49: How translators approach a text

Lingthusiasm - A podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics

Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne

Science

4.8 • 743 Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2020

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Before even starting to translate a work, a translator needs to make several important macro-level decisions, such as whether to more closely follow the literal structure of the text or to adapt more freely, especially if the original text does things that are unfamiliar to readers in the destination language but would be familiar to readers in the original language. In this episode of Lingthusiasm, your hosts Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne get enthusiastic about the relationship of the translator and the text. We talk about the new, updated translation of Beowulf by Maria Dahvana Headley (affectionately known as the "bro" translation), reading the Tale of Genji in multiple translations, translating conlangs in fiction, and mistranslation on the Scots Wikipedia. Announcements We’re coming up on Lingthusiasm’s fourth anniversary! In celebration, we’re asking you to help people who would totally enjoy listening to fun conversations about linguistics, they just don’t realize it exists yet! Most people still find podcasts through word of mouth, and we’ve seen a significant bump in listens each November when we ask you to help share the show, so we know this works. If you tag us @lingthusiasm on social media in your recommendation post, we will like/retweet/reshare/thank you as appropriate, or if you send a recommendation to a specific person, we won’t know about it but you can still feel a warm glow of satisfaction at helping out (and feel free to still tell us about it on social media if you’d like to be thanked!). Trying to think of what to say? One option is to pick a particular episode that you liked and share a link to that. This month’s bonus episode was about honorifics, words like titles and forms of “you” that express when you’re trying to be extra polite to someone (and which can also be subverted to be rude or intimate). Get access to this and 43 other bonus episodes at https://www.patreon.com/lingthusiasm This is also a good time to start thinking about linguistics merch and other potential gift ideas (paperback copies of Because Internet, anyone?), in time for them to arrive via the internet, if you’re ordering for the holiday season. Check out the Lingthusiasm merch store at https://lingthusiasm.com/merch For links mentioned in this episode: https://lingthusiasm.com/post/632086691477323776/lingthusiasm-episode-49-how-translators-approach

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Lincthusiasm, a podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics.
0:22.8	I'm Lauren Gorn.
0:24.2	And I'm Gretchen McCulloch.
0:25.5	And today we're getting enthusiastic about the relationship of the translator and the text.
0:29.6	But first, we're heading into Lingthusiasm anniversary month.
0:33.7	This is our fourth anniversary of doing Lingthusiasm, and we're really excited that we're still doing this four years later.
0:40.1	We love a bit of reflection and nostalgia, and the month of November is always an opportunity to be grateful that we have another year of Lingthusiasm.
0:51.2	We have a whole 12 great main episodes. we have 12 more bonus episodes, and as with every year, if you want to share a link to your favorite episode, November is an especially nice time to do it.
1:05.5	There are still people in this world who don't know that they could be listening to a fun podcast about linguistics
1:12.0	that makes them feel like they're at a linguistics party instead of like doing the dishes.
1:17.0	And you could help people find them.
1:19.3	Most people still find podcasts through word of mouth.
1:21.7	And every year when we've done this in November, we see a big spike in people listening to the show and finding the show.
1:26.6	So if you want to share
1:28.0	on social media, we are very happy to thank you if you tag us in things. If you want to share off
1:33.3	social media, please accept our deepest gratitude non-publicly for sharing shows as well.
1:41.1	Or if you share link-thusiasm privately and you still want to be thanked, feel
1:45.0	free to tell us about it in social media and we will still give you the little heart thank you
1:48.9	comment. And yes, thank you already for all of the support that you've given the show over the
1:54.7	years. If you like things additional to podcasts, because we are coming up to the holiday season, it's also a good time
2:02.9	to think about some Lenthusiasm merch or a copy of Because Internet. It's a pretty great
2:07.4	book. I like it. It's available in paperback now. These things make great gifts.
	...

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