In my humble opinion, in my school the methods and technology of translating poems and verse are given to the students in absolutely wrong way.
Out teachers of English and Translation technology tell us that it's allowed to change the rhythm, the rhyming scheme, the metre, the number of lines and other poem's features when you translate it into other language. My opinion is that such approach is completely wrong. I guess that while translating the poetry you should not only express the emotion and feelings from it, but you should also keep the style of the poem. You need to keep the rhythm. If there're, for example, 12 syllables in the line, don't make 10 or 15 in you translation. Then, the rhyming scheme. If it's a-b-a-b, don't make it a-b-b-a or b-a-a-b, or just a-a-a-a. Also you shouldn't change the metre of the poem. Don't turn it from the iamb into choree or amphibrach. And finally, don't change the number of lines. If in the poem there're 3 stanzas with 4 lines in each other, keep it! Don't add or reduce some lines.
When I try to translate the poem (we sometimes have such hometasks), I always try to keep the style it was written in. Of course I always try to express the same emotion or feeling as the author did, but I guess that the rhythm and metre are important too. I think that it's needed to keep the style. Otherwise it will be not a translation, but your personal independent literary work.
And what do you think? Can it be allowed to change all the above-mentioned poem features while translating it?
@темы:
школоло,
Лингва британника,
English week,
Мысли вслух
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18.03.2011 в 18:01-
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18.03.2011 в 18:04Totally agreed. It wouldn't be translaion of this particular poem, it would be just your own work. Style, rhythm and metre are important things to keep while translation poetry. )
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25.04.2011 в 11:46Click-click (hope that would be useful)
Plus, there are certain requirements to the translation of poetry and fiction. Here is the link to one of the articles in the net, containing those requirements - 1.2. Passage and a passage called 3. ПРОБЛЕМЫ СТИХОТВОРНОГО ПЕРЕВОДА И СТИХОСЛОЖЕНИЕ
This part of the article clearly says that you are far closer to the truth than your teacher is. Plus - as far as I can see that article is a scientific one. (Московский городской центр образования - Кафедра литературы - Творческая работа по литературе - Выполнила ученица 8 «фил» класса МГЦО Вайсблат Ирина - Москва 2002 - 6.03.2002 )
So, even though there are argues about the way of translating the verses, one things is certain - one must not avoid those points:
1) Lines of the original text must be of the same quantity that the translated one (even though there is a rule that allows changing the size of the text through decompression - that is totally of no concern to the verses).
2) Keeping rhyme and rhythm is important!!!! (Though sometimes to save the style of the text it is better to change the rhyming scheme and vice versa - that depends on the aim of the translation and the expectations to the reader of the translation)
3) Keeping the original thoughts and emotions, plus all covered and obvious ideas of the author is GRAVELY important
Concluding - those three points should not be neglected. Your teacher is only 1 to 10 right. You are 9 to 10 right. According to the simple math - you are more right that your teacher.
Hope, in case you really wanted only to know if you are right, those links and my small knowledge of translation theory might help you.