Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
Also, a translator establishes an additional copyright point where copyright depends on life.
|
Good point.
For the translation.
Essentially a translated work is a new copyright as it's a new derived work. You also need permission from the rights holder if not PD. But even if it's PD the new work has the same copyright as any new original work.
So IMO the name of the translator should be on the cover. If the illustrations are significant part of the work that should be on the cover and often is.
Sometimes the cover artist is credited on the rear cover on outside
Front cover illustration by John Howe (LOTR single volume paperback).
The translator is almost as important as the author. Any good translation needs an expert in the source language, normally target should be native language and needs to be as good as writer with words as pure literal translation is poor. It needs to partly be a paraphrase, but not to the extent of totally conversion to the target language culture. Idioms , words and grammar in the new language might also need to be older than contemporary the older the source text is.
I was amazed actually by Conrad. For years I assumed someone had translated his books because he learned English as an adult. So likely some people are good enough to translate in to a language they aren't native in.