SEELANGS Digest - 19 May 2010 to 20 May 2010 (#2010-178)

[Vadim Besprozvanny]

Saying that someone >is not beholden to any "theories" of translation<
isn't a big compliment. Such thing as a "good translator" simply does not
exist (the word "genius" - in order to preserve it from hyperinflation - I
would reserve for Shakespeare, Dante, Pushkin, etc.). Translation, if it
doesn't serve as an inspiration for creating a new literary work (as in
Zhukovskii, for instance), is, by definition,  an oversimplified digest 
for those who cannot/won't read/digest a text in original version and are
happy to know "what this book is about?"  

With regards,
Vadim Besprozvany

On Mon, 24 May 2010 11:42:23 -0400, Penelope Burt <burt2151 at COMCAST.NET>
wrote:
> Effusive, yes, but your reading is perhaps a little unfair?
> I think what Olga Meerson meant was that Chandler is not beholden to  
> any "theories" of translation, nor to some previous idea of what a  
> translation should sound like. And why shouldn't there be great  
> translators? I certainly hope there are and will be, and she's  
> certainly not saying Chandler is the only one.
> 
> Respectfully,
> Penny Burt
> 
> 
> On May 24, 2010, at 10:43 AM, STEPHEN PEARL wrote:
> 
>> SEELANGS Digest -19 May to 20 May 2010 contained a somewhat  
>> hyberbolic effusion from Ms. Olga Meerson under the rubric of  
>> Pushkin's "The Captains Daughter" which I would normally have let  
>> pass with a wry smile and perhaps a slight grinding of the teeth,  
>> but I find it hard to believe that I was the only reader to have  
>> been astounded by one particular assertion which has driven me to  
>> put finger to keyboard.
>>
>> According to W. Shakespeare; : " . . . some are born great, some  
>> achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them", and no  
>> doubt he felt that by this he had covered all the doorways to  
>> "greatness"
>>
>> Ms. Meerson wrote: "But not everyone is aware of your greatness,  
>> who works with the originals without resorting to translations or  
>> studying translators' considerations."
>>
>> I am not sure what is meant by " . . .studying translators'  
>> considerations", but if I have correctly construed the rest of her  
>> sentence, it would now appear that W.S. may have overlooked the  
>> possibility of a fourth doorway, namely that a translator could  
>> qualify for this supreme accolade by actually working from the text  
>> in the original language - unless, of course, this particular case  
>> can be considered to be covered by his (Shakespeare's) third doorway.
>>
>> It looks as if the rest of the translators' regiment have been  
>> marching out of step all this time.
>>                           Stephen Pearl
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --- On Fri, 5/21/10, SEELANGS automatic digest system  
>> <LISTSERV at bama.ua.edu> wrote:
>>
>>
>> From: SEELANGS automatic digest system <LISTSERV at bama.ua.edu>
>> Subject: SEELANGS Digest - 19 May 2010 to 20 May 2010 (#2010-178)
>> To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
>> Date: Friday, May 21, 2010, 1:00 AM
>>
>>
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