translation
Quick Summary
Translation is the process of converting a written or spoken text from one language to another. It is a crucial aspect of communication between people who speak different languages, enabling the exchange of ideas and information across cultures.1
The task of a translator involves more than just a word-for-word conversion. It requires understanding the nuances, cultural context, and stylistic elements of the original text to produce an equivalent meaning in the target language. This is particularly challenging in literary translation, where poetry, for example, relies heavily on the specific resources and intricacies of its original language.12
While technical prose on scientific subjects may be easier to translate due to established terminology and shared understanding, literary works often present unique difficulties. The National Book Award for Translated Literature recognizes outstanding achievements in this field, highlighting the importance of skilled translators in making global literature accessible.3
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literatureTranslationCertainly, William Blake or Thomas Campion, when they were writing their “simple” lyrics, were unaware of the ambiguities and multiple meanings that future critics would find in them. Nevertheless, language is complex. Words do have overtones; they do stir up complicated reverberations in the…
Read MoreCertainly, William Blake or Thomas Campion, when they were writing their “simple” lyrics, were unaware of the ambiguities and multiple meanings that future critics would find in them. Nevertheless, language is complex. Words do have overtones; they do stir up complicated reverberations in the…
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English literatureOther poetic styles…possibilities made available by verse translation, from Richard Stanyhurst’s extraordinary Aeneid (1582), in quantitative hexameter and littered with obscure or invented diction, and Sir John Harington’s version of Ariosto’s Orlando furioso (1591), with its Byronic ease and narrative fluency, to Christopher Marlowe’s blank verse rendering of Lucan’s First Book
Read More…possibilities made available by verse translation, from Richard Stanyhurst’s extraordinary Aeneid (1582), in quantitative hexameter and littered with obscure or invented diction, and Sir John Harington’s version of Ariosto’s Orlando furioso (1591), with its Byronic ease and narrative fluency, to Christopher Marlowe’s blank verse rendering of Lucan’s First Book
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novelSocial and economic aspects…though the rewards accruing from translation are always uncertain. The translator himself is usually a professional and demands a reasonable reward for his labors, more indeed than the original author may expect: the reputations of some translators are higher than those of some authors, and even the translators’ names may…
Read More…though the rewards accruing from translation are always uncertain. The translator himself is usually a professional and demands a reasonable reward for his labors, more indeed than the original author may expect: the reputations of some translators are higher than those of some authors, and even the translators’ names may…
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poetryPoetry and prose…what got left behind in translation, which suggests a criterion of almost scientific refinement: when in doubt, translate; whatever comes through is prose, the remainder is poetry. And yet to even so acute a definition the obvious exception is a startling and a formidable one: some of the greatest poetry…
Read More…what got left behind in translation, which suggests a criterion of almost scientific refinement: when in doubt, translate; whatever comes through is prose, the remainder is poetry. And yet to even so acute a definition the obvious exception is a startling and a formidable one: some of the greatest poetry…
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Russian literatureThe Kievan period…the enormous prestige accorded to translating has continued to be a distinctive characteristic of Russian culture. Even in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, major Russian writers devoted their energies to the translation of foreign works, which in some cases constituted their most significant contribution—a literary fact reflecting Russia’s status…
Read More…the enormous prestige accorded to translating has continued to be a distinctive characteristic of Russian culture. Even in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, major Russian writers devoted their energies to the translation of foreign works, which in some cases constituted their most significant contribution—a literary fact reflecting Russia’s status…
Read More- Syriac literature
…documents written in Greek were translated by Syrians. This mass of Greco-Syrian translated literature is an essential source for works of Greek Christian literature that have not survived in their original language. Many secular works also were translated into Syriac, including most of the works of Aristotle and other ancient…
Read More…documents written in Greek were translated by Syrians. This mass of Greco-Syrian translated literature is an essential source for works of Greek Christian literature that have not survived in their original language. Many secular works also were translated into Syriac, including most of the works of Aristotle and other ancient…
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