s damp yet. See?”
Aunt Polly was vexed to think she had overlooked that bit of circumstantial evidence, and missed a trick. Then she had a new inspiration:
“Tom, you didn’t have to undo your shirt collar where I sewed it, to pump on your head, did you? Unbutton your jacket!”
The trouble vanished out of Tom’s face. He opened his jacket. His shirt collar was securely sewed.
“Bother! Well, go ’long with you. I’d made sure you’d played hookey and been a-swimming. But I forgive ye, Tom. I reckon you’re a kind of a singed cat, as the saying is—better’n you look. This time.”
She was half sorry her sagacity had miscarried, and half glad that Tom had stumbled into obedient conduct for once.
But Sidney said:
“Well, now, if I didn’t think you sewed his collar with white thread, but it’s black.”
“Why, I did sew it with white! Tom!”
But Tom did not wait for the rest. As he went out at the door he said:
“Siddy, I’ll lick you for that.”
Tips for translating dialects and sociolects
When we translate dialects or sociolects we have to consider whether there are similar dialects or sociolects in the language we are translating to.
If the person whose dialect we are translating lived in the 1800s, we must consider whether the phrases or words we choose are too modern to fit the translation.
If the person lives in a rural area, we should be careful to translate their conversation into an urban dialect.
If the person speaking is poor and has a limited education, we have to consider whether there are words or phrases that they would be unlikely to use.
If the person speaking is a child, we should think about how children express themselves differently than adults.
