| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: Have you ever translated poetry? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
|
|---|
Patricia Charnet
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:38
Member (2009)
English to French
my main 2 specialisations are medicine and law - and they are both expressed in prose, nothing poetic about it
[Edited at 2012-03-06 12:59 GMT]
| | | | Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 21:38
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Just recently | Mar 6, 2012 |
Mario Chavez wrote: Helen Hagon wrote:
I try my hand at it from time to time, sometimes just for fun and sometimes, like Mary, when it is part of a larger text. It can be fun, but it is also very hard and time-consuming and you really need to be a poet yourself (which I am not!) to make a good job of it. I turned down a poetry translation job once as the customer wanted a very rapid turnaround and didn't appreciate that translating poetry takes much longer than translating prose. Answering this poll made me think of two principles. Number one, some of us translate poetry not because it's a project and not because it's fun...Some of us translate poetry for love. And the ladies appreciate a good Pablo Neruda poem in English, ahem. Number two, Helen's comment about the customer who didn't appreciate that it takes longer to translate (or transcreate?) poetry than prose makes me wonder if the business of translation shouldn't solely be in the hands of businesspeople who know a thing or two about writing. Unfortunately, it's a free world and people will keep on trying to make a buck out of an activity they know absolutely nothing about.
I've just completed a poetry translation, rather transcreation. And yes, I did it for the love of it ... well, and for the money.
| | | | | I answered no | Mar 6, 2012 |
but come to think of it I've actually translated bits and pieces of poetry that were part of texts on archeology, or literary citations in reports.
After participating last year (?) in a very surreal discussion on "using trados to translate poetry", I've come to realize that proz.com is not populated with translators of poetry (or even poetry lovers), so I go elsewhere for inspiration in this area
| | | | Petro Ebersöhn (X)
Local time: 21:38
| I voted yes, and it was published. | Mar 6, 2012 |
It should be yes, but it wasn't published. Sorry for that one!
| | |
|
|
|
Jenn Mercer
United States
Local time: 15:38
Member (2009)
French to English
| Professional poet? | Mar 6, 2012 |
I'm a poet, and a translator, but the two have never met professionally. The closest I ever came was with a client who ignored every place where I state that I translate from French to English and asked me to translate English poems into French. If ever there was a time when native level fluency was important, I would think it would be with poetry. In any case, I am almost glad it did not work out as the poems were not very good .
| | | | | Yes, different songtexts | Mar 6, 2012 |
Yes, if we consider songtexts are as difficult to translate as poetry.
I translated songtexts for the official webpage of the German teenie band Die Killerpilze, as well as a fancy song for another artist which was supposed to appear in the charts... but I never heard it anywhere
As I actually translate technical and law texts, it was quite a challenge at the beginning, but I ended up really enjoying it, e... See more Yes, if we consider songtexts are as difficult to translate as poetry.
I translated songtexts for the official webpage of the German teenie band Die Killerpilze, as well as a fancy song for another artist which was supposed to appear in the charts... but I never heard it anywhere
As I actually translate technical and law texts, it was quite a challenge at the beginning, but I ended up really enjoying it, especially when I was very satisfied with the result.
Of course poetry cannot be 100% translated, rather re-created and adapted, some losses are unavoidable, but sometimes some parts of the translation may be richer / more satisfying than the original text.
Anyway I think it is useless to embark on an endless debate on whether poetry can be translated or not, we all know the pros and cons here. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samantha Payn
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:38
Member (2008)
Russian to English
+ ...
I've translated song lyrics and some children's verse - in both cases for direct clients who were so pleased with the work they came back for more. I really enjoyed it.
It may be old news for many, but this book is a fascinating read about the ... See more I've translated song lyrics and some children's verse - in both cases for direct clients who were so pleased with the work they came back for more. I really enjoyed it.
It may be old news for many, but this book is a fascinating read about the transcreation of poetry http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ton-Beau-Marot-Praise-Language/dp/0465086454/ref=tmm_pap_title_0. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 21:38
French to English
| I forgot to vote | Mar 6, 2012 |
but I translated some nonsensical haiku once.
I looked up the rules of haiku to make sure I stuck to them, then found that the French originals ignored them quite superbly. So I was in a bit of a dither for a while.
Finally I decided to at least stick to the numbers of syllables, and produced nonsense referring roughly to the same concepts as the French (mostly vague references to seasonal weather and passing mentions of silky fabric).
It was great fun a... See more but I translated some nonsensical haiku once.
I looked up the rules of haiku to make sure I stuck to them, then found that the French originals ignored them quite superbly. So I was in a bit of a dither for a while.
Finally I decided to at least stick to the numbers of syllables, and produced nonsense referring roughly to the same concepts as the French (mostly vague references to seasonal weather and passing mentions of silky fabric).
It was great fun and it did appear in a press pack for a lingerie show: does that count as being published in a rather limited edition ? ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Oksana Weiss
Germany
Local time: 21:38
Member (2011)
German to English
+ ...
| I replied other, though... | Mar 7, 2012 |
I had to translate a few poems, which were found all of a sudden in the middle of the coherent text. Well, I translated them as a blank verse, without rhyme, as I really do not know what is the standard in that case. Sometimes you can find out in the web that the poem is already translated, and the translation is good, in that case I think it's quite acceptable to include it into the translation, adding a footnote about the author of translation.
| | | | Alison Sabedoria (X)
United Kingdom
French to English
+ ...
| Frequent attempts | Mar 7, 2012 |
Being paid for it is a rare luxury, though poems or extracts sometimes crop up in the middle of other texts. Recently I found a Japanese poem translated into French to explain a choreographer's work, which was fun!
I have prepared translations of song lyrics for concert programmes and CD notes, but these were so that audiences could follow the meaning, and usually condensed - a long way from being real poetic reconstructions. But years of intellectual wrestling between languages t... See more Being paid for it is a rare luxury, though poems or extracts sometimes crop up in the middle of other texts. Recently I found a Japanese poem translated into French to explain a choreographer's work, which was fun!
I have prepared translations of song lyrics for concert programmes and CD notes, but these were so that audiences could follow the meaning, and usually condensed - a long way from being real poetic reconstructions. But years of intellectual wrestling between languages to try and recreate poetry eventually led me to become a translator.
I like to compose my own poems (example)
in parallel French and English versions from the start, which avoids the issue... ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2] | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: Have you ever translated poetry? | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
| | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
