TRANSLATION Translation slam - The Little Mermaid


Translators are like ninjas. If you notice them, they're no good. – Etgar Keret

To put it plainly, people like to believe that they've read War and Peace, not 'an English translation of War and Peace'.  Deborah Smith

The well-known translator of The Little Prince, Ros Schwartz, was once asked by a client to 'type this in English'. 

That's not how it works! There is never a one-to-one correspondence between words in any two languages. Different translators choose different words, and can give you very different impressions of what the original is like 
– as different from each other as different illustrations of the same subject.


Illustrations from left to right by: E.S. Hardy; Walt Disney; Helen Stratton; Vilhelm Pedersen
'Translation slams', where several translators each translate the same short text and explain their choices, can show audiences how personal and creative translation is. Every foreign work you have read in English, from the Bible or Greek mythology to Pippi Longstocking to the latest Swedish detective novel, has passed through a translator's mind before reaching you.


The Anonymous Translator

In recent years, there has been more and more attention to translation as a form of writing. Deborah Smith, quoted above, was the first translator to share the Man Booker prize with the author. #NameTheTranslator is a hashtag spreading on Twitter to call attention to/shame the many book-review writers who write a long review of a translated book without mentioning the person who put it into English. For many years, Wikipedia did not include 'translator'
 in its template for book citations. Amazon still does not mention the translator in its standard book listings. In earlier times, the translator was often not even mentioned inside the published book itself. 

It is no coincidence, of course, that the named translators are almost all men. This legion of anonymous translators was made up almost entirely of women.



Six Versions of Little Mermaid 

Times have changed! To prove what should be obvious, that translators are writers too, let's look at a few different versions of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid. How many of us, when we first read it, did not even know it was originally written in a foreign language? The translation was invisible – the way it's supposed to be.


Illustration by Laura Troubridge
The story was first published in 1837, in Danish, but the first real recognition for Andersen did not come until 1845, when the first English translation was published. It has never been out of print since then, although most children now get their introduction to Little Mermaid with the Disney version (and a happier ending).

Which translation do you prefer ...?
 The Little Mermaid and the Witch, illustration by Bertall
Translator: H.B. Paull (1867)

"Oh, were I but fifteen years old!" said she. "I know that I shall love the world up there, and all the people who live in it."

At last she reached her fifteenth year.

'Well, now you are grown up," said the old dowager, her grandmother. "So you must let me adorn you like your other sisters." ...Then the old lady ordered eight great oysters to attach themselves to the tail of the princess to show her high rank.

"But they hurt me so," said the little mermaid.

"Pride must suffer pain," replied the old lady.

_______________


Illustration by W. Heath Robinson
Translator: Hans Lien Brækstad (1900)

"Oh, if I were only fifteen!" she said. "I know I shall love the world up above, and all the people who live and dwell there."

At last she was fifteen years old.

"Well, now you are off our hands," said her grandmother, the old queen-dowager. "Come here, let me deck you like your other sisters." ...The old lady ordered eight large oysters to hang on to the princess's tail, to show her high rank.

"But it hurts so!" said the little mermaid.

"Well, one has to suffer for appearances," said the old lady.
_______________

Illustration by Ivan Bilibin
Translator: Anonymous (1913) 

"Oh, if I were but fifteen!" sighed she, "I know that I should love the upper world and its inhabitants so much."

At last the time she had so longed for arrived.

"Well, now it is your turn," said the grandmother; "come here, that I may adorn you like your sisters." And she ... then commanded eight large oysters to fasten themselves to the princess's tail, in token of her high rank.

"But that is so very uncomfortable!" said the little princess.

"One must not mind slight inconveniences when one wishes to look well," said the old lady.
_______________

Illustration by Anne Anderson
Translator and illustrator: W.A. and J.K. Craigie (1914)

"O, if I were only fifteen years old!" said she. "I know I shall love the world up there very much, and the people who live and dwell there."

At last she was really fifteen years old.

"Now, you see, you are grown up," said the grandmother, the old dowager. "Come, let me adorn you like your sisters."

And ... the old lady let eight great oysters attach themselves to the princess's tail, in token of her high rank.

"But that hurts so!" said the little sea maid.

"Yes, one must suffer something for the sake of rank," replied the old lady.
_______________


Illustration by Edmund Dulac
Translator: Anonymous (1930)

"Oh! if I were only fifteen!" she said, "I know how fond I shall be of the world above, and of the mortals who dwell there."

At last her fifteenth birthday came.

"Now we shall have you off our hands," said her grandmother, the old queen dowager. "Come now, let me adorn you like your other sisters!" ...then the old queen had eight oysters fixed on to the princess's tail to show her high rank.

"But it hurts so!" said the little mermaid.

"You must endure the pain for the sake of the finery!" said her grandmother.
_______________


Illustration by Hans Tegner
Translator: Jean Hersholt (1949)

"Oh, how I do wish I were fifteen!" she said. "I know I shall love that world up there and all the people who live in it."

And at last she too came to be fifteen.

"Now I'll have you off my hands," said her grandmother, the old queen dowager. "Come, let me adorn you like your sisters." ... And the old queen let eight big oysters fasten themselves to the princess's tail, as a sign of her high rank.

"But that hurts," said the little mermaid.

"You must put up with a good deal to keep up appearances," her grandmother told her.
_______________




Julie Sullivan is a SCBWI volunteer, and a professional translator.
Twitter @webwight

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