translation//

Translated texts or novels aren’t as “hyped”, as kids in our generation would say, compared to the usual English novels. This may be due to the fact that translated texts were never seen or put out in the society as the type of books people should read or be focusing on. If you look it up, translated novels aren’t given much recognition compared to other types of novels despite the number of amazing reviews and comments on some of them. Truth is, some people would prefer reading books they know they can relate to instead of books that would open up a new world and a new perspective on things they’ve never experienced which translated books does. In the article I read of Claudia Roth published in the New Yorker, translated books give a deeper insight as to what the people from the setting are experiencing which media chooses to ignore. Newspapers, news reports, tv ads, billboards, etc. do nothing but inform us about the situations and sometimes the information they put out are biased based on their personal opinions and/or sponsors. However in translated novels, it gives out not only the information but also the feeling and the sense of being in that certain situation with the use of its characters. 

The complexity of the process of translated texts would also be one of the reasons why this type of novels aren’t praised that much. It takes a driven, intellectual and passionate translator to end up with a good translated novel. Various words and phrases may have no literal translation to it so it requires the translator to really think of how to fully incorporate the thought and the meaning of the word or phrase to a translated word or phrase. It’s unavoidable to miss a few senses of the original text when translating it but it’s the translator’s job to reduce it to the very least in order to not seem as if he or she has butchered it and made an entirely different text.