podkidnoy durak

[Paul B. Gallagher]

Sara Stefani wrote:

> I wonder if it wouldn't be better to avoid finding an
> American/English "equivalent" (such as Uno, Old Maid, Rummy, etc.),
> since that would give an "unauthentic" feel to the translation and
> the text. I think that if I, as an American reader, were reading a
> translation of Grossman and two soldiers were playing a distinctly
> American card game, it would either strike me as odd and out of place
> or, if I didn't have much knowledge about Russian culture, I would 
> take it for granted that Russians play the same card games that 
> Americans do. Why not just translate it as "they were playing durak"
> with a footnote explaining that durak is a Russian card game?
> Granted, footnotes and annotations are clumsy and awkward - but I
> find it preferable to misleading the reader by inserting a
> culturally-inappropriate equivalent. Emily Saunders' earlier
> suggestion of just saying "they were playing cards" also seems to be
> a good option. We're familiar with how things are "lost in
> translation," but sometimes too much is added too.

This choice is a judgment call that must be made based on the purpose of 
the translation, the intended readership, etc. One size does not fit 
all. Translations are not done in an idealized vacuum, but in the real 
world, and reasonable editors may differ in any given instance.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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