Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparrow
Are there really any reasons why a translation can't be better than the original?
When we read a translated book; whose creative work are we experiencing the most? (Have I really read 'War and Peace' if I've only read it in translation?)
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I'm probably prejudiced, but I don't thing a translation can be as good as the original. It isn't just the translating, but also the reading. I've read plenty of early/mid medieval texts from the original parchments, but I have no doubt that a contemporary listener from the time would have a completely different context from which to understand meaning. I have not yet figured out how to get into that mindset. Honestly not sure that I want to!