Translated works
are often considered a shadow of the original. And, often, they can be.
However, the art of translation can bring about an entirely new creation. The
power of the translator is enormous. Deciding the meaning of a word, in
context, is more than deciding which word to use. By selecting a word you give
meaning, specific or even new meaning, to the translated work.
Sophocles was a
master of ambiguous meaning. One of his greatest works, the plays of Oedipus,
are full of rich ambiguity. The name, Oedipus, can refer to ‘swollen foot’ and
the fact that Oedipus was taken as a baby and left, in irons, to die. The scars
of his young childhood remained with him. However, it can also refer to
‘knowing’ or ‘seeing’ which are two things that play a huge role in the story
that seals his fate. How a translator decides to play the meaning can determine
how we see the character, in different light.
Look at these
options given by author Robert Guay:
1. How dreadful to know when the knowledge does
not destroy death for the knower.
2. How dreadful to know when the knowledge does
not destroy ends for the knower.
3. How dreadful to know when the knowledge does
not fulfill death for the knower.
4. How dreadful to know when the knowledge does
not fulfill ends for the knower.
These do not mean
the same thing, yet they are all
translations, valid translations, from a line of Tiresias, the ‘blind seer’, in
the story.
Children’s
literature is full of fabulous translations, from the brothers Grimm to Pippi
Longstocking to Cornelia Funke. Sometimes, in the hands of a poet, the
translation can bring new and wonderful magic to the page. Translation is an
art unto itself.
