Juliet Winters Carpenter Thoughts - Suis

I was particularly interested in Juliet Winters Carpenter’s mention of Arthur Binard translating his own poetry and how he “broke all the rules,” and that if she were the one translating, she “would have never been able to do that” (97). I think there is this suggestion that if the author is translating their own work, they are not subject to the same criticisms of translators who are translating another’s work. Carpenter states that one has “to try to identify with the author” (97). This calls to attention the idea of intention. As an author translating one’s own work, intent is always apparent. When translating another author’s work, one must get into the head of the author and identify their intent (to the best of one’s ability).

In light of this, Carpenter’s collaboration translation with Minae Mizumura on A True Novel is more fascinating. Despite having access to the author’s intentions, working 8 hour days with her and receiving her direct input on the English, there still seems to be mistakes in the translation. In the instance where the translation adds to the passage “慣れないショーツの姿”--that the narrator is “acutely conscious of wearing shorts rather than a skirt” and that “the States [...] hasn’t fully freed [her] from [her] Japanese prudishness” (emphasis added), Carpenter claims that it was Mizumura’s addition. However, I am reminded that Prof. Anne-Elliot mentioned in the History and Theory of Translation class I am taking with her that upon asking Mizumura, she had said it wasn’t her addition. Miscommunications occur even in situations where the translator and author are working closely together. It is also interesting to note the editor’s role in translation as well. Even if the intent of the author is identified, perhaps that intent won’t translate well into the target language.