The success of translations depends on how the voices of the writer and the translator mix to become a powerful hybrid charged with the force of both languages
More than a century ago, writing about literary works from other languages being translated into German, Goethe said, “Our translations, even the best ones, proceed from a wrong premise. They want to turn Hindi, Greek, English into German instead of turning German into Hindi, Greek, English…” He went on to say that the translator, “should expand and deepen his language by means of the foreign language.” This was about translators working to shift foreign literary furniture into their native households. The Indian translator works in the reverse direction. She retrieves literary products from her own language, and retains their authenticity for households elsewhere. Perfectly aware of the walls she has to drill through to relocate, she conjures up word worlds in a language highly resistant to her own. While this poses some special problems, it offers even more special possibilities.
Joyous state Two years ago, in his note to a collection of S.K. Pottekkat’s stories, Venugopal Menon remarked that translation is therapeutic. He added, “It puts the mind at rest while stimulating the creative side of the brain.” If the translator is bilingually competent without being creative, he might end up taking a mechanical approach to his project. The solution lies in slow, quiet analysis, which is a powerful source of creativity and awareness.“Here, in this circle of white light that isolates me, we are truly alone, the sentences and I,” said Susanna Basso. Many translators have described this joyous state. Some translators even experience a certain degree of depression once a script is handed in and the creative highs cease. Widely understood as the transpositioning of meaning and sense (which, of course, at the core it is) translation also poses a different kind of insurmountability: gestures, symbolic acts and coded phrases which form the tapestry of a cultural tradition. For instance, looking someone in the eye while being spoken to is a mark of openness and integrity in some cultures; in other societies, similar eye-contact while facing a superior could be misunderstood as being offensive. What is instantly comprehended by native readership appears like a riddle or seems unnecessarily mysterious to a non-native readership; sounds that are a part of the shorthand of any culture are utterly opaque to someone who stands outside it. Sound of words Signposts become crucial here. Prabha Sridevan translating Chudamani Raghavan came to grips with the phrase “madiley poone”, which is literally “the cat in your lap” but unfurls subtly to mean the trouble someone close to you can cause… someone so close that you wouldn’t dream of suspecting her. Translating from one’s native language to a learnt language is difficult enough. But the reverse process, when a native speaker of English translates from a learnt language into her own, presents another kind of nerve-shredding exercise. Daisy Rockwell, ferrying Krishna Sobti over the sea of Hindi, says, “I had to turn every word inside out and shake it upside down.” Therefore, the constant concern about the sound of words from the source language as they arrive in the target language. “Does it sound right?” is a question translators ask their authors and themselves all the time. Listen to Vasantha Surya throwing her voice so that the true notes of Ki Rajanarayanan’s text are ‘heard’ in English. “Taking out the betel leaves one by one as if he were taking things out of a pooja box, he would lay them out with the devotion due to objects of worship… Next he would sniff the broken areca nut. Then he would blow on it. This sniffing and blowing procedure was repeated several times, his hand transporting the areca nut from nose to mouth, nose to mouth, more and more rapidly until ooommoosh, ooomm-oosh, ooomm-oosh, dabak! Into his mouth the areca nut would go, having been noisily purified.” Rhythm and tone No reader in the world would need help with this bit of non-text because sounds combine with words to carry the day. However, there are situations when it isn’t always clear to one who is not a native speaker or reader of the language. Translators should be encouraged to read their translations out loud to check whether the rhythm and tone sound right. Or at least seem to sound right. Very often the translator will say, “This is not how people talk.” A remark like this shows that the struggle is going in the right direction because voices have to come off the page. Let’s look at two other examples: “She took care not to touch the puja items because she was in her period.” The words in italics are what a writer in English would be obliged to add. In a regional language text, the second half of the sentence would not be required at all because not a single Indian, no matter what his or her religion, would need the explanation. In another instance, a character enters the puja room in a hurry without removing his shirt. The priest is so shocked he puts out his hand as if to shield himself from the offending sight. This might well be completely opaque to someone who does not know the rules of Hindu behaviour. Creative convictions A memorable translatorial and editorial failure I recall with regret happened in 1996 when Bikram Das and I were working on Gopinath Mohanty’s Danapani (1956). The story builds to a climax when the acquiescent wife of an ambitious clerk heads the reception party to welcome the company’s chairman. Sarojini garlands the new corporate king in full view of all the employees and a number of townspeople. Garlanding being an important symbolic part of wedding rituals, this moral downfall was clear to Mohanty’s Oriya readers as he intended it to be, but in the translation, this public garlanding, this shocker, hit the floor with a thud. So what if a woman garlands a man, wondered many readers unfamiliar with Indian/ Hindu customs. We should have fortified this sequence with explanations but we did not. Vanamala Viswanatha said that our translators are like Hanuman who, in order to deliver the right life-giving herb to Rama, flew back, carrying the whole sanjivani mountain of medicinal plants. The success (even at its best, only partial) depends on how the voice of the writer and the voice of the translator mix to become a powerful hybrid language: neither the Indian language nor English but charged with the double force of both. Eight years ago, Priya Adarkar was translating a 19th century Marathi classic — the first Indian eye-witness account of the 1857 Uprising, Maza Pravas, by Vishnubhat Godse. Published in 1907, it offered the word sojir. “I puzzled over the word then said it out aloud more than once, and it became ‘soldier’!” The last decade or so has seen Indian translators confidently melding two lexicons to carry the original texts through, based both on aseries of increasingly successful challenges to first-world control of ‘universal’ or linguistic pathways, and their own creative convictions. No wonder a thousand years ago the caliphs of Baghdad paid top translators the weight of their manuscripts in gold!
Let's talk: What is the importance of translation? What contribute to the success of translation?
Translators often worry about their skills as professional translators and ask themselves “what is a good translation?” Here are four signs of what could be termed a good translation.
1. It must be Accurate
This might seem obvious, but the number of poor translations and mistranslations demonstrate that accuracy isn’t always a priority when it comes to translation. Just try and use Google Translate or any one of a number of automatic translation tools to see what happens when translation is done poorly. Words are used incorrectly. Sentences are botched. At the worst, the meanings of whole chunks of text are distorted.
You would expect this lower standard from automatic translation tools, but the number of times it is used is astounding. When commercial or government organizations skimp on the cost of professional translation, they are not going to get accuracy.
2. It must be Clear
Another obvious criterion, but often disregarded. Good translations are generally compiled by good translators. Unfortunately, good translators do not always have well-written text to translate. A good translator usually clarifies a poor original project. One of the reasons for this is that many writers do not understand how to write clearly themselves. Their sentences are too long. Their paragraphs are too long. Words may not fit the people who are going to read what is written. One of the skills of a good translator is to retain the meaning of the original text yet make it easier to read.
3. The Translated Material must seem Natural
One of the qualities of a good translator is to make sure that he or she reads through what has been translated several times afterwards. This is not just to proofread what has been written and make sure there are no spelling mistakes, typos and the like, but to ensure it sounds as natural as possible. It is easy for translations to appear stilted until they are redone so that it seems smooth and easy to read.
4. The Translation must be Geared Culturally to the Audience
One of the characteristics of a good translator that makes that translator stand out from the beginner or amateur is the ability to adapt the translation to the people who are going to read it. A poor translation is not just inaccurate, unnatural and unclear, but upsets or confuses its audience. It’s true that this is not so important for all types of content. A scientific translation, for instance, has more need for accuracy and clarity than cultural adaptation. The term usually used for adapting a translation so that it is appropriate for its intended audience is localisation.
A great translator does more than just ace all academic qualifications he or she needs. Having a broad range of translation skills is a must for success in this competitive industry.
Translation refers to the communication of meaning from a source language to another. It is not limited to written text but also includes spoken information. Aside from ensuring that the message remains true, a translator also works on keeping the intent and tone of the message accurate through considering the cultural and regional differences between the source language and translated version.
To have a successful career in translation, skills beyond interpreting one’s work in another language are needed. This job is integral in many fields, such as politics and sports. So every translator uses their translation skills within the right context and meaning.
Since all languages evolve, professionals have to continually work on their understanding of the languages they know.
If you want to become a professional translator, you have to master various tricks and insights. For this, you need to constantly practice and increase your knowledge base. Only after building a broad foundation in translating will you possess the translation skills you need to thrive in this industry.
It would be impossible for you to become a translator if you don’t know at least two languages. Although every bilingual can’t be an interpreter, your knowledge of languages is the foundation for your translation skills. And when you translate, you are dealing with two different cultures as well as the different languages.
Bilinguals and multilinguals can take into account both culture and language aspects as they switch from one language to another. If you’re an experienced bilingual speaker and writer, you need to develop your linguistic abilities to adapt to the source and target culture to improve your overall translation skills.