Quote:
Originally Posted by ficbot
Take for example something like the Three Musketeers series, which was originally written in French. English versions are widely available and are a good read. I would read it in French just for the sake of it but don't really believe I would enjoy it more...
|
It takes a good knowledge of the language and culture to really enjoy reading the original version (well, except if the translation is crap).
The most frequent translation errors that I see are linked to expressions or cultural background.
There is a funny example in the Eco essay about a translation of "training courses" from English to French in the context of scientists getting some training to improve their skills. It ended up translated as "courses de train", which means "train races" ...
EDIT : after re-reading myself, it's not a very good example for what I was saying.
Gotta go back to work, no time to find another one
Quote:
Originally Posted by ficbot
The one exception so far has been song lyrics. I teach with some Disney songs and a few of them have versions in French that are better than the English ones---and I can see a little more clearly how a translator takes liberties because they often have to change things to keep it rhyming.
|
In the case of song lyrics, I feel it's more in the realm of adaptation than translation because, as you said, there are additional criteria about rhyming and rythm.
You also see this in movies. The subtitles and dubbing often differ a bit as they address different criteria.