Upon reading this text, I was not particularly surprised to see that translators also have to deal
with criticisms. But it was particularly interesting to read what was said about translators having
to constantly battle between choices when working. The bit about choosing between rhythm and
explanation of proper names and such resonated with me because that is something that we
have encountered in class already with our translation assignments. For example, the choice to
translate お歳暮 using its romaji, direct translation, or to add a note explaining what it is.
The portion of the reading after that that touches on translators being akin to counterfeiters was
also interesting to me because in the previous readings, we saw translators being treated as
interpreters of a sort. Each translator had their own distinct style and their translated works were
treated quite differently. Here, however, it is argued that translators ought to copy a work
perfectly from one language to another. That it is not a translator’s business to ‘improve’ a work.
I think that because languages are so different, due to various factors such as grammar,
vocabulary, even culture, it is not possible to ‘counterfeit’ a work completely. And for that reason, I
think it is natural for translators to have to change some aspects of a work even if only slightly
when translating. Whether that means the work is improved or not is something I think is
dependent on the perspective of the reader.
Kenneth
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