conundrm

[Mary Delle LeBeau]

I have been baffled following the conversation over the translation efforts of this phrase.  Sometimes we get so involved in making the translation express the other language accurately and forget about good English.  Some of the proposed translations have made me shake my head.  For a translation to work it has to be seamless English, unless, as in the case of Robert Chandler's Platonov translations, where the language asks for less than seamless.

For these reasons I think this version works the best.  "They built a confectionery factory and a pasta one." The particle 'a' doesn't disturb English speakers. It usually means one. And a repetition of factory is overkill.

Yours,
Mary Delle LeBeau
Independent Scholar

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