Interview with Translator of NEVA

1. First can you give me an overview of your translation process?

 

I never read a book before translating it. I start without knowing the end and I translate like a writer who writes the first draft: I don’t think too much about expressions or possible mistakes. When I’m done, I start with the revision, try to eliminate errors. I often have to do some research to understand subjects and to learn how to use e.g., a certain kind of vocabulary (medical, technical etc.) . Sometimes - more often than not - I revise a third time.

 

 2. What's the biggest challenge in translating a novel?

 

Not to give in to the desire to rewrite the book. ;-)

Seriously: To preserve the special atmosphere created by the author’s choice of words

 

3. How much contact do you typically have with the author of the book you are translating?

 

Close to none. While there are a few authors who are simply not interested, it’s mostly because (I think) it’s just not done. Maybe lack of time or opportunity. Once I sent an email to a known scriptwriter who had written a hilarious book about screenwriting. His answer was completely devoid of humor and I didn’t dare to write again. (But maybe I simply didn’t succeed in translating my sense of humor…)

 

4. How do you deal with words or phrases that don't have direct translations?

 

I try to find an equivalent in my language. Concerning jokes and puns it can be a sad thing to do because sometimes they are simply not funny if you take them out of their natural environment. And it’s not always possible to transfer the meaning. A lot is lost in … well, translation.

 

5. Translating a novel is more than just a word-by-word endeavor. How do you go about translating tone and rhythm of an author?

 

In fact you can’t (at least in my opinion). I think every language has a specific “soul” or spirit which finds its expression in grammar and syntax, too. As an American or English you need less words to say something than a person who speaks German. This shortness has a special effect on the atmosphere and the color of a story. I try to write in German words what I have felt when reading the original. And I always hope that I have felt what the author intended to evoke.

 

6. Do you also have to translate cultural differences? (Experiences that are uniquely American or British for example.)

 

I’m always trying not to translate those differences. If you try to transfer the meaning into your own language you risk being implausible. Same with transferring accents into your own language: A character from, let’s say, a southern US state who speaks a Bavarian dialect sounds terribly wrong.

(Of course sometimes those differences are the essence of the story. In that case I hope that the readers will understand with a minimum of explanation that I try to embed in the story.)

 

7. What other books have you translated?

 

A lot. All kinds of novels (crime/romance/children’s etc) , nonfiction and biographies, books for creative writing,  essays ( Ray Bradbury, Joyce Carol Oates among others). I have written two novelizations of a movie/tv-show .