[Ads-l] Adage: Traduttori traditori (Translators, traitors)

[Mark Mandel]

The article
<https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100621180327AAZp4yv> on
Yahoo! Answers | Society and Culture | Languages includes an answer posted
7 years ago by "Ray L."; note the 2nd paragraph:

"Traduttore traditore" is a classic aphorism - usually translated
> "Translator: traitor" - to the effect that all language translation
> involves distortion (a "betrayal" of the original).
>
> It's also classic because it's an example of exactly what it describes:
> even though the meaning comes through in English, the pun of the close
> similarity between the Italian words is destroyed.
>

Mark


. <http://X-Clacks-Overhead.dw/GNU-Terry_Pratchett>  .
<http://www.gnuterrypratchett.com/>


On Sun, Apr 2, 2017 at 7:14 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
wrote:

> > On Apr 2, 2017, at 5:49 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> wrote:
> >
> > Thanks Ben. While searching I came across some instances of the longer
> > version of the saying. Interestingly, an 1824 Italian book suggested
> > that the phrase was an English proverb.
> >
> > Year: 1824 (M.DCCC.XXIV)
> > Title: Aloune prose del conte Giambatista Giovio
> > Publisher: Per Giovanni Silvestri, Milano
> >
> > https://books.google.com/books?id=Wl80AAAAMAAJ&q=traduttori#v=snippet&
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > E un proverbio inglese, e quasi una verità d'ogni idioma, che i
> > traduttori sono traditori.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
>
> If so, given the lack of suitable rhymed nominals, this is one of those
> passages that improve with translation (which is ironic, given the
> proverb), like (according to some) Poe’s poetry translated by Baudelaire.
> Can’t think of a word meaning ‘translator' that rhymes with “traitor” or
> vice versa.  The best I can come up with at the moment is
> “renderer-offenderer”.
>
> LH
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org