As
we began reading Kafka, like with all the other books we’ve read, I began to
think about Kafka’s writing’s characteristics and how one might Pastiche it. Then I
was like, “wait but this isn’t actually Kafka.”
We are reading Kafka through another person’s eyes. This dramatically changes the way we can view
and interact with the text. To analyze any passage in great depth you must go
back to the original German text. Going
back to the original text is not only time-consuming, but is extremely difficult if you are not
fluent in German!
Whenever there is
a translation something is lost. Words
and phrases can never be “directly” translated from one language to
another. Even though we still get the
general story of The Metamophosis, we
are getting a very different narration of that story than what Kafka
wrote. Many words in English have
different connotations than what the German word with the “same” meaning has.
This is true of every language: what makes human language so incredible is how
there is nothing that can convey each
word’s exact meaning besides that one word.
We are completely unconscious of
this, but when you start thinking about a particular word, take “particular”
for example, how can you describe that word to someone who doesn’t understand
what it means without using a
sentence with it in it? There are many
synonyms and other words you can use to describe it, but the person does not
really understand what it means until they hear it used.
The perfect
example of translation differences, as Mr. Mitchell has mentioned several times in class, is the
difference between the “feebly knocking” and “gently knocking” father: both
feebly and gently come from the same German word, yet they have drastically
different connotations in English. Yet it is amazing that we still can get so
much out of Kafka’s writing without being fluent in German. Even though we know it isn’t exactly what he
is saying or exactly what he means, we still can see how Gregor thinks and can
be told an incredibly thought-provoking story.
You're making a very good point here; translation is exceedingly difficult and even the best translations can never convey the words of the original properly. If you're interested in learning about different ways that people attempt to make good translations, I'd recommend Douglas Hofstadter's "Le Ton beau de Marot". It contains eighty-eight translations of one short poem and discusses how they capture different parts of the work's essence. The overarching idea is that, as you said, true translation isn't really possible.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a good point here, it would be fascinating to read this text in German and compare it to the translation we read in class. Certainly the word order would be different, as well as the words used to describe the situation. I think it is good to keep in mind that what were are reading is not the original text, and must take that into consideration as we read.
ReplyDeleteYour point that no word can convey a single word's entire meaning except for that word itself is one that is definitely extremely important to take into consideration when reading the Metamorphosis, and also one that is often under-appreciated. As time goes on and each word is used more and more, its meaning evolves to have certain connotations and evoke certain emotions far beyond its simple dictionary definition. When writing, the author strives so hard to come up with the perfect word to communicate their thoughts, and all of that is lost in translation.
ReplyDeleteI find your point about the German translation extremely interesting. When I was preparing for my panel presentation on Kafka, the article my group chose actually came from a journal focused on German studies. Therefore, the article contained several quotations from the text in the original German, for example Gregor's bug form being described as a Mistkäfer (dung beetle, as the charwoman calls him.) I think that whenever we read a text that has been translated, we have to consider the spin on the writing style that the translator puts on the text.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that a bunch of people from German class found the German title interesting. Anyway, I had a different translation of the text and it was interesting to compare each sentence. They were almost never the same. They conveyed a similar idea, but the word order was different, and different vocabulary occasionally. I agree with you that a word can never be translated exactly and it was interesting to compare to different translators opinion on what words mean.
ReplyDeleteLanguages man...pretty isolationist and weird feeling I get reading this observation. Kafka is such an interesting and bizarre figure, but this idea added to the context of his short life makes me feel bad for the guy. Maybe his inflections with the text are totally lost on us due to translation. But I suppose we could just ask Germans. And he didn't want people reading his stuff anyway.
ReplyDeleteThis is one reason why I preferred the translation I'd been using, which is now out of print. It was a "Norton Critical Edition," and it featured editorial notes that often drew attention to specific choices the translator made. There was a long one, for example, on the reason he chose "vermin" over "insect" in the famous opening line, tracing the particular implications of that word in English and German.
ReplyDeleteI agree: nothing is quite the same in a different language. A big difference also comes along in The Stranger, with maman. The translator was smart to leave it alone, because it carries much more significance that way.
ReplyDelete