Translation, season of giving (getting) and gifts for translators

I suppose that I can, despite my obvious linguistic limitations, call myself a translator. I’ve overseen, coordinated and participated in the translation from Spanish to English of many bits of text, chats, lectures, and books. When Silo made me responsible for the translation of his work into English. I objected that, besides feeling inadequate to stand in judgment about nuances of meaning, my Spanish was (and is), as he knew very well, not very good at all. I can understand quite a bit of spoken Spanish, if my ear is attuned to the accent. I can also speak fluently about a wide range of topics, but sadly I’m usually in the wrong tense, gender, case and often number. His response was that I should trust my judgment, that I understood his writings and could make sure things read as if they were written in English.

He then reiterated what would be our central guidelines for the translation of his works: first that our translations contain no serious conceptual errors, and second that they read as if they were written in English (or of course in whatever the target language).

Those were/are our priorities but I speak to you of priorities not as something attainable but of things to be approached, as one who approaches his city is liberated from the road already travelled.

These 2 imperatives might seem obvious and straightforward, but they represent a particular position very different from that of those who maintain that fidelity in translation is best served by “literal” translations. This latter position numbers Vladimir Nabokov among its champions. In the opposite corner we could place no less a contender than Jorge Luis Borges.

So, if for no other reasons we should put both those authors on our list of potential gifts for translators. Say Pale Fire for Nabokov (Roberto V turned me on to that one) and for Borges … well any collection of his work will probably includes stories that touch on this subject directly or indirectly; even on translations from author to author rather than language to language. Consider for example his Pierre Menard, and his essay on Fitzgerald the translator of Omar Khayyahm

Also take a look at this essay by Alberto Manguel on translating Borges.

Speaking of translating poets and the difficulties there of (especially when it comes to poetry and alien spaces) you might enjoy this little essay by Dick Davis on not translating the poet Hafez.

Enough of that background stuff let’s turn to the essential buying and selling — speaking of translation it’s humbling to think that the earliest written records we know of are not fragments of philosophy or literature, not even expressions of some king’s megalomania but more important stuff — mostly about grain (or beer). Whose barley (and or barley) this is, who owes barley (or beer) to whom, etc. We’ve got agccounting, tax records meant to track who owes what to the government. And also grain related one of the earliest pictographs seems be a locust removing charm.

I said, enough! Let’s get to the stuff!
Here’s my list for translators (who have been naughty or nice):

On a budget? In a war against consumerism? Hell, just give them this link.

Than there’s a sort of overview of the academic approach in the Translation Studies Reader. Here’s a summary — perhaps in an unexpected, if not strange, format but a summary.