Translations questions

[kutsuwamushi.livejournal.com]

1. I vaguely remember someone on this community saying that the Russian Harry Potter translations were awful. Is this true or am I imagining things?

2. I'm really curious about how translators have handled Zoshchenko's short stories. I'm having trouble imagining it. Does anyone have any favorite translations (into English) to recommend?

Comments

[oryx_and_crake]

Yes, there was a thread a while ago (probably not earlier than a month ago). It did not start with discussing HP, though, and, unfortunately, I don't remember what was the original topic...

[oryx_and_crake]

P.S. This is the one I had in mind
http://www.livejournal.com/community/learn_russian/256511.html

[happy-accidents.livejournal.com]

What's funny is that in Russia there are tons of Harry Potter rip-offs.
I don't remember exactly but there was a book called Tanya Totter or something... it had a picture of a girl with a broom on the cover.

[ex-exchange-154.livejournal.com]

It was called "Tanya Grotter" (didn't read it), but it's not a translation, just parody.

[happy-accidents.livejournal.com]

Haha, yes, that's it!

[ex-exchange-154.livejournal.com]

there's another *something like* parody, Porry Gatter, and that's much better than "Tanya..". With good humour and so on. I like it.

But I didn't read "Harry Potter";))

[sverb.livejournal.com]

I think "Tanya Grotter" is better than "Porry Gatter", but I can't remember any people I know thinking like that.

O, yes, the translations are awful. There are also many bad things with names. For example, Snape became Снегг after first book, Dursley became Дурсль and so on. And many other things with that I didn't like.

[oryx_and_crake]

I don't see anything wrong with Дурсль, as it happens. Most names in Rowling books are meaningful, and it is much better if the translator finds an equivalent (or at least dies trying) than if he or she just transliterates dumbly without actually caring whether the name might mean anything.
In this case, Дурсль reminds of "дурак" meaning "a fool" and it is much better than just transliterate it as Дарсли or Дэрсли which says nothing to Russian ear.

[sverb.livejournal.com]

Maybe. But I've read also in English, and I didn't like so much changing names. Maybe, I'm wrong, but I think like that.

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

I just ignore the names and call them their real when I read in russian

Наземникус Флетчер *snort*, how are you supposed to make a sensible "Dung" after that?

[sverb.livejournal.com]

Don't know. I just don't like the names there, and that's all. Наземникус Флетчер is even more strange becouse it couldn't be a Russian name, nore an English name. It just looks strange, I can't better explane better, why. If I haven't read the original book, I wouldn't think so, but I've read...

Agree

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

Exactly

[avysk]

"Porry Gatter" could be much better than "Tanya Grotter" but the authors did not know where and when to stop. And "Tany Grotter" is not really a parody after the first (or maybe the second) book.

[sverb.livejournal.com]

Yes, it isn't, it's true.

[sventhelost.livejournal.com]

This is not unusual--walking into my local book store, I saw a whole table of books that looked rather like rip-offs.

Is the book really bad? I remember picking up a copy of the third book and being excited that I could understand every word in the first paragraph. :)

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Yes, Tanya Groter, Porry Gatter etc. etc. etc. Those are quite "original," though (i.e. they are rather parodies than rip-offs.) The real rip-off is in Chinese, called somethig like "Harry Potter and a Cougar Approach the Dragon" :))

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Yes, if somebody would say that both "official" (Rosmen Press') and "people's" (fan-made) Russian translations suck, I'd second that! :))
I've read Russian translation of all six books before I was giving it to my son, and (having also read the English originals, I'n in the middle of the 7th one right now) I have to admit that the translations were... hmmm... not really AWFUL, but quite pale and weak.

[definite.livejournal.com]

"I've read Russian translation of all six books before I was giving it to my son, and (having also read the English originals, I'n in the middle of the 7th one right now)..."

Wow, that's really impressing!
And what is your opinion about the Russian translation of Book 6 and the story of Book 7? :)

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

I mean five Russian translations and six English originals. Rusty brain :))

[avysk]

Translations by Masha Spivak are quite good, aren't they?

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

Never opened them after being told about Злеус Злей. ;)

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

No way. "Толстая тетя" as the rendering for The Fat Lady drove me nuts :)

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

Sorry, only six are out, what are you talkin' about?

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

You're right, I mean five Russian translations and six English originals. Rusty brain :))

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

;)

[crculver.livejournal.com]

I vaguely remember someone on this community saying that the Russian Harry Potter translations were awful. Is this true or am I imagining things?

Most Russian translations are awful. Translations in Russia are generally made by barely-qualified people with no quality-control. They abound in misunderstandings of the source material and lack any poetry. Sure, there are exceptions, usually for real literature, but translation of popular offerings like Harry Potter are driven more by profit than by the desire to render a work of art out of one language into another.

[vasionok.livejournal.com]

This is true for English translations as well. I would guess that it holds for translations into any language.