Something to ponder.....precision vs. understanding.
Being somewhat fluent in Spanish as it was my first language, then, losing it through my schooling, and, finally, relearning the language, I have come across a problem I can't seem to find the right answer for: Precision vs. Understanding.
I am aware that certain things don't translate back and forth between Spanish and English. There are just some things that just won't translate, but sometimes you can convey the meaning by sacrificing some precision. Is it better to practice precision and just lose out on something important? Or, can you translate the thought or idea as closely as possible sacrificing some rules? I'm at a loss because I'm OCD and things which are not precise and exact drive me a little bonkers. However, I am also aware that something which is too rigid will one day be broken.
So, I guess my final question is: Is it acceptable to sacrifice the precision of a translation, i.e. grammar and vocabulary, for the sake of conveying an idea or meaning. An example would be the phrase "head over heels in love." There's no real exact translation that would convey that exact meaning. You can say someone is deeply in love or something to that effect, but doesn't give the visual of "head over heels."
Something to ponder.
Ciao!!
8 Answers
Your questions are problems that translators always grapple with.
One that I will comment on-
So, I guess my final question is: Is it acceptable to sacrifice the precision of a translation, i.e. grammar and vocabulary, for the sake of conveying an idea or meaning
If you are very familiar with the translation of the Bible at all, you know this question very well. In English we have a very large collection of translations from the original languages directly into English. t Some are very formal translations- New American Standard, King James
Some are dynamic equivalent- New International Version
The former are "word for word" translations, while the latter is a "thought for thought" translation.
Linguists don't consider that the New International Version is 'wrong' for sacrificing literal wording in order to achieve an accurate rendering of the thought.
In fact, all translations of the Bible use a certain amount of paraphrasing in order to avoid strictly literal translations that would be misleading or incomprehensible.
To really get a grasp of what the original said, I think it is smart to consult both types of translations- both the word-for-word and the thought-for-thought, in order to gain an appreciation of the scope of the passage.
And that's the advantage of knowing the language for yourself- you aren't locked in to one viewpoint, but get the full richness of the text and all the possibilities and implications of it.
If you don't know the language- you need the different viewpoints and the different types of translations. Neither way is "right"- neither way is "wrong" - both ways are useful for understanding.
It is a matter of circumstances and your target audience. Sometimes you go for precision and a strict literal translation. This applies mostly for legal or technical documents.
Sometimes you need to simply interpret, based on the understanding requirements of your audience: children's stories, important civil messages, translating for some friends, etc. Most of the time, for formal or semi-formal translation, you end up using a mixture of both techniques. This is what you usually get when reading a standard book translation.
Hmm.. Interesting Question, In my opinion, You shouldn't translate the text it self, but the idea, you know what im saying? For example head over heels in love.. the idea is to be deeply in love, so if you wanted to translate that, you should use a similar expression in spanish, for example "Derritiendose de Amor" its a similar expression...
So, in your mind, it's better to lose the visual meaning of head over heals in love than to sacrifice/bend the rules of a language. Good point, but wouldn't we lose lots of colorful and important phrases?
I don't think you will lose (well maybe in some cases) but in other cases you will gain - there are some expressions in Spanish which are not as colorful as in English and vice versa, just like in every language, and I personally think 'enamorarse perdidamente' or 'estar enamorado hasta la médula' or any of those are just as exciting as 'head over heels' and would be great translations of the 'idea' which is always better I think. And who would understand some of the literal translations, they would just be laughable. Of course when it comes to the bible, hmm, that I guess is a different story, I like the idea of two side by side versions. Very interesting post.
I've found the same thing, and it seems to baffle beginners that not everyone uses the same slang and idioms everywhere. "Head over heels in love" is a good example. Another bad habit beginners have is trying to translate everything word for word, even when it doesn't work. They think there should be a one-for-one correspondence between the words of the different languages, and there just isn't. Why do I have to say "tengo que ir" when I want to say "I have to go"? Tengo = I have, and ir = to go, so why can't I just say "tengo ir"?
Well, there's no more one-for-one correspondence between idioms than there is for individual words.
To answer your question, I definitely lean towards understanding. You have to translate the ideas, not the words. Precision is for grammarians, not for actual communication. Things should be as correct as they can be, but no more so.
I personally think 'enamorarse perdidamente' or 'estar enamorado hasta la médula' or any of those are just as exciting as 'head over heels' and would be great translations of the 'idea' which is always better I think. And who would understand some of the literal translations, they would just be laughable.
I agree that each language has phrases and sayings which can not be translated because they fail to convey the idea behind the words. I read the phrases you referenced and they mean absolutely nothing to me as I am not a native speaker and not privy to the hidden meanings behind these words. To my point, I do know what "head over heels in love" means and can relate to what the words say even if they seem laughable. I can draw from this experience and can extrapolate what 'enamorarse perdidamente' by relating it to something I know. In translating 'head over 'heels' into Spanish and understanding its similarity to 'enamorarse perdidamente,' I get a more precise meaning of it by linking it to something I know.
Why I want to know of its acceptability is because this is a new community to me and I'm trying to get a feel for the rules. Would I be able to point to an example such to assist someone who doesn't get it. A comparison such as this may bring a better understanding to them, but I don't want to get blasted out of the water for not sticking to the precision of the language?
This discussion has proved very helpful and each of your arguments has assisted in getting me closer to one side or the other of the fence. Thank you.
By it very nature, you will lose something of the original meaning in translation.
I believe ideas should be given greater importance than literal precision.
Here is why I believe this:
For those of you interested in the problems and fun of translation, there's a classic short story by the famous American writer, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), The Jumping Frog: In English. Then in French. Then Clawed Back into a Civilized Language Once More by Patient, Unremunerated Toil. In this work, Twain expresses astonishment at reading a translation of his famous story "the Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" into French. The work contains that story, the translation, and for our amusement, Twain's retranslation of his story from French to English. It involves French, not Spanish, but is nonetheless a quite amusing analysis of how important idiomatic expression is to communicating ideas.
