Jeudi, août 27, 2009
As I do wish to become a better translator, I thought it might be suitable to use this here space as an outlet for ameliorating my abilities; I hope to share with any reader who might care to ponder them some of the heretofore untranslated (or hard-to-find) thoughts and witticisms of the great French scribblers. Anything in the writing itself that may be wanting in quality is entirely of my own fault; also, the source of any abhorrence elicited by the passages translated will most likely be the work of the translator, and not that of the authors. So, I now leave you with some of Antoine Berman’s reflections on Translation (which, I believe, are only available in English in a horrendously expensive hardcover edition): — Speaking about how all language is always already translated, Berman begins by citing a remark of J.G. Hamann: “To speak is to translate—from an angelic language to a human language, i.e. to transpose thoughts into words—things into names—images into signs.” — Berman continues: “… translatability and untranslatability are determined a priori by the very nature of the work. Thus arises a paradox: that which has not yet translated itself is untranslatable…” — So we are, in fact, all translators—although we may speak the same language, when I converse with you I must translate my thoughts into words before I even begin to speak.

As I do wish to become a better translator, I thought it might be suitable to use this here space as an outlet for ameliorating my abilities; I hope to share with any reader who might care to ponder them some of the heretofore untranslated (or hard-to-find) thoughts and witticisms of the great French scribblers.

Anything in the writing itself that may be wanting in quality is entirely of my own fault; also, the source of any abhorrence elicited by the passages translated will most likely be the work of the translator, and not that of the authors.

So, I now leave you with some of Antoine Berman’s reflections on Translation (which, I believe, are only available in English in a horrendously expensive hardcover edition):

— Speaking about how all language is always already translated, Berman begins by citing a remark of J.G. Hamann:

  • “To speak is to translate—from an angelic language to a human language, i.e. to transpose thoughts into words—things into names—images into signs.”

— Berman continues:

  • “… translatability and untranslatability are determined a priori by the very nature of the work. Thus arises a paradox: that which has not yet translated itself is untranslatable…”

— So we are, in fact, all translators—although we may speak the same language, when I converse with you I must translate my thoughts into words before I even begin to speak.

Publié à 1:10 5 notes

Notes

  1. bmkk a publié ce billet