The Literary Translation - Article (Rosmery Barrios)

Literary translation consists of the translation of poetry, plays, literary books, and literary texts, as well as songs, rhymes, literary articles, fiction novels, novels, short stories, poems, etc.

Translate the language, translate their culture.

It is important to keep fidelity in the translations, the fidelity means that the translation will render the meaning of the source text as accurately as possible, without adding or deleting, without intensifying or attenuating any part of the meaning, and yet without distorting it. The same must be true of the naturalness of the expressions and the text in general. Literary translation is not only reading the story created by an author, but also the experience and professionalism of a literary translator.

The literary translator must grasp the content, sense, and meaning of each sentence of the work in question and reformulate it with the words, expressions, and cultural references of the target language. 

Context is a key factor in the translation process. Context can be classified according to different points of view and includes both linguistic and extra-linguistic elements. Culture gives language different contexts. The same words passed from one culture to another obtain slightly or radically different meanings. Sometimes those meaning differences represent slight or intense value differences that could be critical in translations.

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For example, if we are translating from Arabic into English or vice versa, we must take into account that the two realities are very different, their cultures have sometimes opposite views on certain matters, as well as on scientific and technological development. So the search for equivalent words is more complex.

The Little Prince

We begin with the most translated publishing phenomenon in history, or at least one of the most translated worldwide, The Little Prince.

Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry has been translated into more than 250 languages and its origin is French. Written amid World War II, this literary work has undergone countless adaptations since its publication. Translating literary works of this nature into English, where the public is in the majority, is quite an odyssey. It is written simply but hides within itself a profound reflection on friendship and life.

Agatha Christie

We are talking about the most translated English writer of all time. Her works are among the best and most demanded translations from English into other languages. Agatha Christie, a reference in mystery novels, is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the best-selling novelist in history.

In addition to this, Agatha Christie has more than 7233 translations of her literary works. She is at the top of the list, surpassing Jules Verne. In addition, her novels have been translated into more than 100 languages and have sold some 2000 million copies.

Check out the link to this video for more information about literary translation:

 https://youtu.be/ogmvoZfum0E