Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Translations

One thing that has fascinated me this semester is reading translated work.  I remember asking a question in class one day about why works are constantly being retranslated.  It is because languages update over time and new translations need to be made it keep up with the changing language. 

In my research of Arthur Rimbaud's work I have realized that tenses are often lost in translation.  For example, his poem "Royalty" features both -ing and -ed endings.  This could be very frustrating because even though it might be minuscule, word choice really makes a difference when reading a poem.  A poem that is written in present tense will sound very different from a poem that is written in past.

In order to correct this, there should be some sort of translating committee that sets guidelines for this type of thing.  While this could lead to limiting  expression, it would provide a cohesive way to translate poems.  It is terribly frustrating to try to figure out what translation is in its "truest" form.

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