[Lexicog] Re: When Semantics Doesn't Matter

[bolstar1]

Hayim, I liked your points, point by point. 
I'm a little confused though about your reference to the Bible 
translation. The New Testament needs differentiation from the Old 
Testament. The New Testament was derived from Greek, not Hebrew. It 
was clumped together with the Old Testament, into what modern 
Christians call "The Bible." Hebrew (Aramaic language), with Hebrew 
writing being the source text of the Old Testament (written and 
spoken by Hebrews) --  was copied, text for text, point by point, 
iota by iota........from generation to generation -- assumably from 
the hand of Moses himself.  
     But the New Testament, largely written by Paul the Apostle to 
Greek cities and Greek Christians, was translated from Greek. 

Scott Nelson

 lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com, Hayim Sheynin <hsheynin19444 at ...> 
wrote:
>
> <<Shakespeare is better in German translation.>>
> 
> Let me share some thoughts relating to this generalization.
> 1. For whom Shakespeare is better in German translation? It is
> clearly for the people who know German better than English.
> 2. Can you imagine that somebody knows a second language
> better than his native language (mother's tongue)?
> 3. Is this generalization relates to a feeling of a scholar 
(philologist,
> linguist, literary scholar) or an impression of a common reader.
> 4. Are in German literary references of Shakespeare and his sources
> are better understood?
> 5. Do Shakespeare's witticisms and phraseology sound better in 
translation?
> 6. Can anybody state that KJV of the Bible or German Luther's 
translation
> or any other translation of the Bible be better than Hebrew 
original.
> 7. Can anybody state that any translation of a classical work (I 
mean 
> one written in classical Greek or ancient Latin) be better than the 
original?
> 8. There are many excellent translations from language A to 
language B,
> and how laudable they can be they never are going to be equal to the
> original.
> 9. If somebody who tried his hand in translation can confirm the 
statement 
> above, it would be interesting to analyze this.
> However taking in account all the aspects of translation it is very 
difficult
> to accept this opinion.
> 
> Hayim Sheynin   
> 
> bolstar1 <bolstar1 at ...> wrote:                                  
Bill: Now I'm chuckling over your point about Shakespeare reading 
>  better in German than in English(I know it wasn't your own 
statement, 
>  but it was just so darn cute.) This would be an example of the use 
of, 
>  for lack of a better term, hyperbolic hyperbole. I have always 
thought 
>  it a waste of time, personally, to have read through all of 'War 
and 
>  Peace' -- you know, that tidbit of a book by Leo-the-Sparse -- 
without 
>  enjoying Leo's rhetorical genius (Oh, what I must have missed in 
the 
>  translation.) Leo T.quaintly once said of Shakespeare, ""The works 
of 
>  Shakespeare, borrowed as they are, and externally, like mosaics, 
>  artificially fitted together piecemeal from bits invented for the 
>  occasion, have nothing whatever in common with art and poetry." 
>      Granted, Tolstoy may have been in a temporary stupor, or maybe 
his 
>  wife had spilled hot coffee on his pants that morning, or perhaps 
he 
>  didn't read a German translation of Shakespeare......but whatever 
the 
>  reason, he may be in on the theory that Shakespeare wasn't such a 
hot 
>  literary number as he is purported to be. I'd like to see more 
proof of 
>  this though. 
>  
>  Scott Nelson
>   
>  
>  --- In lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com, billposer@ wrote:
>  >
>  > I have been told by people whose knowledge of both
>  > Shakespeare and German is better than my own that
>  > Shakespeare is better in German translation.
>  > It seems odd that anything would be better in translation,
>  > but I suppose that the English of Shakespeare is sufficiently
>  > different from Modern English that this may be like saying
>  > that Shakespeare is better in Modern German translation than
>  > in Modern English translation, which is not so implausible.
>  > 
>  > Bill
>  >
>  
>  
>      
>                        
> 
>        
> ---------------------------------
> Got a little couch potato? 
> Check out fun summer activities for kids.
>




 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexicographylist/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexicographylist/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    mailto:lexicographylist-digest at yahoogroups.com 
    mailto:lexicographylist-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    lexicographylist-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/