Active Users:279 Time:29/03/2024 05:46:28 AM
Poetry loses almost everything in translation. Tom Send a noteboard - 05/04/2017 04:05:34 AM

I'm willing to concede that, for example, Latin poetry translated into Italian might lose very little in the process, due to the similarity of the languages (or Spanish to Italian and vice versa). I could also see translation from, say, Norwegian to Swedish as being a relatively effortless matter (though why even bother at that point?).

Too much of poetry has to do with meter, sound and emotion for the sense to be easily passed along into another language. After all, you can translate the Chinese "shi" poem (see link), but it's pretty much meaningless to do so.

Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.

ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius

Ummaka qinnassa nīk!

*MySmiley*
Shi shi shi
Reply to message
Yevgeny Yevtushenko, influential Russian poet, has passed away - 03/04/2017 05:30:50 PM 8533 Views
He loomed large in the novel by Aksyonov I read relatively recently, A Mysterious Passion. - 04/04/2017 03:47:45 AM 1937 Views
Non-Russians don't necessarily know they should be interested. - 04/04/2017 12:35:49 PM 1794 Views
I must say, I don't think I'd heard of him before. - 04/04/2017 10:31:26 PM 1854 Views
Poetry loses almost everything in translation. - 05/04/2017 04:05:34 AM 2089 Views
You'd be able to name Pushkin too. - 05/04/2017 01:11:14 PM 1941 Views
Don't get me started on Russian literature classes - 05/04/2017 04:10:04 AM 1842 Views
Mine was similar. - 05/04/2017 01:17:59 PM 1725 Views
I honestly don't know enough about him. - 04/04/2017 12:41:35 PM 1765 Views
You know his work. You just don't know you know it. - 05/04/2017 03:56:28 AM 1849 Views
This appears to be true. - 05/04/2017 01:22:49 PM 1868 Views

Reply to Message