{"id":92,"date":"2016-07-11T15:54:37","date_gmt":"2016-07-11T23:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.annhuang.com\/blog\/?p=92"},"modified":"2017-12-11T11:51:38","modified_gmt":"2017-12-11T19:51:38","slug":"when-a-poem-is-translated-from-the-original-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/11\/when-a-poem-is-translated-from-the-original-language\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happens When a Poem is Translated from the Original Language?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"poetry<\/a><\/p>\n

Languages are wonderful devices that have their own nuances that add to a poem\u2019s depth. Rather than learn several different languages to enjoy the works of international poets, professionals translate them. While translations allow you get a general idea of what a poet communicates, they often don\u2019t capture a poem\u2019s true essence. By being aware of how translations change a work, as well as cultural considerations, you can derive a deeper meaning from the words on the page.<\/p>\n

How Translations Change Poems<\/h3>\n

Missing Linguistic Equivalents<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every culture uses phrases that don\u2019t make sense when directly translated into another language. In Spanish, for example, the phrase, \u201cNada que ver,\u201d directly translates to, \u201cNothing to see.\u201d In reality, the phrase means that one idea or circumstance has nothing to do with another (e.g., Missing lunch had nothing to do with getting a flat tire). If a translator is not aware of the linguistic nuances and its equivalents, a reader will not grasp the full meaning of a poem.<\/p>\n

Linguistic Evolution<\/strong><\/p>\n

All languages evolve. This evolution gives birth to new languages. It sparks cultural revolutions and introduces one society to another.<\/p>\n

When speaking English, individuals no longer say \u201cthy,\u201d \u201cwhere for art thou,\u201d and other phrases unless they\u2019re intentionally using old English. If you don\u2019t know what these phrases mean, it might be hard to understand Shakespearean works. Similarly, when modern interpreters translate ancient works and fail to account for the historical context of a poet\u2019s words, the true meaning of the words might get lost.<\/p>\n

Translator Inference<\/strong><\/p>\n

When translators interpret poetry, they change the words into something that they\u2019re not so another audience can appreciate them. This makes the audience dependent on the translator\u2019s understanding and knowledge of the poem, the poem\u2019s original language, and the target language. If a translator lacks in any of these areas, the interpretation will not be as exact or faithful to original work. It becomes the translator\u2019s poem, not what you necessarily intended to read.<\/p>\n

Voice<\/strong><\/p>\n

A good translation maintains the original poet\u2019s voice. Translators must choose words wisely to interpret and shape the text, and remain true to its rhythm, tone, logic, imagery and aesthetics. In this respect, a good translator must be as equally artistic as the poet is.<\/p>\n

Cultural Considerations When Reading Translated Poems<\/h3>\n

Poets reference the world around them, making poems a means of cultural enrichment. A reader might not understand the significance of tin flatware or plain chipware in Gwendolyn Brooks\u2019 The Bean Eaters<\/em>, for instance, if they\u2019re not familiar with household items that lower class Americans used in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

Translating poetry is a subjective activity in which the professional is restrained by cultural and social factors. Professionals must understand the values, rules, attitudes, history and beliefs of the poet\u2019s culture. They must understand how the poet felt and how the new audience will feel, as well as identify common cultural experiences and functional equivalents.<\/p>\n

Culture-specific references in poetry include those about the names of places, foods, drinks, national pastimes, education, politics, art, history, legal systems, institutions, animals and religions. A translator must understand their significance when examining metaphors and allusions.<\/p>\n

Grammar, gender and syntax are other important considerations when interpreting poetry. English is a gender-neutral language, while many other languages identify words as masculine or feminine. It also uses pronouns and punctuation marks differently than other languages. A translator must understand how the different grammatical elements in a work apply to a poem to provide an effective translation.<\/p>\n

Examples of Famous Translated Works<\/h3>\n

Always<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Pablo Neruda<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I am not jealous<\/p>\n

of what came before me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Come with a man on your shoulders,<\/p>\n

come with a hundred men in your hair,<\/p>\n

come with a thousand men<\/p>\n

between your breasts and your feet.<\/p>\n

Come like a river full of drowned men<\/p>\n

which flows down to the wild sea,<\/p>\n

to the eternal surf, to Time!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bring them all to where I am waiting for you;<\/p>\n

We shall always be alone,<\/p>\n

we shall always be you and I,<\/p>\n

alone on earth to start our life!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dance<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Rumi<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dance when you’re broken open.<\/p>\n

Dance when you’ve torn the bandage off.<\/p>\n

Dance in the middle of fighting.<\/p>\n

Dance in your blood.<\/p>\n

Dance when you’re perfectly free.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To a Creole Lady<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Charles Baudelaire<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Translation I:<\/p>\n

In scented countries by the sun caressed<\/p>\n

I’ve known, beneath a tent of purple boughs,<\/p>\n

and palm trees shedding slumber as they drowse,<\/p>\n

a creole lady with a charm unguessed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She’s pale, and warm, and duskily beguiling;<\/p>\n

Nobility is moulded in her neck;<\/p>\n

Slender and tall she holds herself in check,<\/p>\n

an huntress born, sure-eyed, and quiet-smiling.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Should you go, Madam, to the land of glory<\/p>\n

along the Seine or Loire, where you would merit<\/p>\n

to ornament some mansion famed in story,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Your eyes would bum in those deep-shaded parts,<\/p>\n

and breed a thousand rhymes in poets’ hearts,<\/p>\n

tamed like the negro slaves that you inherit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Translation II:<\/p>\n

I met, among the amber tamarinds<\/p>\n

and lotus leaves, blue seas and empty space,<\/p>\n

down on a sun-touched island\u2019s scented sands,<\/p>\n

a lady whose great charm seemed out of place.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Black hair, enchanting eyes and olive skin,<\/p>\n

a bearing of aristocratic grace \u2013<\/p>\n

the long-limbed, slim young huntress, wild Diane,<\/p>\n

with quiet self-assurance on her face.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Madam, if you should visit Glory\u2019s land,<\/p>\n

along the Seine, beside the green Loire\u2019s strand,<\/p>\n

our noblemen would beg you for your hand,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A thousand new love songs would germinate<\/p>\n

in budding groves where poets meditate,<\/p>\n

more docile than those slaves you now command.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Translating poetry is a difficult task. Rather than forego the works of international writers, immerse yourself in different translations to derive the poet\u2019s original meaning for yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Languages are wonderful devices that have their own nuances that add to a poem\u2019s depth. Rather than learn several different languages to enjoy the works of international poets, professionals translate them. While translations allow you get a general idea of what a poet communicates, they often don\u2019t capture a poem\u2019s true essence. By being aware […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,26],"tags":[25,11,16,5,6,23,24],"class_list":["post-92","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry-language","category-poetry-translation","tag-charles-baudelaire","tag-experimental-poetry","tag-pablo-neruda","tag-poetry-form","tag-poetry-structure","tag-poetry-translation","tag-rumi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95,"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92\/revisions\/95"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}