The production of any translation is a challenge; the translator is required to have an impeccable grasp of often very specific vocabulary and complex grammatical structures of both the document’s original and target languages. The smallest detail, such as a missing accent or letter, is critical to the success of a translation. However, when this is combined with features such as wordplay, humour, cultural references and many others, the translator is faced with a very challenging task. This is the reality of literary translation.
Given the inherent subjectivity of fictional literature, there is technically no single ‘objective’ way of translating a literary text; every reader processes a text in his or her own way, and the translator is certainly no exception. The literary translator has a lot of power as he or she has control over what is emphasised and the way that a piece of information is transmitted.
For instance, let’s take the example of Oscar Wilde’s play, ‘The importance of being Earnest’. The original title in English is a pun on the name Ernest and the quality of being earnest. This obviously poses great difficulty when translating into foreign languages and seeing how different translators have gone about this is an excellent way of gaining an insight into the craft of literary translation. In the case of Spanish, the adjective ‘earnest’ is not a cognate of the English. Consequently, an alternative solution is required. One potential rendering could be ‘La importancia de ser Franco’ (substituting ‘earnest’ with ‘frank’ but therefore retaining the pun). However, in light of the legacy of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship in Spain, this title would have strong political connotations that are misleading. For this reason, most Spanish translations leave the name untranslated; as ‘La importancia de llamarse Ernesto’, thus neglecting the iconic pun in the original. This just goes to show how, in some cases, literary translation can never achieve complete accuracy.
Despite such difficulties, there is some positive news. This type of translation has been around for centuries and, whilst undoubtedly challenging, it is a very rewarding craft for those who possess the necessary skill set and, just as importantly, a passion for literature and language.
One excellent example of this is Vladimir Nabokov. Most famous as the author of ‘Lolita’, Nabokov’s body of work spans over several decades and, crucially, over several languages: Russian, English and French. Whilst the writer’s first works were produced in his native Russian, Nabokov rose to international prominence for his subsequent prose written in the English language, of which ‘Lolita’ is an example. Interestingly, the official Russian translation of ‘Lolita’ was produced by Nabokov himself! Nabokov stated that ‘Lolita’, in his opinion, was at risk of being “entirely degraded and botched by vulgar paraphrases or blunders” if translated into Russian and so he took the task upon himself.
Aside from translating his own works, Nabokov famously translated and produced a commentary for Alexander Pushkin‘s novel in verse, ‘Eugene Onegin’. The footnote in this commentary, entitled ‘Notes on Prosody’, has gained extensive critical acclaim for its analysis of the differences between the effects of verse forms in English and Russian. This goes to show how the translation of literary texts often requires just as much artistry as the production of the original literary text itself.
To the frustration of some, we can’t always achieve perfection when translating literature and we would often have to make compromises in the process. However, this is what makes literary translation all the more fascinating. Literary translation is the key to ensuring that knowledge is accessible to people from all around the world, rather than only to a select group of people. It is one of the best ways of breaking down barriers between us all.