Translations

[Ari Seppi]

François:
>Ari:
> >Both Tolkien and Barks translations have the same
> >problem when it comes to revising them: should they
> >be revised and if so, does anyone dare to do it.
>But what revision would you want? Replacing phones by
>Finnish celular ones?...

Yes, phones should be replaced by Nokia cellulars in all
Disney comics!  (I was joking, put the hatchets down!)
But replacing phones isn't actually a translative revision.

>I have no problem to read Francois Villon in the
>original which has more than 500 years.

But isn't he a poet who wrote his own poems and
didn't translate them from other languages?
I didn't, of course, mean that the originals should
be revised, I was pondering if the translations
need changing.

>(I of course
>like his work since his name is so close to mine).

:-)

Roy:
>Regarding translations of Barks: I don't have an opinion on what they 
>should do
>in most countries, but I do think it would be a shame to reprint the Barks
>stories with new text to fit the new language spoken by young people in
>Germany.

Well, naturally you are right: new translations shouldn't be
made just to fit the new language if the original translation
is understandable and the meanings of the words haven't
changed.

But as I said before: I think translation's most important
function is to work. If the old translations work well, there
is no reason to change anything. And even if some
changes are made, there is no reason not to also print
the older translation versions if they are considered works
of art of their own.

On the other hand, comics translations are different
from other types of literature translations. They have
pictures to explain the text so there may not be a need
to change them so much or at all - I don't know.

-- 
Ari Seppi (ari.seppi at iki.fi)
http://www.iki.fi/mani/
Winnie the Pooh is my great guru.