LANGUAGE DIVERSITY
Issue 2 :TRANSLATING PICTURIAL
WORDS
Human
languages have the peculiarity that they
encompass idioms , figurative speeches and the like. This quality enhances
poetry and the use of mental pictures while people are speaking.
Such
ability of the human brain to convey pictorial messages is a daunting task to the
language professional. Plus grammar rules and idioms are language-dependent and
there are many gaps in connection with
these parameters.
The
headache of the language professional is therefore to mention these pictures from the source language or at
least to allude to them in the target language.
That’s
why the translation of poems is somehow more difficult than the translation of
prosaic texts for example . As a matter of facts assuming a French translation of the following English rime :
“Create your
fate”
_ onlinebuzzy.blogspot.com
,11/11/2014.
A good translator should be observative that the first and the last words end with the
same suffix that is , “ ate”. Such a pattern enhances the beauty of this short
poem and makes it unforgettable to the readers.
The
translator should therefore find French words with identical endings that
translate the idea of the source poem.. Plus the source poem involves a pictorial word namely , “ create” that is
linked to craftwork . Then the language
professional should find a French word that
are in connection with arts.
An attempt of a French translation of the
poem under study is :
“Créez
votre destin”. In this example the first word starts with a “c” exactly as in
the source poem . Additionally the translated word is etymologically the
meaning of “ create”
Yet
this translation does not feature the pattern
of the source poem , hence its beauty of the source poem is blurred in such a
way that the French reader can not love
it just like the English reader does it. Then it is faulty .
Another attempt
is the following rime:
“Faites the dessin
De votre destin”
In
this case it can be noticed that the source poem rime is somehow repeated with
the suffix “ in” at the endings of both rimes .
Moreover the French word “ dessin” is linked to the arts of painting and
drawing .
Nonetheless
the reading of this poem is lengthier than its reading in the source language
for the translated poem entails six words and two rimes . That is the double of
the words in the source language . Therefore the overall pattern of the source poem
is not respected in the translated poem. Its reading may become burdensome. It can
likely be said that this attempt too is
faulty .
Thus the
right translation should abide by the message of the source poem , It
should be respectful of its overall pattern as well .The translator should also
be careful about the phonetic beauty of his end –text.
The
right translation is therefore this rime
:
“Dessinez
votre destinée”.
Comparing
these two rimes under study reveals these facts . They both display:
-the same pattern that is, both rimes
encompass three words with like-tone at the end of their first and last words.
-the
same message namely that of an encouragement to struggle for a living
-like-words
that are in connection with craftworks.
Translating
pictorial words is a far more challenging task.
Thanks for
reading.
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