Translation in Literature: New & Old Approaches to Implement

Literary Translation is a tricky service. It takes a certain level of artistic sense from the translator to be considered good or excellent. This is definitely the most debated and frowned upon translation service in the world and has been in existence for decades longer than our usual translation services. There are some etiquettes and traditions that must be implemented before you can even begin working on a literary translation.

“Where literature exists, translation exists. Joined at the hip, they are absolutely inseparable, and, in the long run, what happens to one happens to the other. Despite all the difficulties the two have faced, sometimes separately, usually together, they need and nurture each other, and their long-term relationship, often problematic but always illuminating, will surely continue for as long as they both shall live.” - Edith Grossman

Literature and Translation have had a love/hate relationship since the very beginning of the trend. It all began when we wanted to read more quality literature from all over the world and, lo and behold, the English Translation Services were born. Every year, hundreds of books are translated in English for the better understanding of almost all the world. As the demand for the literary translated works increased some approaches were made that were considered standard all over the world. However, some new approaches were made and now they have become a part of the literary translation services.

This side of the translation services is based a lot on your expression. It is very hard to find a translator who matches the original writer’s expression, but it is not impossible. Most of the time, translators fixate on bringing clarity to the text rather than choosing the words that are closest to the ones used by the original author. For an avid reader and literature lover, translated works lack the “fun” of finding the clarity on their own. Some people might even feel robbed of the rush that comes with discovering things on their own, deciphering meanings that are meant to be found by the reader and his own perception.

So while keeping everything under consideration, I have come up with some must haves in every literary translation. This will keep the translator, the original author and the reader happy. Take a look at them and see what they can do for the literary translation sales.

Pay special attention to the plot twists. Remember that every single paragraph of the novel is going to hold something indigenous to the overall plot (if confused, check the Harry Potter series).
Remember to add everything the author wrote, that is a MUST!
Keep the feel, mood and atmosphere of the novel in your mind. You will have to mimic it as best as you can. That can make or break the novel in the translated version.
Never, ever, ever show off! You have a good vocabulary? That is good, great even, but keep the original text in mind because you are providing a translation (an exact translation) of the words written by the author. There is no need for the fancy words if the text does not need it.

These are simple things, but they have a huge impact on the novel and your overall service. So try to stay as true to the text as you can and happy translating.

Related Blogs

AI with Human Quality Control (QC): Impact on Translation

The long and tiring debate between AI translations and human translators still stands. When it comes to speed and efficiency,

Translators will have the chance to get Man Booker prize from 2024

The world's most famous international literary prize has for the first time now, opened up to translations. The Booker Prize Foundation

5 Business Trends That Will Continue to Rise in 2024

What Makes the Business Boom at the End of the Year? Lots of factors come to mind like stock exchange, marketing

Paris Olympics 2024: Culture, Language and Sports

From 26 July 2024 to 11 August 2024, Paris will remain lit to commence the show of skill and bravery,

How Was 2023 for E-commerce Sector in China?

With the advancement in technology and digitization influencing the business sector globally in 2019, some of the countries emerged as

Mother's Day: Things to Do to Show Your Love with Mom

To be a mother means to become more than just someone who bears children. She is the backbone and silent

Christmas Celebrations Across the Globe

Christmas celebration is one of the important festivities of winter. People start waiting for the winter holidays so that they

AI and Neural Machine Translation for Translation Industry in 2020s

The world is an ever-shifting paradigm of technology and the digital revolution. As technology breaks down cultural and linguistic borders,

Top 10 Translation and Localization Companies

Any business that you start soon becomes a part of you. Like a child, you nurture it, help it grow,

Translation in Literature: New & Old Approaches to Implement

Related Blogs

WHAT WE DO

Resources

Mars Translation Blog

FREE TOOLS

SUPPORT