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Short Stories Online, Day 30
Thursday, March 22nd, 2007 01:22 pm'Humiliation', by Guy de Maupassant.
I've found that a good indication of the quality of translation is the flow of dialogue -- and this story is almost all dialogue. The translation here feels smoother, to me, than the Penguin 60 version of Gigi (Colette) that I've just finished reading. And one of the books I've least enjoyed reading, ever, was at least partly ruined by a careless and clumsy translation.
Anyone care to comment on the joys and difficulties of translation? Are some languages easier than others? Some styles?
I've found that a good indication of the quality of translation is the flow of dialogue -- and this story is almost all dialogue. The translation here feels smoother, to me, than the Penguin 60 version of Gigi (Colette) that I've just finished reading. And one of the books I've least enjoyed reading, ever, was at least partly ruined by a careless and clumsy translation.
Anyone care to comment on the joys and difficulties of translation? Are some languages easier than others? Some styles?
