Translating "Stakes"

[trovia]

Me and fellow translators kit_kat_2006 and mondenengel decided to talk some about our translations so to improve on our work. So here are a couple of notes on translating "Stakes." I hope this is interesting for those of you who're learning German too

Comments

[mondenengel]

No need for puns with you because you make up for the lack of them by throwing in phrases like the one with the idioms. *gg

[trovia]

First of all, I think it's good you were the first one of us to do this because now we have an idea what you wanted it to look like.

Right. You realize that I don't actually have any authority whatsoever, right? :D Because there's nothing wrong with doing it differently if you want to do that.

Gaeta's smirk: I think it's easier if I translate one of my own stories because I have a very specific idea of how the characters should come across. I can switch and have them do something different that is also in character although it conveys a different message. Incidentally, I make this kind of changes a lot when I translate.

Heh, I like the "verständnislos" as a substitute for blinking. Thanks! See? Improving already. :)

Where did the stress in the last excerpt go? D: Is there a specific reason you didn't copy the structure of the English version to keep a similar stress in the German one?I don't like using stresses to divide clauses in German. I did that a couple of times recently but I feel that it's often distracting, and it often

[mondenengel]

Um... right. I think I'm developing an inferiority complex if you keep insisting on excellency and me being connected.

I guess the thing with the stress is personal taste. :) But now I'll definitely think about it a lot more if I stumble across a similar case.

I think necessary changes (like the 'smirk'-instance, for example) are really harder if you're not translating your own story. Translation is based so much on interpretation as it is but there are enough moments when the translation doesn't feel right to me and I'm struggling with words because it comes across so differently from what it feels like in my mind. (And this is also why one should know the whole story before starting a translation because only then do you get a feel - my personal opinion.)

Hmm. You'll very probably get me to be more daring with my translations. I'll judge later if that's a good thing or not.

[trovia]

Well, this one is more of a rewrite than a mere translation. But I did teach myself to be quite liberal when I translate. I feel that the writers would prefer a good story over a literal translation. Whenever I translate rather literally, I end up thinking that the result is clumsy, lacking a distinctive tone. I often translate and then, in a second step I edit without comparing with the original text.

I agree that you should know the whole story, or at least have a good idea about the fic before you start translating. It's all about inventing a new tone of voice and sticking to it, isn't it? You can't ever keep the writing style of the original.

[puszysty]

I had no idea that there were so many versions of smirking in German. It's a fairly ambiguous phrase in English- I could recognize a smirk when I see one, but I couldn't describe one to you.

while "frown" applies to everything above. Sort of? Frowning is at the basic level considered a lip movement (there are lots of phrases about frowning, like "turn that frown upside down", that make it the opposite of smiling), but physically most of the face gets involved.

I also found it interesting that you translated frak to verdammt. I'm guessing that's what it gets dubbed as on television, but I feel like that's a whole element of the show that's lost there.

[trovia]

Thanks for the bit about the frowning. :) mondenengel and I keep having an everlasting debate about that. Not helped by the fact that we both have to guess about the exact meaning of the term. :D

I also found it interesting that you translated frak to verdammt. I'm guessing that's what it gets dubbed as on television, but I feel like that's a whole element of the show that's lost there.

Yes, that's how it's dubbed. It really is a shame. If it were my dub, I'd probably have made something up. "Verfrackt" comes to mind; "abgefrackt" would also be a possibility. "Frak" as an exclamation was kept though (we'd spell it "frack," methinks).

[kit_kat_2006]

You know, I was kind of confused when I first came across the word "frak" in a BSG-fic. I looked it up and couldn't find it. After hours of contemplating I thought, it must be some special BSG-term, because I never read "frak" somewhere else. Turns out, I was right, but it took me some time, to get the hang of it. But I definitely agree with you now. A whole element of the show got lost. That's one of the bad things, when you dub shows and movies.

As for the whole discussion about "smirking", I'm not sure if I agree with the posts here. In my opinion there isn't even one word that fits right. It's always some dancing around the topic, but never really hitting the spot. You always need kind of a whole sentence to get the same meaning. It's unnerving. And the same goes with "chuckles". Great word in english, but damn hard to translate. It always drives me insane.

[kit_kat_2006]

Oh, and what about the word "sneer"? Draco Malfoys sneers always and ever in every HP-fic. How do you translate "sneer"? "schnarlen"? "schnauben"? "Zähne fletschen?" I really don't know how to translate "sneer". Do you?

[millari]

This post and subsequent discussion was really interesting, despite the fact that I know absolutely no German (wow, "skeptisch" may become my new favorite word of the week. I love it

[trovia]

LOL. What is it you like so much about "skeptisch"? It's such a random choice

[millari]

LOL. What is it you like so much about "skeptisch"? It's such a random choice!
Hmm...I'm not entirely sure, I think because I like the sound of it, plus the fact that it's close in sound and meaning to the English word "skeptic" and "skeptical". But really, I think what clinches it for me is that Americans (and maybe Brits, I'm not sure) sometimes tack on the ending "ish" to words that really have no business having the "ish" ending. We do this to politely introduce a sense of ambiguity or doubt to an adjective in a non-confrontational way that doesn't usually have any ambiguity. It's sort of the equivalent of saying "kind of".

For example:

Felix Gaeta (excitedly): Hey! Is that a new version of the Library of the 12 Colonies?
Pegasus CIC Officer (pausing before replying): Well...newish anyway.

So there is something about "skeptisch" that feels like it's describing being skeptical, but only sort of. This somehow amuses me greatly.

I will definitely make an entry about your fic because it's a tricky one.Cool! You can even say it