1 Bassnett

You might also like

Download as pdf
Download as pdf
You are on page 1of 9
re _,.WOANOrTS,,_ TOPICS IN TRANSLATION 8 sere stor: Susan Basset (Unive of Wow ana ‘Save Lever Ueto es, dst) Translation, Power, Subversion alited by Romén Alvarez and M. Carmen-Africa Vidal ‘Sipe aot Fen ng eon a, ‘cnn fv att bk naman ‘MULTILINGUAL MATTERS LTD ‘os Road enon BSN ge. Clevedon © Philadelphia © Adelaide 7 gp MEEK OR THE MIGHTY a bch poet wih lferent talent writes, Bie ices one structs, another bite. lore di ee spite Fpick Bays 2 The Meek or the Mighty: | Metteyerhiincirsictns Reappraising the Role of ee ater coe ben the Translator -Ricpoose an Author as you choose a Friend, inky thes sympatetck Bond, gow far, ntiate aed fond. Fee Fought, your Word, your Ses, your Souls agree, onger Ns rterpetr, but He mous passage scognizes « distinction between the act of wie the act of renting campletely new pac of wong, but "Eamlation in ong tens. True the glstest prabe goes 0 Sion butte sks nvatved in the translation proces are special Roseman acknowledges thatthe ask of the treat ist te source ten snd suggests thatthe cal which ones most Frat fudgemeat caer than invention Having defended the ie in pnp, he goes on Yo point out te variety of wing and uviceto anyone interest in tenslating. Th wansator isto choose oselet an author with whom teresa sense of empathy, what (Soympatetick bond. Through ths edationshp an by means coding ofthe source author's work esablsis takes pace ane tor and suborof the source extarefusedina mystical organic gchip where they coset outa separate entities ae becm One. Pat Ine tye tals the taelator cones to be an interpreter and outes writer forthe target reader ew ofthe muhs-tanaatrrlaonship ears strong similares tmodemist theories of the watrseader-tansator relationship. anata theory hae steve the vital ofthe tars in the ive proces, and aw rmoved away from the old tea of the or san etrayer ofthe pure source txt. Derida argues that Inn serves fo remind us Gat there ix no absolute meaning, no fed engin, The act of taelating i dynamic, bringing texts erin ply of sulle mneaings Pierence ie never pure no more sos translation and for he notion imation we woulda to substitute anoton of rasfomatio:& | Feglated tracformaten of ne language by another, of ne text BY other We will never have and infact never had, 9 do with some snd translation spect fo evangelice o preach te gospel Prochins that dapte the lowines of our eat, the Werk we oh everthees signet Trenaeton, tener i of ding pope f isto often poorly paid itis wok ht demands sigh Seg ofa butirepeid with low satnd iow rgur Someone whom havespet ete traning il be eda veal, and whe ‘easltormay have seqered septation fr ether inset wing ab, xe often finds ets clstyng Waltons nese catony lg wa juvenia or cry deat Taniton has een fcqucty, conto tstavourbly wit ‘gia wet ek of ls at oro form of tring forthe eal” ren f wating. nan ey ced ‘Confessions of Translator, ph Neon mss onthe problem af Alstngushing betveen wing a tach Tas to young i the crime fat oak sitheaiyforapot {0 walt? Lot tre ot trating is to Foe, 9 food Piste of work whe wang forthe Viton? This qeron has preoccupied wsiter/tenlatr fc ery lng tne ‘te Bal of Rsconenon (168-85) struggles with te ston beech ‘he to paso wring se ome oa npr concn “Tete, Composing isthe able Pat, et good Translation no ae A Fer the matedalshave lang sine bon found Yetbott your Fane and your Hance ar bound, ‘Any improving wate tbls, Invention bur bt jadgement move ” ‘TRANSLATION, POWER, SUBVERSION -eanportof pure sgfes from one lnguage to another, of wid cea thre langue tthe sgn seen would, epnned ntouche ess approach to transition has ch common wih the Ear of | Roscommon’ Views for both draw atten to the procs of exchange | frat interchange tht takes place during tarslaing, and both we te ‘etphode language of human relssonsfip to ilsate the segment Roscommon depicts the translator gradually becoming s lavalved ith ‘hevoure author that mysterious transfreation kes plac and thee se fed into new oneness. Dera dws upon the figurative language | Walter Benjani, and he dstinctonbetwess dere (ostvive ee | {filer (o survive, to contin ive) to show how the tarlaon | ‘ures the contin of sores ext diet ent the old notion | ‘ofthe waslation a dininstion ofthe source orabetrayaloe Trandation therefore becomes the at that ensures teh of te xt and gunrntes| its survival ar fom trading the pure orginal the tanelaton injects ‘ew if lod into a txt by ging tf te sterton ofa new word ot ‘der in lferen language Osavio Par clebraestanslton at ‘means of helping us to undertand the multaeted world we Bei pt on had he word promt ou a caletn of | Sinilaries: on the other, = growing heap of txt each {ieee oe cone oat esate tals | of eran ach tt ig Jet a te ete I he rarlation of anther text. No tx can becenpltely erga becrue | language navy exece ales tthe fon ‘the nonverbal weld and then becnse each sgnandesch phrase temsltonofaneter sign, another phrase ‘hs postive, assertive perspective ontasltion i a wekome change ater a lng pesiod dng which tenlation ha been seen i more ‘egative ight. The dsanne of trnalaton has tended to ste Unt "egaiiy anlation has been described as ‘seomdary, mechanical’, ‘derivative taslatin is ‘apy mbt, apo version of ts superior orginal. This discos Gace to traneeoe fo eet or theenterrs of rarsating this iewedsles valuable another forms of weting. Taranto im ths persdign ts servile activity and the ‘Cansltel tert stands in lower poelon eau the hegenene onion ofthe oar text Resistance to the notion of talon as a secondary, second cass activity as acral in seen year paral he development oft Aiscpine of Treslation Scien and fo the thetic! work hat has ‘qHE MEEK O8 THE MIGHTY o secsiderel the power relationship between writer and reader The, rf the dell ofthe author ust inevitably lea to the death af the i nc te ga cst, tna. 9 on eed a viding to tard the tranastr elas from alt a a i ecm eg tery tem rain a ge eeepc oe er a ns hostel gist etna Earworm ie aly nin nang ie romero rere Se ae ero eterna felt Renkin a ee eee Semeemtinen errand enrages Berea ermr tenes foe ey Set ere ent oe ey freien a eee Se oe Foes eens mereinenrireee hire etn apt ac ‘a es id ocr etn achat cater Menynnespese Sig foe eect eee Seer ee i tacit rte a eve tegen ae eng ia ren ees ee ee cone rete Se ection ke i Seger eee ee oe ig aoe Oe ae eee Sines a secmnemimne Neat ten ee ere Sey ieee ne eg wh ene ees nec i Soe teeta Shires oe eee te es oe Se sees er 1“ TRANSLATION, POWER, SUBVERSION eis goncrlly considered hat Etienne Doe’ (159-46) La mire de bien trate Te langue ens (The way to tonsa wel from one Tanguoge to anit) ls the earliest treatse on tasation in a moder, ‘Butea language Printed in 150, lays down five basic rales for the tractor to follow, Pll, he translator must ‘understand perfectly the ‘Searing tnd the subject tater ofthe ator he tarsats". TRS I ‘iaure thet the (anlar may avoid obscuty ad produce a ansaton (hat Is lee nd ineligible Second, the translator must have erect [nowidge ofthe source language and have ‘tchievedthesame excellence [ne language he wan totale int’ Thi sto ensure that nether Tanguage fin any way dimbished, and quite a diel view of treclation fran ptcunly onthe need for expat in he our Tenguage Thin, and signify, the tanlator ust ‘not enter info avery by tanaiting word for word. This metaphor reinforces Doe's Seer thet the role of the tole isan ative one ad thatthe felationshipbetven writer and translator is one of equality and nt of eerince, Ths leds faz on ois fours pot which concems the Alevelopment of vemacular languages,» erally Imporsnt sue in Renaissance Humanist Europe, Wha Dole propost is forthe taneator fo be bold enough to use the language of common currency and to avoid Sichaians or excssive linia, The tranlator should avoid ‘novelties panel by conosty’snd should use are words only incase of diene, ‘nally the translator ould ‘obeeve the Sure of pose’ snd aang ‘words with such sweetness that the soul ie sted and the eae ae ‘plese The noe forthe tanelafor to creates texthat sharmonious and Flossing tothe seader ir says Dole, absolutely Fundamental, Without foervtin ofthis reall traelaion willbe heavy sed unpleasant ‘5x yeas after the publication ofthe fve rules for good tanlatin, wich wore to have formed part of leper projet onthe at of poetry, Dolet ras hanged and burned tthe stale. His aexusers condemned him todenth or hess, onarcount of histraelton not of Chestan tx but Gt tex by Ploe Too Hermans suggests tht the seeds of Dok’ “isracon were alrendy vein the ive rls for Doe was advocating tot only # ae of pracical guidelines fr translators but also radical Calor! pelicy by emphasising the ned for yi harmony and forthe Se of ¢ conmon Tangunge, Bolt was aesrting the ight of modern to the same stafus ab thal enjoyed by the ancient languages. Despite the prevailing bei of eclesintcalnahores in the supremacy ‘ol the Latin or Greek rginal’, Dott argued tht vernacular languages ul any opal weight What he wae lectvly proposing with the five e {He MBEK OR THE MIGHTY 1s rules was therefore snotion of ranslation 2 vital ment inthe creation Grenational cater Dole’ English humanist counterpst, Sir Thoms More (477-1535, as equally sae ofthe power of translations shaping force calze Ji pole against the Bible translator Wiliam Tyndale (21494-1530, ‘tho wes alo burned atthe stake in Antwerp for heretal earlation Tetvtes, Mote shows how the subtle use of language could aller the Interpretation ofthe Serpe: “Hi changed the word church nto this word congregation, becuse he ‘wouldbrng tin question which werethe church andsetforh Luther's Foresy thatthe zc which we shouldallbebeve ant obey, sot Connon own buy of all heist else remaining in the fat of {Ghat and he changed pret into senior Desawe be intend set, {oath Lather’ heresy techn hat peesthood so sacrament bute ‘fice of ny man or aay woman appointed by the people to presch ‘Kod he changed penanct ilo repenting boca he would forth Tater's heresy teaching Bint pone no sherament™ Mors attack on Tyndale exposes th idelogial implications of translation practice, Lefevre argues dat a culture sruinizs Warlation with spall etention wherever the text beng anaes perceived 3s ‘inal fo that calle” Honco the Bible, espeally inthe pened of the Reformation came under parol seratay and arstators suspected of deviating tom the scooped normative meaning were severely pushed. for or the wse ofthe veacult by Tyndale offered a means of making Alocsna change to the ible by ste uss of te language and this he found an unacceptable hereay. Tyndale, for his part coula have dalmed that he was merely following Doles advice to good translators and teckingslisacion with commen usage. Nevertls, ere was 9 fine ne between “englahing’ the Ble and sewsiting i rom a reformist potion, and it was the ascent of where atraslto stood on at ine {atanean the diference between lf and death. Martin Luther, ofcourse, fisingushed between Sbesaoy and teeth, and Northern ‘Barope the question of inguitc and cultural polities wasintately eked ‘orion le’ La mane de bios trader. was not oly the fist systematic ‘Saenent ins weracolar angusge shout wandlaton metesology; twas ‘tka a statement tat acknowedged the ideolopial dimersion of tal tion practi, ecopniing that far more lappens when we tanta than ‘merely the tonaerence atx coe language boundary. The French 6 TRANSLATION, POWER, SUBVERSION Inquisition was lly cognizant of that too, hence Dolet’s tragic and ccntimely ed ‘Spelled toobeythesourcetext and is autor deveiopedinthesintenth ‘and seventeenth centusies, the age of great colonialist outside ‘Birope:Dejdan in his dedicaton to Ris tansation of The Aeneid (1697) ‘complained tht ranslators were ‘sve fored to Tabour on another {nfs plantation’ This iearchia model of translation contrast wth he ‘way in which transliton was viewed in earkir centuries and is inked © ‘Changes in both the perception and eration of ultra product: The Invention of printing nd given the euhor «new status hs ovner OF ‘ofthe book The idan ofa common poof materia frm which ‘uthor could draw, as exemplified ina text suchas Mallory’ slate fioenth ‘try Morte Arka, which refers thoughout to unspecii French Sure texts with no sense of aubservienceoribiton was paced with ‘Se canceptof the orginal the test that had lear pent fori a lest Droprstor and a esrly demarcated Roni As the nation of the ginal Expanded, 20 the notion ofthe tanslalon ae 2 notorigial, 8 sot of ‘exvative or copy also ew “The changer in perception of raralation and orginal are parle by changes in the percep ofthe colony and is European aig. If we ‘constr the tymelogy ofthe tem ‘colony’ in English which derives from the Latin colon, we find signifean hfs of meaning within a very shor period. 154, to yens ler Doles execution, the term refered simply to asetlement in a nee county. By 155, i was being used to refer fo a setdement of poople frm home, and as an indepesent Slate By 1612 the usage hd shifted otat the meaing be telly peopled inthe wny, andy 17 1:thadeometobeusedtodescre ~ ‘ope of one nationality residing in another place These subs usges ‘Of meaning lle! changes in socal realty and hegemonic change. The {nial pate of the small setianent ad expandedand Become mu ‘morecomple i termsafits elation tothe point departare The gradual development of an iden of x origina, something inherently supeio 0 ny verionsofit whethertexnor colonial estab thestartng pot Sele daminant partner onl sean als that ey variaon tothe sures ‘ext bythe trnelator could be closed ss betrayal Sigaicaly, fr teuslation and other fons of textual pace, thet dominance Was feequonty depicted in gender terme. re {1 MEEK OR THE MIGHTY ” Feminist scholarship as increasingly questioned the gender ia ofthe coorept of the bles inf, hat acre such prominence from the ‘Sentech century onvards Inert esny examining the srurence [mstsphors describing tarlaion that compre to seal set wih foninat (ale) parmer ond subservient emale) one, LoriChanberlia ‘hows how the Sal of fidelity onthe part ofthe Uaioe came tobe (epictd in gendered terms." The translation Ike a womans bound % ‘unfit if she ies This metaphor has the double elect of totheeducing woman toaninferior potion osa-isher male partner and ‘seducing tarclatin fo an inferior postion neste source text Weare {very very lng way away fom Doe's easton of the fee anslator ‘xpunding language and crating something besutfl and ending Tut although the image ofthe trnuletor a6 slave ora dulfl wife prolerated inthe ote Renassance and continued for several centuries, {Gere wasalcoancther, seemingly contradictory, prspactiveon translation fin the tWanantors ole Deyn deserted hinwelf ara ole on antes ‘nar'splantation bute also boldly declared his independence and stated tat ‘A tarsatr that would write with any force o spit ofan exgial imust never dil onthe words of his author. He ght to Poses Iimecfentely an perety comprehend the gir and sence offic autor, the nature ofthe subject, are the terms ofthe a oF subject treated of An her helen ees Nmselfan justly and with eich “fe asf he wrote an orginal wheres he who copies Word for Word lower al the epi the tei ranasion” ‘The distinction that Dryden s making heres presented in terms ofthe ld word or ord vs. enue for seve dtinton tt argued in reveling ‘ew tems The tebe shoul possess hina ofthe ator evening ctlavenustr relationship and should effectively come th onginal, ‘This the samelinef argument proposed by Roscommon butters to find Deyden seemingly sdvocating two opposite racation stages, Ontheenehand, be depts thetarsatoras bound inser to the source text whist on the other hand he urges the telat o go ‘yond words and possess himself ofthe source completely ‘An explration ofthis apparent contradiction may be found in the aering sige ofthe tera “wana? in the seventeenth centry #9 fescobe several different textual races which became confused ith ‘one another, These diferent usages can be uneveled ito tree distinc ‘Srands Fist, asthe debates on extabishing ‘ules for poetic alain ‘Show there was vely concer forthe satu ad rights of the warslte. a ‘TRANSLATION, POWER, SUBVERSION Dryden, De La Mott Pert d'Ablarcout, Cert, Bodmer and many hers proposed rage ada rte forte wanslator fo follow. De LaMote for exampl abridged Homer csiming at head kept those partof the lind orth kespingand changing many parts hate fl were Ehsoceptable The ABD Prevost (1087-1769) reduced the seven volumes ofthe English edition of Richardson's alto four explaining thathe did So because of the dificltis Pench rade agit have with Engsh Thhave suppressed English customs where they may appear shocking to other nations, of made them conform to customs prevalent in the resto Burope it seemed fo me tat those reminders of he old and {tno Bath ays which only habit poovent the Bie mses fom noticing would dishonout «book in which manners should be noble and vituons. this approich {0 tranation, Johann Jakob Bodmer (0es8-178) Contrasts ot only French and English taste But alo the vo ations, He arguce tat natons are ako rbjet to that which may be ‘Sheervedinclasesorindviduas, suggesting hat ‘rough, warlikenaton’ ‘Sule wea effin’ one will exporter dlerences trough ngage: veryone admires the vise, generous nature characteristic of the “Engh nation ani expressed in its anguage It's ay to sce why t hhastaken sosmany figurative expressions rom bod, deth and on. ‘The English fon eacyto- are images of tangs her rations abhor. rom dildo on they observe the easual way with which suicide is trente, the general contempt for fe the many Fights among men and timale. For this rneon an Engh eter of tragedies is under the ‘blips, coo spenk of puting the tage ending of his story (or at eat the elects of) onthe stage before the spectators eyes, wheres Theahed yard the weak heartsofthe nck woul ever ll ‘odimers approach one which takes into account the expectations of te target reaership se mach as the suthouty of the source text and though is generalized assumptions sbout the spit or sou of ation ae {tnsrepably ptean toy, his lotion of tranttin practice ina wider Ste! context established hist ae 4 precuror of culrally ovinted ‘Salat theory. The debates of hs period reveal amumber of ifferent postions, but throughout the ight ofthe trandator to amend the sores, [improve it change abeidge tte. ao maintained the debates on postcanlation however, there was another very dlierent iden of translation This other perspective saw translation as . {8 MEEK OR THE MIGHTY pelo gilinrument nine pero language earning process. ‘$Bemtst nthe cineca had to besser and hence te ton of [iuies tothe source twas rune nthe age ictonsres, SR lingual dconary av tol for tanintoes posted the Ken of IM doe esas aor Inga Ronee erence was ied {25S i of tno, whatever was din oe langage oa or ‘Seti be rendered into anaes th uno a eer wat ‘ge! internet he ones fhe copy oe orginal Scoot ext oE ecouppose a irrymintoectp between ngage, th tae: (on Sante sivydcigned show the competnctfe oer Strang te sous an enring no ar acpi version i ‘otrget langue The de acetals nigh poche the Stel he sue xt war aly unceputie ne language ang ilicom whee orm of flit reigned supreme. Yet the fem ‘cman’ wos sed for both cies Twas abo used fora hind ype of erary avy, the rendering of 2 vetinonelangungenioaothersthighspe and fr speciicnnel poses Teese lta pbltg ined ot emergent aue Eno in is la sreeeth cyl fo» daar for mater Seppl the ee ofthe customer Lewis be proliant, [eEdnen mide dses mente demand or ner plas orfor transite ‘ny tl up progmne Dryden comments onthe role played by econo in semana nets, ecgnsing tat either ery ‘ert sor aus od any weihtin he word of commer enki are tore devote 0 ir vm un than th public honour They se vary parsimoniout in rewarding the wretched Ferber cy exploy aod eaze not how the busines done 0 that itbe but done, They lve by sling lis, not books an i that cary ‘offoneizapression they have ther end, and valu not the cae hey nd their authors mect with from the bubbled chapmen. While ‘Penalatioas ae ths athe dispose of the booksers and have 10 ‘ter jacge or rewarder ofthe peformance,#isimpssle at we should make any progress." Inthis high speed wold of mass publishing the role of wansators was simply fo supply basic nate regardless of qulty-Thetrarlatorashack trator emerged on the acne, oflen contrasted negatively with ‘eal (iter, Sr Jn Dea wasbrvalydimissve ‘Suchs cu pie, our lly and our fate ‘Tht fev, bat such as cannot wet tase. 2» TRANSLATION, POWER, SUBVERSION ‘Twenties, the poetic. the pedagogical and commercial, all termed as translation were being practiced simultaneously, and thelr stint discourses became intertvined. At one end of he sal, the insted upon a iid normative idea of faithfulness the ‘rina wilt st he cther end the tranltor could have abso reedom todo what he a se liked wih the orgs The diference between the [pti and the commercl, however, slat whist some tarlators ere ‘Primary conceed with acsthati effect and took pains o think rough {hele etionchip with the soure the pressures placed on tandators by {he marke place meant that the aesthetic was low on ais of priori ‘ransators were equenty despised as hacks and attacked for ncompe tence sloppiness and inde. Hence the dichotomy tht Dryden expose {nhis waltgs on warslatin: a tanalstr cou indeed bea dave and yet 1 wanslatr could also enjoy arelaticnship of equaly withthe sour, ‘depending on the terme of reference within which he o he wae working, “The confusion about translation that ie ate mort abvious in the Enlightenment may help to explain the schizophrenic atstude to transl tion so frequently expressed ever sine In Doe's me, the power of he luansator Was recognized as 2 force tat shaped the souee text ino something ther afore that could behighly subversive By Dryden's time, that recognition was louded by the use of warlation concave fas binary language leseing exer in hich sucess was gauged according to the degree of adherence ofthe target text to the source ad By the rcssuree imposed upon wansaton bythe mari plac the writer ‘by now become the owner or proprietor of the rg, the traitor wes legated toa lesser positon, pa accordingly and tected like servant “The iden of transation as 3 Jovwlier Kind of waiting persisted for enti, and to some extent i sll with tur today. Translators age ‘requently pooely pal, tet work otenrganded se inferior, despite the Insistenceby a hige numberof minen waters throughost the world on thecomploty ofansaionandensimpartane With tbe devlopzent of erary sts at universes in te sinetnnts century, the Fle of ‘wanlation remained uncaifie the tansaion occupying a unconlot= ale psition out on the margins, despite the ‘of tnt pratce dang the great ageof revolutions in Europe and the Americs. the of comparative ltatute did ite lle thi station, and the study of teanalaton vas ll oo often a sastegony of literary story, indeed it was suche atl Aswecameto thee ofthe twentith century, however, tis cea that hus etude has changed, and for several itfrent reasons: Globally, tis = {HIE MEEK OR THE MIGHTY n stheageofmass communications ofmitimediaexperiencesanda werd ‘Shee suclences demand to share he net text be # iy ong o book, [ultancouslyscroes cultures. Nor ha the development of Els as ‘Mid language slowed down the process of wanda: i fa onthe of translation, as questions ‘Seaton mightbe a tataparent copy of speror onal ino longs {Emule just a t would not have been tenable in Dok’ tine ether Postcolonial tiation tusorts suchas Haraldo de Campos in Brel, sah eve in inca or Sherry Sunn inCanada,tonamebet hee niet fat the sty and practice of tenslation is inevably an exploration of power relstionsipa iin festa practice that rt power structures inthe wider cultural context. Translation, Basra and Lefevre nts ‘ike all ()itings never innocent, Thee ie abways » context in ‘which the ranalaton takes pce, alivays& story fom which text merge ad ito which text istwarspose.” Exploring ways in which randation eles the discourse of clniza- tin, Teja! Niranjans argues tht teanslaon has traditionally [panlucn strategies of containment She ses the Enlightenment asthe ment when earlation came tobe used to underwrite practices of [Rljetiicntio, and contends thatonly now haste understanding of hase cone fo be recoderes. For Niranjan, hte momento ¢ nase teneltion practic, that expose falcy ofthe rndatr ass unbiased, trneparent media Gough which text may pas purpartedlyalonga horizontal ais ‘Transnton asa practice shapes, and aks shape within, thease ‘ical elation of per tal oporate under cloriaism In ceting Coren nd tranparent texts ae sujet tardationpatiiptes— ‘Scrosarageof discourses inthe fof colonized cultures, making them seem stitc ane unchanging reer than history constected ‘ration functions ar a taraparen presentation of soathing hat slready ene “Translation ean therefore be seen a reflecting he colonial expesience; ‘he source/oxgial holds the power, the colony /

You might also like