Untranslatability

Untranslatability

Translator:

accompanist accomplice acolyte actor adulterer advocate agent provocateur agnostic alchemist alien allographer amanuensis amateur ambassador amphibian anarchist anchorite ante-Christ antidote ape apostate apostle arbiter archaeologist archivist armchair explorer artificial assassin attendant au pair automaton babbler backseat driver bastard beachcomber beacon beast of burden beggar bigamist biographer bird of prey bit player black box blank check blasphemer body double body without a soul bodyguard bon a tout et propre a rien bondsman bonne a tout faire boomerang bootlegger border patrol borrower bricoleur bridge broker bungler burglar bystander camp follower cannibal cape captive captor castrator catcher celebrant chameleon changeling channeler charlatan cheater cheerleader chicken chief mourner cicerone cipher clone clue coach collaborator colonizer comitatus commonplace con artist concubine confessor confidante confidence man conjunction conjuror conqueror conscript contortionist contraband copycat costume boy counterfeiter courier coward crook crosswords crusader crutch cud-chewer custodian customs official dabbler daredevil day laborer deadline poet defaulter defector defiler delta demiurge demon deportee deputy dervish desecrator deserter desoeuvré despoliator deviant devil's advocate diamond polisher dictator dictionary dilettante disciple displaced person dividend dodger Don Juan Don Quixote donor doppelganger double agent double-crosser dowser dragoman drifter drone duelist eavesdropper eccentric echo écrirain public ecrivain emasculator embalmer embezzler embroiderer emigrant emissary enabler enchantress endangered species epigone escape artist escort evangelist manqué excluded middle exile exorcist expatriate explorer exterminator extra extremist factotum faker fakir familiar famulus fan fata morgana fellator fence ferryman fighter follower fool forger forlorn foster parent fourth dimension frame fraud freak free agent freebooter Friday frontiersman fugitive fumbler functionary fungus gambler ghost ghostwriter gigolo gleaner glossolalian go-between graffitist graft gravedigger graverobber grazer grifter guarantor guardian angel guerrilla guest gypsy hack half-breed handler handmaid hand-me-down Harlequin Headless Horseman heir help-meet hermaphrodite Hermes hermit hermit crab high high priest highway robber hijacker hired hand hit man homeopath host to parasite hostage-taker hostess hound hustler hybrid hyphen hypochondriac immigrant impair imperialist impersonator importer imposter impotent impresario infiltrator initiate inseminator instar insurgent interloper introvert intruder invader Jack-of-all-trades Janus Job joker juggler Kamikaze kidnapper kindred spirit knight errant lackey lady-in-waiting landlord latecomer leech lefty leper Leporello levitator liar liberator lieutenant lifeguard lighthouse keeper living dead loiterer loner loose canon lost lost soul lovelorn lover madman magician malingerer man man without qualities manhandler marriage counselor martyr masked bandit master master of none matchmaker mediator medium megalomaniac metempsychotic metizo metteur-en-scene middleman midwife mime mind-reader miner minor minor artist mirror misanthrope miscegenitor miscreant miser misfit missing link missionary mistress mockingbird model moderator mole money-changer mongrel monk monkey monster moonlighter moonshiner morganatic bride mortgager mortician moyenne mummifier mummy mutant mutt mythomane Narcissus nebbish necessary evil necromancer necrophage necrophiliac ne'er-do-well negotiator no land's man nobody nomad nymphomaniac obliterator occasional poet occupier odd man out oddball ombudsman onlooker opportunist oracle Orpheus other woman otobiographer outcast oxymoron paper-doll paramour paranoiac parasite pariah parodist parrena parricide parrot party crasher passe-partout passeur pasteurizer pasticciere patsy pawnbroker peer persona persona non grata perverse philanderer philanthropist picaro Pied Piper pimp pinch-hitter plagiarist poacher pointillist polymorphous porte-a-faux post-horse potsherd predator pretender prey prisoner private eye prompter propagandist Proteus proxy puppet puppeteer putterer puzzle piece quick-change artist rag-and-bone man rapist ravisher rebel angel receleur recidivist reciprocal recycler redeemer referee refugee reincarnation relayer renegade repo man rescuer retinue revivalist rhizomorphe rib robot rogue rolling stone ruminant runner-up saboteur saint Sancho Panza satellite savior scagliala scapegoat scarecrow scavenger scribe second second chance second fiddle second sight second skin second string second-rate secretary seducer seer serf servant shade shadow shaman shapechanger sharecropper shepherd short order cook shrinking violet shyster sidekick sideshow simulacrum sinecure sinner siphon sister soul skeleton key slave smelter smokescreen smuggler snoop sociopath somnambulist soul sister soul without a body soulmate sounding board sous-developpé speaker in tongues spectator spendthrift sponsor spook spouse spy squire stalker stand-in static stencil stenographer stepchild stereoscope steward stiltwalker stowaway straw (wo)man stunt double stutterer submissive subsidiary substitute suicide supernumerary surrogate mother swashbuckler swindler sycophant symbolon tabula rasa tagalong tailor taxidermist tenant theoros thief threshold tiers exclu tightrope walker time machine tinker tour guide tourist tracer trafficker trait(re)-d'union traitor tramp transcriber transgressor transplant transsexual transvestite traumaturge trendsetter trespasser triangulator trill tueur a gages turncoat tutelary spirit twin two-timer umpire undercover operator underdog understudy undertaker underwriter unknown soldier upstager usurer usurper vagabond vagrant vampire vandal vassal vehicle ventriloquist vessel vicar victim voyeur vulture waffler waif wall-flower Wandering Jew war machine warden weed werewolf white page wife wild card will o' the wisp window wind-up doll witness wolf in sheep's clothing worker bee yo-yo zigzag zombie

Untranslatability, the translator's greatest nightmare and the translation scholar's chief interest, is usually seen as existing in two forms.

Linguistic - when the target language has no corresponding words, tenses, phonetic or grammatical entities that occur in the source language;
Cultural - when the target language and its culture lack a relevant situational feature for the source language text (allusions, symbols, puns).

However, some scholard deny the existence of untranslatability, e.g. pointing to the thousands years of translation practice. Others, mostly deconstructionists, deny the possibility of translating anything - and no wonder, since they also deny the possibility of understanding in communication in one language.

Translators deal with untranslatability by employing a number of procedures. These include:

Adaptation - when social or cultural reality of the source text with reality taken from the culture of the target language;
Borrowing - when the translator uses the word or phrase of the original, usually in italics;
Calque - when the translation of an expression is rendered word-for-word;
Compensation - when the translator adds elements to the target texts to make up for their absence in the target language;
Paraphrase - when a word of the source text is replaced, in the target text, by a whole group of words that explain a non-existent notion in the target language;
Translator's note - when the translator breaks the flow of the text by an annotation that compensates the untranslatability.

This session will present examples of specific translation problems resulting from cultural difference and/or differences between lexical/structural systems in the source and the target languages.

All of these examples have been taken from the lecturer's personal experience.

HTML:
Coupland
Golding
Ishiguro
Word:
Coupland
Golding
Ishiguro

Readings:

Willis Barnstone, "Problems and Parables", The Poetics of Translation, 15-51, 265-271.

George Steiner, After Babel, ix-xviii, 1-50.

Jaques Derrida, "From Des Tours de Babel." Rainer Schulte, John Biguenet (eds), Theories of Translation, 218-227.

Walter Benjamin, "The task of the translator." Rainer Schulte, John Biguenet (eds), Theories of Translation, 218-227.