9/14 Readings Commentary

    I really like Lesser's cage metaphor in "The Mysteries of Translation," because part of the reason I took a deep dive into learning Japanese (among other languages) was because I didn't want to limit myself to what media I could personally consume. In a way, I have a secondary goal when it comes to studying languages where I can always have my own interpretation of the author's voice. On that note, the Ludwig Wittgenstein quote in "Found in Translation" also really stood out to me:

"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world"

This is obviously where translators come in to do God's work, however, something came to mind when I began reading further. When you're reading translated literature, you're reading just one person's interpretation of the text, and essentially leaves way less to the imagination of the reader, since most of the hard work of comprehension is done by the translator. Side note: that makes me really curious as to how often translators take an open-ended statement or part of text and just went with whatever they personally thought it meant, as opposed to allowing it to be up to interpretation in the target language as well. Regardless, I fully agree with Rubin on the fact that it's better for people to learn the language the text is written in anyway, rather than reading translated work, because "there's never a guarantee that you're getting the unalloyed original".  

All things considered, the work that translators do is incredibly admirable, and they make foreign media so much more accessible to people who don't speak the author's native language (and likely aren't able to commit years to learning the original language). Translators are able to take their own understanding of the source material and the author's voice/intention and relay that understanding into a whole new language. Plus, they do this all while considering the extent of the audience's knowledge of the culture that the original text belongs to. Lesser mentions that English literature "can seem insufficient and tedious after a while," and that "you will soon find yourself in need of foreign companionship," which I fully agree with. In fact, reading her work made me gain much more appreciation for translators. I hadn't previously considered just how many doors they open for people all around the globe to literature and media.

Madison