Metaglossia: The Translation World

In today’s world, many of us simply accept modern language as a given. English is so widely spoken that it seems almost impossible to consider that it is actually a relatively new tongue. All languages have been on an incredible journey, shaped by human migration, politics, colonialism, and war, and English is no exception. With its roots in Germany and the Netherlands, English has evolved over many years, and still it continues to grow.
Originating from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic invaders and various settler groups, English has been developed out of the West-Germanic language groups. With the kingdom of Britain being built from such a diversity of roots, Old English was initially a conglomeration of a number of dialects, until eventually Late West Saxon became the dominant voice.
During the Middle Ages the language was shaped into more of what we see today in modern English. In 1000 AD, the vocabulary and grammar of Old English was more akin to that of old Germanic languages like Old High German and Old Norse, but by 1400 AD, the language was largely recognisable to what we see today. This alteration in the language came as result of two further waves of invasion, bringing Scandinavian and Norman dialects into the language; the Scandinavian influence simplifying the language grammatically and the Normans developing Anglo-Norman where a large quantity of modern English vocabulary has its origins.

Behind the doors of the hulking Merriam-Webster building in Springfield, the past is very much present. Inside is the oak cabinet built to show off Webster’s International Dictionary of the English Language at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. Old signs and photographs are on display, but the most precious relic is the 1806 dictionary that Noah Webster labored over for 20 years.

For that dictionary, Webster defined 37,000 words (the current unabridged Merriam-Webster dictionary contains about 500,000) and Americanized British spellings, excising an “l” from “traveller,” turning “gaol” into “jail,” and so on. Yet reviews were mixed, sales slow. Webster’s next dictionary, published in 1828, had almost twice as many words and became an American standard but his publisher went bankrupt. His 1841 revision, priced at $15, sold poorly. When Webster died in 1843, the future of his monumental achievement was in doubt.....

What about the future? Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, first published in 1898 and now in its 11th edition, has been one of the best-selling hardcover books in American publishing history but today it’s available for free online. The company has dictionary apps for the iPad, iPhone, and Android platforms, and this fall it will unveil a redesigned subscription website for the unabridged dictionary. The most recent print edition of the unabridged Webster’s dictionary holds a 2002 copyright. Will there be another? Morse said no decision has been made. “I have a feeling,” he said, “that the death of the print dictionary will be predicted many times before it actually happens.”

La traducción del chino al español en el siglo xx: Carmelo Elorduy (4)

Por Gabriel García-Noblejas

El último de los aspectos que desearíamos comentar de la traducción, ahora sólo del Tao Te Ching (no la del Chuang Tse), es el de la traducción de los conceptos. En primer lugar, hay que mencionar que una buena cantidad de los conceptos principales del libro se quedan como estaban, es decir, en chino, transliterados; nos estamos refiriendo a los conceptos de Tao y de Te; a veces, sin embargo, los conceptos chinos así mantenidos van acompañados de una traducción al español. Ejemplos: Te (Virtud) o «Quien guarde este Tao (esta sabiduría) no deseará llenarse (de cosas), y sin llenarse podrá seguir con lo viejo sin renovarlo» (Texto 15).

En segundo lugar, hay que recordar que algunos de los conceptos están traducidos desde un punto de vista eminentemente ecuménico que parte de la identificación, hecha por el padre Elorduy, entre el Tao y la divinidad o, como él mismo dice, con el Ser Supremo.1 Sintonizan con esta concepción la traducción, decimos, de algunos conceptos y versos, como el siguiente:

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  L'HISTOIRE DE LA TRADUCTION EN QUESTION(S)   Appel à contribution pour le numéro 18 de la revue Atelier de traduction   Date limite : 31 août 2012   Dossier thématique : L'HISTOIRE DE LA TRADUCTION EN QUESTION(S)      Une vue [...]...

Un projet encyclopédique est en cours, qui marquera le champ de la traduction : l’Histoire des traductions en langue française, du 15e siècle à nos jours. Entretien avec Yves Chevrel, coéditeur du livre avec Jean-Yves Masson.

Mots-clés : traduction histoire français anthologie chevrel masson

(Propos recueillis par Camille Bloomfield)

Jusque là, pour aborder la traduction d’un point de vue historique, les auteurs s’étaient surtout centrées sur une période (celle des « belles infidèles » et de l’âge classique, par exemple, ou celle des romantiques allemands), ou sur la question plus générale de la traduction en français à travers les siècles. Le projet porté par Yves Chevrel et Jean-Yves Masson, dont le premier tome est à paraître chez Verdier à l’automne 2012, est en cela particulièrement ambitieux puisqu’il englobe, voire dépasse toutes ces approches, et retrace, à raison de quatre volumes successifs, une « Histoire des traductions en langue française ».

Lire la suite: http://ifverso.fr/fr/content/cinq-siecles-de-traductions-une-histoire-renversante-de-la-langue-francaise-0

Oxford is famous for, among other things, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which has been the last word on words for more than a century.

As a translation company we’re well aware of the need to provide high-quality language translation services to our clients, and we’ve worked on all kinds of subject areas, and into a multitude of languages. What we often don’t think about however, is the effect of sharing knowlege between cultures, and the wealth of new information has been spread across linguistic boundaries thanks to the translation process. So just how important are translations to unlocking the secrets of a culture, and has translation really managed to shape the world as we know it?
A good starting point to broach this subject would be the translations of religious scriptures. Throughout history, translated religious texts have allowed for religion to spread across linguistic boundaries and across the world. Take the Qur’an for example. Originally the Qur’an was written in Arabic, and its contents were available only to those who could read the language. As translators worked on the scriptures, they made them accessible to people from other cultures, and allowed for the spread of Islam to people in other cultures speaking different languages.

Rencontre autour de l'ouvrage Le Poisson et le Bananier...

Ils sont venus parler de la passion qui les dévore et les charme. Autour de la parution en France de l'ouvrage Le Poisson et le Bananier, une fabuleuse histoire de la traduction, l'auteur David Bellos et son traducteur Daniel Loaysa se sont exprimés sur le travail de traduction, sous la houlette de Cathy Ytak, membre de l'Association des Traducteurs Littéraires de France.

L'un est professeur à l'université de Princeton, a traduit Perec et écrit sur Jacques Tati. L'autre est hélleniste, a traduit Sophocle, mais aussi Shakespeare, ou encore Tennessee Williams. Ils ont été présentés par Flammarion. Peu importe s'ils ne se connaissaient pas. « Ce qui compte, c'est le rapport d'amitié, le fait de tout se dire, de ne rien laisser passer ».