I’m in the revisions stage now, and going back through an earlier section, I found a parenthetical note to myself that says: “no way, samovoz,” and then the page number in the hard copy. The English passage in question is this: No one saw him as he was leaving, and no one knew when did… Continue reading Impossible Historical Ideological Neologism Used in Passing
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Translation as Job, Vocation, Calling
I was once accused by a translator colleague of bringing down the going rate for translation by doing it when I had another job. This person had no idea what I charged or did not charge for doing the work, and perhaps she was angry about something else, but I remember distinctly that her comment… Continue reading Translation as Job, Vocation, Calling
Bitch or Female (dog)?
My local vet once referred to her dog, which was about to have a litter, as a bitch, and I thought nothing of it. Or rather, what I thought was that she, the vet, was using the word correctly and also perhaps somewhat provocatively. She, the vet, is also a somewhat unusual person, uses crystals… Continue reading Bitch or Female (dog)?
Visiting the End
I am getting close to the end of this translation and feeling a bit light headed. I don’t think I wrote much about the trip I took in September to Zagreb, to speak with my author, and then to Sarajevo to walk through the areas he writes so much about. It feels like a long… Continue reading Visiting the End
New Terms and Old
Lots of terms for people have regionally specific origins, and many in turn never leave such confines. The term irredentist, for instance, which my computer loves to underline in red to let me know is at least questionable if not an outright mistake, will be clear to anyone who has studied Italian unification or the… Continue reading New Terms and Old
Marking Time through Cultural Expressions
This passage has two issues. The first I don’t think I can convey without mucking up the English text with too much unnecessary explanation. The second one I can convey in several different ways, but none seems ideal. The passage is associated with the viewpoint of a man who used to be a Jesuit, then… Continue reading Marking Time through Cultural Expressions
Switching Senses for Sense
E, vidiš te kakva si! This phrase appears in a conversation between a poor couple, one of whom works as a janitor, the other as a washerwoman at a hospital. The man is telling his wife not to look at the bed linen she washes because it makes her sad. She can tell when someone… Continue reading Switching Senses for Sense
Paragraph contours, paragraph tone
There is such a thing as tonal movement in a paragraph, and Jergovic’s are, I believe, distinctive. I cannot take a lot of time out of translating now because my deadline is looming, but here is a paragraph, actually three but the first two are a single sentence each, as an example of what I… Continue reading Paragraph contours, paragraph tone
Oh my, ALTA!
What a fantastic ALTA conference that was over the weekend in Minneapolis, the fortieth anniversary of the association, with Lydia Davis and Tim Parks as perfectly matched yin and yang speakers on the passions and the torments of literary translation, and what wondrously talented and poised ALTA fellows I got to coach in their Friday… Continue reading Oh my, ALTA!
Definition of Dostoyevskian
According to Ambrose Bierce in The Devil’s Dictionary: Dostoyevskian, n. 1. Person who sees her or his interests supported by principles and laws that are in fact harmful to her or his interests; 2. by extension, person blinded by anger, spite, or other passion such that she or he is no longer capable of seeing… Continue reading Definition of Dostoyevskian
