#traductology

[lemosch]

Studying for exams during summer is the worst decision that the school system made so far. And nothing about the school system works, but obliging students to lock themselves in libraries/their rooms during summer with more than 30 degrees just to study for an exam that maybe they do not care about… it just feels wrong. I do wonder who set down and thought: “yes, this is a bloody brilliant idea. Let’s do it”

[where-is-vivian]

thanks @ringaroundtherosier for the tag!

Relationship Status: single very very single

Favorite Color: orange :) especially orange when it's the color of some light. also green.

Stuck in my head: I'M ABOUT TO TAKE YOU BACK TO CHURCH

Last song I listened to: New person, same old mistakes (tame impala)

Three favorite foods: cheese, crisps, and japanese food in general

Last thing I googled: TECHNIQUES DE TRADUCTION (9h05.com) (for my essay on traductology of jekyll and hyde, yes i'm speaking about this again)

Dream Trip: anywhere. literally.

no pressure tags: @not-rab @murderoushagthesequel @canyouhearmyfear @yesnoidkiguess and @ anyone (im scared to tag people)

[asticot]

in traductology class and the beatles are blasting from the lecture room next to ours

[jane-d-ankh-veos]

Having "intense narrow special interests" listed among autistic traits, sometimes I think I don't quite like this definition with "narrow" or "restricted"; in fact, even the most particular fields of study can be damn wide.

I remember it every time when my brain spins a wheel of "So which part of a super-specific intersection of art-and-mysticism-and-traductology are we going to fixate on today, hmm? Sufi poetry? Nag Hammadi Library translations? Julian of Norwich? Obscure occult commentaries on Jung? I need all of it!" and some other part of me sobs because it planned to watch funny cat videos and get some rest after work.

[eagle-raider]

Of hidden meanings

I wrote this back in August and it’s been collecting digital dust in my draft folder ever since. To celebrate International Translation day (yes, it is a thing, and yes, it’s today) I told myself I’d post it. Behold the wall of text.

I’ve been (re) reading one of my all times favorite books, which is Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1782, Choderlos de Laclos), but in English this time – after months of trying to get my hands on a translation (the one I got is by Thomas Moore and was published in 1812).  

The book is a classic of French literature, an epistolary novel telling the story of the Marchioness de Merteuil and the Viscount de Valmont, two narcissistic rivals (and ex-lovers) who use seduction as a weapon to socially control and exploit others, all the while enjoying their cruel games and boasting about their talent for manipulation.  

The book has had several movie adaptations, ranging from the most faithful (Dangerous Liaisons, Stephen Frears, 1988) to the most forgettable (Valmont by Milos Forman, 1989), to a loosely based adaptation/Modern setting re-writing (Cruel Intentions, 1999 and that infamous tongue kiss between SMG and Selma Blair). So yeah, you’ve probably either heard of it, or seen one of those movies, or at least the gifs of that kiss.  

Now, this book has been censored to hell and back because of its depiction of amorality. It explores different subjects: revenge, manipulation, malice and even female homosexuality (briefly, but it’s there – both in the book and the movie adaptation by Frears), with feminist undertones, which, for a book written by a military man in 1782 is a real novelty.  

Yes, the Marchioness de Merteuil is a villain, if you look at the book through a Manichaean perspective (which is what the movie did), but above all, she is a victim of her time. And again, for a man to fully grasp the societal burden of women circa 1782 is absolutely unprecedented. And it’s way too real for it to be a happy coincidence.

I know this book almost by heart my copy is filled to the brim with annotations and almost all pages are dog-eared.  

Now, one of my all-time favorite letters within the book is letter 141. It’s about 2/3 through the story – the Marchioness de Merteuil is peeved at Valmont because he is too enamored with his lover to pay her any attention – said lover is a married noble, a devout Christian he managed to defile—his words not mine.  

The reason she’s peeved is never explained. Jealousy, perhaps, but it’s not borne out of love. Merteuil doesn’t love him, she just wants him wrapped around her little finger.

So, in this letter, as per their twisted game, she tells him that now that he got what he wanted, it is time to break things off with that Christian woman. And, in her infinite generosity, Merteuil provides him with the perfect breakup letter. I was really looking forward to seeing how the translator – Thomas Moore – would handle the nuances, and I wasn’t disappointed for the most part.

It goes as follows:  

One tires of every thing, my angel! It is a law of nature; it is not my fault. 

 If, then, I am tired of a connection that has entirely taken me up four long months, it is not my fault.

If, for example, I had just as much love as you had virtue, and that’s saying a great deal, it is not at all surprising that one should end with the other; it is not my fault

It follows, then, that for some time past, I have deceived you; but your unmerciful affection in some measure forced me to it! It is not my fault.

Now a woman I love to distraction, insists I must sacrifice you: it is not my fault.

I am sensible here is a fine field for reproaches; but if nature has only granted men constancy, whilst it gives obstinacy to women, it is not my fault.

Take my advice, choose another lover, as I have another mistress—The advice is good; if you think otherwise, it is not my fault.

Farewell, my angel! I took you with pleasure, I part you without regret; perhaps I shall return to you; it is the way of the world; it is not my fault

It’s perfect, it’s vicious, it’s exactly what you’d expect to receive from an asshole like Valmont.

Now why am I telling you this? Because there’s a slight change in the movie adaptation, that I think fully grasps the hidden meaning behind “It is not my fault,”  which is the literal translation of the original French version: ce n’est pas ma faute.

The writing team decided to change “It is not my fault” to “It’s beyond my control” and if you’re a purist, you might think they were absolutely stupid and why choose another option when word for word translation works just fine in this case? Why change it when the meaning behind the words is there?  

To answer your question: because it’s not.  

Keep in mind that the book is written in old-French, or an older iteration of French, rather. Words had a slightly different meaning than they do now, e.g. the verb to hear (entendre in French) meant “understand” which is something that the French verb kind of lost while the English retained somewhat (when people say I get you/do you hear me).

So, when the letter says “It is not my fault.” what it really means is, “It’s beyond my control.”  

Earlier, I said that Merteuil wanted to have Valmont wrapped around her little finger? This is what I meant. It’s beyond his control. She demanded of him that breaks up with his lover, she provided the means to do so, and as she writes earlier in the same letter:

“My comparison appears to me the more just as, like [a Sultan], you never are the lover or friend of a woman, but always her tyrant or her slave.”

Boom. Burn.

Valmont is Merteuil’s slave and she spelled it out to him (quite brutally). Which is why, I believe that the translator could have maybe underlined the hidden take behind “It is not my fault.” 

The movie did, because it fully grasped Merteuil’s intention: Valmont is her puppet. He should break up with his lover because Merteuil wants him to and because it is literally beyond his control. Which is what Valmont keeps repeating in the sequence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjUmvHBgHr0

(apologies for the potato quality)

It’s nitpicky but it matters in this case because the nuance is lost in the translation, unless the readers pay careful attention. I’m not saying the translation is bad, because it’s not. Literary translation is a balancing act of subjectivity.  

It begs the question: how far can you adapt a translation into your target language before it reaches the point of no return and everything that made the text special/authentic/flavorful is lost? It’s the eternal debate between traductology scholars: are you a target-oriented/source-oriented translator. Most translators will say they’re target-oriented, and they’re right.  

However, the game changes when you’re translating classics, because you’re not just translating a text into a language your audience can understand—you’re translating a chunk of history with it. You can’t dissociate the book and its author from the historical context it was written in because the context gives crucial clues on how to navigate the translation. A book, whatever it may be about, is a testimony of its time.

Does an English-speaking audience in 2020 understand that “It is not my fault” means “I’m somebody’s puppet, your life and mine aren’t ours to do as we please?”

Does “it isn’t my fault” hold as much meaning in 2020 than its French counterpart did in 1782?

If yes, keep it.  

It not, then change it. Adapt it, make it more obvious even if you stray a little from the original version. 

This is what the movie did, in all subtlety, forgoing a literal translation for something else that was in line with the context of the book/history/plot.

I will admit my own bias because this book is among my favorite pieces of classical literature – and Renaissance/pre-French revolution is my favorite period, so I nerd. A lot.    

Next up: Game Localization and how the Japanese translation/VA work of Ghost of Tsushima influenced Jin Sakai’s personality (goody two-shoes in English vs. darker/grounded in JP)

Happy International Translation Day, folks!

[littlelovingmouse]

one of the joys of academic life is looking up some obscure and advanced mathematical concept mentioned once in the abstract in case it's important to the comprehension of the article you're reading and realizing that the author is just going for an original metaphor that has nothing to do with the subject matter and dosen't work anyway

[thomastudies]

[001/100 days of productivity] my morning traductology class got canceled so i went to my university library to borrow some books (two for my thesis and one to learn russian) and then i went back home to clean my apartment, do my dishes, eat and then study. but of course, i drank my coffee before that. in terms of being productive, i must admit that it is a great start for this challenge. i managed to finish two of my big assignments for the week, studied a bit of chinese for my oral classes and then i am planning on working out later this evening and do some reading before going to bed. (might also study some russian depending on how tired i am) i hope you all had a great start of the week! oh and as you can see, i was translating some chinese while rewatching pretty little liars because i missed this show so much (not that this is my thousand re-watch already..) but yea, for those wondering, yes i can both study and have netflix playing in the background because this particular tv show is my biggest study motivation going to study a little bit more until 7:30pm then i will be cooking my dinner! love you all and stay motivated!

instagram: @ thomreads

[carumens]

Hello! How are you? Also, what's traductology?

Hello, Tani!!! Well, am at the library trying to finish this extremely boring assignment for uni, so… you can imagine..

Traductology is the area of science that studies translation. So like, basically is theory of translation. We study loads of interesting and useful stuff, but also lots of complicated and boring shit, and my Proffessor is… let’s say, not the best at motivating students, so…

Thanks for sending an ask!!! How are you doing?? I hope your day was good!! Also, can’t waaaait to read the 2nd chapter of The Sailors of Time!!!!

+ ask me anything

[stephystudies]

Help us recover a space in my University!

So, at my University campus there is an old "language laboratory" which was used to practice our pronunciation in foreign languages. I say "was used" because nowadays it is rarely used... I have been studying there for two years now, and I have only entered that place once.

This space is now used to present exams when all the other classrooms are occupied/closed. Saddened by the fact that we can use this space for something else, we (a group of students and I) decided to ask if we can recover that space, and the Modern Languages School's headmistress said "yes, of course".

However, she said that we must use it for academic purposes and not only as a space to "chill" with other people from our career. We have to admit that our plan was to turn it into a student lounge and find linguistics-related reading material so students could go there and relax while researching about whichever topic they want, but now we have to find a more academic purpose for this space.

So far we have thought of:

Have conversations with professors

Learn to write in different writing systems

Have Sign Language classes there

Learn one of our country's indigenous languages (Warao)

Establish a traductology group

Have conversation clubs in foreign languages

But we want more options/activities. So, what else do you think we can do in this space? 

Please help us recover this space.

Thank you so much!

[just-french-me-up]

hey elise! i'm just wondering, since your english is so flawless and i'm starting to learn a new language, what age did you start learning english and how long did it take you to become fluent in it?

HAHAHA According to my master’s degree Grammar/Traductology grade, my English isn’t that flawless :’)

I started studying English at school when I was around 8, and though I’ve always liked it, I wasn’t THAT into it, but I got reaaaaaaally passionate about English when I was 12. I did literall EVERYTHING in English. I got a good accent fairly quickly, and I was pretty much fluent by the time I was 16, but I still learn words everyday. If there’s one thing university has taught me (or at least my language degree) is that you never stop learning a language :3

[luciemiddleford]

Exams

If I somehow survive this end of term, I’ll promise to start studying, like, a month before the next end of term.

And damn Traductology sucks.

[contrapesto]

Regurgitating Sappho

In my Romanian course, lately we've taken to looped translations--the professor offers an English translation of a Romanian text we've yet to read, we translate that English into Romanian, and our own secondhand translation is compared to the original Romanian. For the linguist, for the philologist, the process is simply another means of exploring the malleability of language, of  developing both lexical and syntactic flexibility. Through transformation, an association is fostered between a single construction in L1 and a variety of L2 alternatives. For the linguist, for the philologist, it is merely an exercise.

But for the artificer, no.

For the artificer it is another matter altogether; it is to flush and flesh out every seme from every syllable, to take inert meaning and heave it up. I think back to the Commedia, to Dante, who had no Greek but, from what little of the Nicomachean Ethics could be passed on to him in Latin, fashioned three canticles of cunningly (though far from perfect, and for this all the more cunning) synthesized Aristotelian philosophy and Christian theology. 

Likewise, Sappho sings her fractured verses, and Quasimodo digests her words--wets them with the Italian tongue, chews them up and gnashes at them, strips them of form, that the reader may swallow them and be sated. I hope you'll pardon, then, my recent Quasimodo binge, and forgive me if I've seen fit to spit those words back out. Not in rejection, but in the desire to taste them once again.

[carumens]

im doing a traductology assignment and im dying slowly so pls talk to me

[carumens]

I wanna write but I also have to do a traductology assignment for tomorrow and the s t r u g g l e