OnFiction: Simulation in the Mind and on the Page

OnFiction: Simulation in the Mind and on the Page

Borrowings and Calques... a trap for translators?

A translator's work consists of an indirect process. A message is taken in in an X language, then its meaning grasped and lastly delivered into an Y language.

Throughout this process we might come across certain lexical items which do not seem to belong a language's standard repertoire. In such cases, 'borrowings' or 'loanwords' are being employed.

These words pose certain difficulties for translators as we ask ourselves: do we translate an already translated or borrowed word or should we leave it intact?

First, let us clarify the meaning and differences of both terms. "Loanwords" are words incorporated into a language which maintain the same structure, function and form. "Calques" are the literal translations of lexical items where the meaning and concept stay the same rather than its form.

After a certain time and when the use of a borrowed term is widely spread, then a community is said to incorporate the word as part of their language and is no longer a neologism. That word is said to be lexicalized where the morphophonological traits of the recipient language shape the new word which stops resembling is foreign origin.

In such cases, that word already forms part of the language thus, it should be translated. An example of this is the Spanish term "estándar" whose origin can be found in the English "standard". Notice that the Spanish language has shaped the new word as a vowel is needed before an "s" in initial position, the stress has been added and the final "d" consonant is deleted.

Recent loanwords which have not yet been lexicalized are bound to be left just the way they are. Sometimes, a footnote might be necessary to clarify the concept but bare in mind the translator's reputation or including them! With regard to technology, English is the main source of new creations of words. How would you translate "Software" and "hardware" into Spanish? Although other languages such as French do have an equivalent in their own language, Spanish does not, so it is quite impossible to translate such terms.

However, when calques are involved, a translator needs to bear in mind the existence of some of them. These terms usually have conventional translations such as "rascacielo" in Spanish from the English "skyscraper" and the English "flea market" from the French phrase "marché aux puces".

So, always keep in touch with new words which enter your language, check if they are widely used, if new meanings are added to them, if they adapt to your language in ways that they do not look like foreign words and most important of all, check the DICTIONARY to see if the word you are looking for has an entry. Then you will be able to determine whether to translate the word or not to ensure you deliver a translation worthy of a professional...

Book titles and book lovers

What’s in a name? I’m sure you’ve wondered that some time or another in the course of your lifetime. Hell, even Shakespeare asked himself the question! So now I ask you: what’s in a name?

A name can bring so many alluring qualities to our mind’s nimble eye, so many so that it can make our imagination fly with the wildest tempo. It can be plain and boring or enticing and melodious; a name has certainly much more to it than something as simple as it is… It’s not just a name. So many preconceptions arise from a person’s name: from the sound of it when you are introduced to someone new you get a lenient picture of that person’s personality. Some names just hit on you like bluntly sexy while others are just merely ordinary, a name is somebody’s presentation card to the rest of the world.

Now you see my point? Choosing a name is not only important but also imperative for a person’s future, and just like a name is to a person: a title is to a book.

A title is a book’s “name”; it is the blunt statement it makes to the world that has yet to read it. A title makes a book’s identity, it can lure readers to its embrace or make them turn away of its loving pages without ever being given a chance. The wrong title can leave a book abandoned just like a rejected lover.

Authors everywhere, I’m sure, take this in mind when they are choosing the topmost red cherry for their book and worry about choosing the correct words to present their work of art to the critical tongues of the readers. Whether consciously or unconsciously they know that those few words will be critical for their book's success, and therefore should not be chosen lightly.

Sometimes finding something dark in the play of words that makes it or choosing to use something intensely symbolical in its conformation will make it more powerful. And there, I believe is the key, to produce something that’s overwhelmingly powerful with very few words. Something powerful enough to seduce the reader to sink into its wanting pages. Its power lies though, not only on its seductiveness to potential readers but on another quality: a title should be short enough to stand out while one is skimming through a bookshelf.

Once the witty author has produced an enticing and mouth-watering title comes a very difficult stance, and it is not one that lies in the hands of the writer… It is something that will be as important as the choice for the original title: the choice of words to make it come to life in another language. Every language has its own codes and cultural background: and it is in the hands of an avid translator that the heavy task of translating powerful artwork into something equally powerful lies.

A good translator can help you maintain the intention, rhythm and cadence of your work in another linguistic environment while a great translator will help you ensure much more than that. A great translator can make your work powerfully great in any language. Therefore, I believe all authors should have that in mind when choosing a company to translate their work to any language. It is not just choosing a company because it’s simply well known, that works well for other types of writing; when choosing someone to translate your literary works you should choose someone with equal passion for books. Someone whose passion lies in words but also in more than words, in the invisible lines that hold them together: in the stories that intertwine from those woven lines.