Lost in Translation: context & terminology
Feb. 7th, 2010 10:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
narcasseThinking about the business of translation and more specifically the idea of translating a concept that has a clear distinction in one language into another language in which it doesn’t I started wondering about my use of terms when it comes to fanfiction. I’m leaving the Monster in the Tower aside because that’s a piece where the narrator is consciously aware that he’s translating concepts from his own culture into a language where they may or may not exist, and he’s also a highly skilled linguist so sometimes plays language games for their own sake.
When it comes to Trinity Blood fanfic my initial thought was that the term ‘tovarăş’ doesn’t have an analogue in the English language after which I literally facepalmed because of course it does. Tovarăş in Romanian just means comrade. The problem then, so I presumed, was that ‘comrade’ as a term in English doesn’t have the same connotations: in my case it makes me think of armed struggle against a state that oppresses the proletariat or of films featuring Russian U-boats and people wearing ushankas. But even that’s not a sensible argument at all. After all ‘Lohengrin’ is a Wagnerian opera that’s part of the Grail tradition, William Wordsworth is the poet who wrote Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey, my first connection to Jäger-anything is the bottle in my drinks cabinet, bacillus are bacteria and not just a name for nanotechnology and so on. Just because words mean one thing in one context doesn’t mean that they can’t mean something else in another if another meaning is deliberately built up around them.
The issue then is building up a new meaning. In a slightly different vein the name ‘Roy Mustang’ or at least the surname is a good example of something that in an out of universe context probably sounds a bit silly but in an in-universe context is pretty darn impressive. It’s not the word ‘mustang’ that changes but the connotations that go with it so on the surface you have a character whose surname is a type of car but within the specified universe the name takes on a difference significance since it’s attached to a heroic character. Similarly ‘Mercédès’ in The Count of Monte Cristo is a perfectly respectable name which Google tells me is of Spanish origin but since it’s a less popular name in the UK, here many people’s first association will be with the luxury car brand and considering the date of the story it’s entirely possible that it’s not such a popular name in French or Spanish-speaking countries either anymore.
All of which is to say that the term ‘comrade’ could easily be used in the English language Trinity Blood fandom. The word itself in the context of the series has its own connotations and with that meaning established there really is no need to leave it without translation. If fact, to an ESL native Romanian speaker the use of a specific Romanian word in the English language fandom might well be consistently amusing. That said, while the use of the English ‘comrade’ instead of the Romanian ‘tovarăş’ wouldn’t be at all wrong it is an element that the original author felt added a touch of flavour so it equally wouldn’t be incorrect to use the Romanian. The author also used the Turkish spelling of ‘Yeniçeri’ to give the Empress’ guards a specific name rather than referring to them simply as her guards. And again translating the Turkish ‘Yeniçeri’ into the Anglicised ‘Janissaries’ wouldn’t be incorrect either.
When it comes to titles shortening the text to explain Ion’s rank as the Empress’ sword bearer to the single word Romanian historical rank of ‘Spătar’ wouldn’t be a problem though might either require a footnote or an in-text explanation just for clarity. Likewise using the given German ranks in the English language Meine Liebe fandom isn’t an issue because they serve as in-text reminders that the characters are of Germanic extraction. Translating ‘Margraf’ as ‘Margrave’ wouldn’t be incorrect but would require consistency, otherwise the Margrave Edward Brunswick starts to look distinctly out of place in the company of a Herzog and a Fürst, though granted his name need not be Anglicised. Of course Meine Liebe has the further problem of both ‘Fürst’ and ‘Prinz’ translating as ‘prince’ which in English implies a son of the royal household so that in translation Prince Orpherus and Prince Radu sound like they’re equals when in fact one is the head of a noble household and the other is, as ‘Voievod’, a sovereign in his own right. And rankings within the royal household itself are always complicated so that Princess Esther and Prince Dietrich might look like a viable match but in fact Esther being heir to the throne hugely outranks Dietrich who is only a very low ranked prince of the blood.
When it comes down to it what really matters is the explanation of the terms used. If someone writing Meine Liebe fanfic can establish that Orpherus’ rank doesn’t mean he’s royalty and that using ‘prince’ to refer to him means something else then there isn’t a problem using it. Likewise if someone can explain that both Ciel Phantomhive and Cain C. Hargreaves hold the same rank and that ‘count’ isn’t used in the British ranking system but that they want to use that since it’s the rank given in the latter series that’s equally not a problem. There are further problems with series like Hellsing where Integra evidently holds the rank of a knight and uses the masculine ‘sir’ rather than ‘dame’ but at one point is addressed by Alucard as ‘countess’ which is the correct form of address for a woman holding the rank of an Earl, which begs the question of why she uses the lower rank. Of course that could be explained by a preference for the masculine forms to prove a point that she can run Hellsing just as well as any man could and that she truly views herself as a knight of the realm or it could be that Alucard, having masqueraded as and being more widely known as a count in the past, is saying that of all women it’s Integra that he regards as his countess. Regardless of the reason as long as it’s either explained and/or already accepted in series context then there isn’t an issue with the terminology used.
As for myself I’m still going to keep using ‘tovarăş’ instead of ‘comrade’ for the sake of adding flavour but I’m not going to argue that it’s more correct than using ‘comrade’ instead. Then again I’m fairly anal about language anyway and I’ve already written pieces with German and Arabic titles as well as German, Japanese, French and Russian phrases thrown in as context reminders or occasionally a little extra characterisation. The point is not to overdo it and to explain any phrases either in the body of the writing itself or in a footnote.
When it comes to Trinity Blood fanfic my initial thought was that the term ‘tovarăş’ doesn’t have an analogue in the English language after which I literally facepalmed because of course it does. Tovarăş in Romanian just means comrade. The problem then, so I presumed, was that ‘comrade’ as a term in English doesn’t have the same connotations: in my case it makes me think of armed struggle against a state that oppresses the proletariat or of films featuring Russian U-boats and people wearing ushankas. But even that’s not a sensible argument at all. After all ‘Lohengrin’ is a Wagnerian opera that’s part of the Grail tradition, William Wordsworth is the poet who wrote Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey, my first connection to Jäger-anything is the bottle in my drinks cabinet, bacillus are bacteria and not just a name for nanotechnology and so on. Just because words mean one thing in one context doesn’t mean that they can’t mean something else in another if another meaning is deliberately built up around them.
The issue then is building up a new meaning. In a slightly different vein the name ‘Roy Mustang’ or at least the surname is a good example of something that in an out of universe context probably sounds a bit silly but in an in-universe context is pretty darn impressive. It’s not the word ‘mustang’ that changes but the connotations that go with it so on the surface you have a character whose surname is a type of car but within the specified universe the name takes on a difference significance since it’s attached to a heroic character. Similarly ‘Mercédès’ in The Count of Monte Cristo is a perfectly respectable name which Google tells me is of Spanish origin but since it’s a less popular name in the UK, here many people’s first association will be with the luxury car brand and considering the date of the story it’s entirely possible that it’s not such a popular name in French or Spanish-speaking countries either anymore.
All of which is to say that the term ‘comrade’ could easily be used in the English language Trinity Blood fandom. The word itself in the context of the series has its own connotations and with that meaning established there really is no need to leave it without translation. If fact, to an ESL native Romanian speaker the use of a specific Romanian word in the English language fandom might well be consistently amusing. That said, while the use of the English ‘comrade’ instead of the Romanian ‘tovarăş’ wouldn’t be at all wrong it is an element that the original author felt added a touch of flavour so it equally wouldn’t be incorrect to use the Romanian. The author also used the Turkish spelling of ‘Yeniçeri’ to give the Empress’ guards a specific name rather than referring to them simply as her guards. And again translating the Turkish ‘Yeniçeri’ into the Anglicised ‘Janissaries’ wouldn’t be incorrect either.
When it comes to titles shortening the text to explain Ion’s rank as the Empress’ sword bearer to the single word Romanian historical rank of ‘Spătar’ wouldn’t be a problem though might either require a footnote or an in-text explanation just for clarity. Likewise using the given German ranks in the English language Meine Liebe fandom isn’t an issue because they serve as in-text reminders that the characters are of Germanic extraction. Translating ‘Margraf’ as ‘Margrave’ wouldn’t be incorrect but would require consistency, otherwise the Margrave Edward Brunswick starts to look distinctly out of place in the company of a Herzog and a Fürst, though granted his name need not be Anglicised. Of course Meine Liebe has the further problem of both ‘Fürst’ and ‘Prinz’ translating as ‘prince’ which in English implies a son of the royal household so that in translation Prince Orpherus and Prince Radu sound like they’re equals when in fact one is the head of a noble household and the other is, as ‘Voievod’, a sovereign in his own right. And rankings within the royal household itself are always complicated so that Princess Esther and Prince Dietrich might look like a viable match but in fact Esther being heir to the throne hugely outranks Dietrich who is only a very low ranked prince of the blood.
When it comes down to it what really matters is the explanation of the terms used. If someone writing Meine Liebe fanfic can establish that Orpherus’ rank doesn’t mean he’s royalty and that using ‘prince’ to refer to him means something else then there isn’t a problem using it. Likewise if someone can explain that both Ciel Phantomhive and Cain C. Hargreaves hold the same rank and that ‘count’ isn’t used in the British ranking system but that they want to use that since it’s the rank given in the latter series that’s equally not a problem. There are further problems with series like Hellsing where Integra evidently holds the rank of a knight and uses the masculine ‘sir’ rather than ‘dame’ but at one point is addressed by Alucard as ‘countess’ which is the correct form of address for a woman holding the rank of an Earl, which begs the question of why she uses the lower rank. Of course that could be explained by a preference for the masculine forms to prove a point that she can run Hellsing just as well as any man could and that she truly views herself as a knight of the realm or it could be that Alucard, having masqueraded as and being more widely known as a count in the past, is saying that of all women it’s Integra that he regards as his countess. Regardless of the reason as long as it’s either explained and/or already accepted in series context then there isn’t an issue with the terminology used.
As for myself I’m still going to keep using ‘tovarăş’ instead of ‘comrade’ for the sake of adding flavour but I’m not going to argue that it’s more correct than using ‘comrade’ instead. Then again I’m fairly anal about language anyway and I’ve already written pieces with German and Arabic titles as well as German, Japanese, French and Russian phrases thrown in as context reminders or occasionally a little extra characterisation. The point is not to overdo it and to explain any phrases either in the body of the writing itself or in a footnote.
