You should translate (out of copyright) Russian literate into English (if it's not already) and sell the books on LuLu. Your chance to both corrupt our Western tastes and create a revenue stream for yourself as well. What's not to like?
i think that i'm a born un-translator (born not-translator). my pathologic uncertainty made all the years of translating a hell for me. when you translate, you have dozens or hundreds of options at every step that you make, and they all matter. i tried to translate a page of 'door in the wall' while we were in the village, and only confirmed that taking breaks from translating doesn't make it neither worse, nor better. it's always a purgatory!
Maybe you're trying too hard? Translating technical writings probably does require a good degree of accuracy, but with fiction, as long as the plot's the same, I'd think getting the feel of the writing right is all that matters. And there's no reason why your take on the book shouldn't shine though, any more than a film-director's take on a book shouldn't be apparent on the screen.
"Door in the Wall"? It rang a bell, but I was expecting a Russian work - not H. G. Wells! (I read a huge amount of Wells' books when I was young.)
Anyway, have you ever tried translating from Russian to English?
translating technical stuff requires preserving the meaning and the style, but not subtleties, which i think should be preserved in fiction. not all fiction, maybe, but still translators always have a number of options - for any word, turn, construction, everything. that may be not so bad for someone, but my uncertainty makes me stall at every option and worry that i make a wrong choice (spoiling someone else's thing -or even baby - entrusted to me). with all this variety in translation, you're still completely restricted by the original text. in art, you have choices too, and they may be difficult, but since you create an original thing, your choices are mostly unlimited, which means freedom. too many options means you don't need to think of options at all. i've tried translating a few pages of Marina Tsvetaeva memoirs into english a long time ago, and i remember that it in fact was much more fun than the other way around: exactly because i have fewer options when writing in english! or because i don't have a perfect command of most patterns, they are still not fixed, not so overused as the russian ones. creativity shrinks as patterns kick in, and i'm bored by nearly all patterns in the russian language. which means that i cannot use them in any way that is not boring.
i've tried translating a few pages of Marina Tsvetaeva memoirs into english a long time ago, and i remember that it in fact was much more fun than the other way around
There you go!
exactly because i have fewer options when writing in english!
Or maybe just because it's not your native tongue? I would think your knowledge of English would be more formal than those who've grown up with it. Native speakers can get away with mangling it with impunity!
Googles Marina Tsvetaeva... Well, not old enough to steal from. (And it seems there's lots in English already.) What's something you love, is out of copyright and which is unknown of in the West - or at least in the English-speaking West?
And not quite totally off topic. What's the name of the Gilbert & Sullivan song about having a list of names? Should you happen to know it...
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-05 11:04 pm (UTC)Don't worry - your English is very good.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-05 11:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-06 12:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-06 10:49 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-06 11:30 pm (UTC)"Door in the Wall"? It rang a bell, but I was expecting a Russian work - not H. G. Wells! (I read a huge amount of Wells' books when I was young.)
Anyway, have you ever tried translating from Russian to English?
Re: Thunderboxes
Date: 2008-09-07 07:58 am (UTC)with all this variety in translation, you're still completely restricted by the original text. in art, you have choices too, and they may be difficult, but since you create an original thing, your choices are mostly unlimited, which means freedom. too many options means you don't need to think of options at all.
i've tried translating a few pages of Marina Tsvetaeva memoirs into english a long time ago, and i remember that it in fact was much more fun than the other way around: exactly because i have fewer options when writing in english! or because i don't have a perfect command of most patterns, they are still not fixed, not so overused as the russian ones. creativity shrinks as patterns kick in, and i'm bored by nearly all patterns in the russian language. which means that i cannot use them in any way that is not boring.
Re: Thunderboxes
Date: 2008-09-07 08:37 am (UTC)There you go!
exactly because i have fewer options when writing in english!
Or maybe just because it's not your native tongue? I would think your knowledge of English would be more formal than those who've grown up with it. Native speakers can get away with mangling it with impunity!
Googles Marina Tsvetaeva... Well, not old enough to steal from. (And it seems there's lots in English already.) What's something you love, is out of copyright and which is unknown of in the West - or at least in the English-speaking West?
And not quite totally off topic. What's the name of the Gilbert & Sullivan song about having a list of names? Should you happen to know it...