Interesting and Humour - page 3792

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Sergey Golubev:

The meaning is one - hands grow out of ... and it's translated with a few words almost verbatim, but it sounds sweary (i.e. not as "cool" as in the Russian version).

It is not clear why and to whom it should be applied ... the slang there is not all the same ... we think they are the same as the Anglo-Saxons, but they are all very different and do not think they are the same...


We have a wonderful children's poet - Samuel Yakovlevich Marshak.

Less well known is that he was an absolutely phenomenal translator, mostly from English, but also from a bunch of other languages, including Chinese (!).

And even less known is that Marshak was the world's greatest translation theorist. It was he who formulated the thesis that in general, adequate translation from one language to another is impossible. This thesis is based on the fact that it matters not only WHAT a person says, but also HOW he/she says it and in HOW context.

When studying English, for example, a lot of time is spent on studying English idioms, i.e. on learning expressions that cannot be translated BOOKEVER into Russian. Usually proverbs and sayings fall almost entirely into this list. Usually, they are not translated word for word, but by ANALOGS if they are available. If there is no analogue, they cannot be translated, but can be understood by making a verbose interpretation.

 

A classic example of the impossibility of translation is the very funny book Three in a Boat Apart from the Dog. It is only funny in the original. There are a huge number of translations of this book and they are all unsuccessful. As funny book in English is so boring in Russian. Even the translation of the title itself, which in the original sounds like: Tree men in a boat to say nothing of the dog - suffers from some faintly explainable flaw. If you think about it, you can explain the flaw and it's enormous.

In Russian, a dog around people is also 'counted', number 4. In English, a dog is 'not spoken of', because in English, a dog is not an animate thing; it is an it, not a he or she. In translating a very simple phrase, the distinction between the treatment of animals in Russian and English is lost.

The text of this book is all like that. It describes an English life which only partially coincides with our life. A translation of the book is NOT possible. And yet the content of the book is ordinary everyday life.

 
СанСаныч Фоменко:

A classic example of the impossibility of translation is the very funny book Three in a Boat Apart from the Dog. It is only funny in the original. There are a huge number of translations of this book and they are all unsuccessful. As funny book in English is so boring in Russian. Even the translation of the title itself, which in the original sounds like: Tree men in a boat to say nothing of the dog - suffers from some faintly explainable flaw. If you think about it, you can explain the flaw and it's enormous.

In Russian, a dog around people is also 'counted', number 4. In English, a dog is 'not spoken of', because in English, a dog is not an animate thing; it is an it, not a he or she. In translating a very simple phrase, the distinction between the treatment of animals in Russian and English is lost.

The text of this book is all like that. It describes an English life which only partially coincides with our life. A translation of the book is NOT possible. And yet the content of the book is ordinary everyday life.

Strange - I watched a film based on this book in Russian and laughed )
 
СанСаныч Фоменко:

...

The text of this book is all like that. English life is described, which is only partly the same as our life. A translation of the book is NOT possible. And the contents of the book are ordinary everyday life.


What kind of English life? Three overgrown, sexually preoccupied knuckleheads - an international and cross-national phenomenon.

The title could be translated as "Three males in a boat, not counting the dog" - but that would be too vulgar.

 
Server Muradasilov:

This thread will be the most read on the forum. Please follow the rules of the forum, although it may get lost ...

https://www.mql5.com/ru/forum/209022/unread#unread


It's like going to the ladies' room - you can't pee but you can peek in)))

 

Three in a Boat is a classic of unsuccessful translations, although there is usually nothing to pick on.

There is another classic, but already a successful translation.

It's a 19th century translation of Dickens' Pickwick Club. Ten or fifteen pages each of sibilance. Then there were accurate translations, but this particular translation was considered a classic for 80 years, surviving many reprints. At the end of the century a new translation came out, but it wasn't accepted, then another and another... and all unsuccessful

 
Ihor Herasko:

Just like in the women's bathroom - you can't pee, but you can peek)))


I think this thread is going to die, that's the only reason why it has no chance.)

 
 
СанСаныч Фоменко:

A classic example of the impossibility of translation is the very funny book Three in a Boat Apart from the Dog. It is only funny in the original. There are a huge number of translations of this book and they are all unsuccessful. As funny book in English is so boring in Russian. Even the translation of the title itself, which in the original sounds like: Tree men in a boat to say nothing of the dog - suffers from some faintly explainable flaw. If you think about it, you can explain the flaw and it's enormous.

In Russian, a dog around people is also 'counted', number 4. In English, a dog is 'not spoken of', because in English, a dog is not an animate thing; it is an it, not a he or she. In translating a very simple phrase, the distinction between the treatment of an animal in Russian and English is lost.

The text of this book is all like that. It describes an English life which only partially coincides with our life. A translation of the book is NOT possible. And the content of the book is ordinary everyday life.

Tree men in a boat to say nothing of the dog

it should have been translated like this:

"Three assholes in a boat saying nothing of a dog"

which leaves the author with an understatement, some deliberate absurdity and some vague hint

to some unclear circumstances...

 
Denis Sartakov:

Tree men in a boat to say nothing of the dog

it should have been translated like this:

"Three assholes in a boat saying nothing of a dog".

which leaves the author with an understatement, some deliberate absurdity and some vague hint

to some obscure circumstances...


The men described are clearly not gentlemen. And your translation is much closer to the essence of these people.

But we are talking about translation from English into Russian and we wanted to read a book in Russian in English. Not only the fact but also the spirit of the book has to be preserved. And there is a problem with this very "pure English spirit". If we talk about this particular book, then it looks like a purely English tradition of mocking the author's characters.

Let me explain with an example.

The film is about a brilliant victory for British intelligence. A huge problem, a brilliantly elaborated and complex operation and in the end, of course, here it is: victory.

However, if you watch the whole film, it is shown that the heroes from the intelligence service have nothing to do with the resulting victory at all. No, they are participants in all the events, but the events took their course and the victory is the result of a chain of purely coincidental events of an utterly idiotic nature. And in fact it would be better for these "winners" to sit at home and not make a fuss.


Speaking of 'Three in the Boat', this purely English mocking flair of the author over his characters is completely lost in the Russian translation. Many times translated, the book is different in Russian than in English.

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