Do books lose their meaning in translations?

[Shole]

I discussed this a while back about an adult book that I really dislike and a friend of mine loves. I read the English version and she read the Serbian version, so I was surprised to find that she enjoyed it a lot with our tastes being identical. Do you think that translating some books changes the meaning or does it happen to only some books?

 

[TopSilver]

RE: Do books lose their meaning in translations?

The one book that doesn't lose it's meaning is the bible originally written on the scrolls as hebrew text and later translated into the Holy Bible we know today.

I haven't really ever compared any translations because English is the only language I know. My brother is fluent in English and Spanish though. One example of part of the bible that causes translation issues is the Fear of God in Hebrew means Respect but translated it's fear. I actually think it's supposed to mean Fear and Respect combined.

 

[ZandraJoi]

RE: Do books lose their meaning in translations?

I believe they do lose their meaning. Translations can be hard to do especially if the other language doesn't understand the meaning of the English word. Even in English, you can get different translations, depending on where people are from. For example, people in England speak English but use different words than in the USA.

 

[MrGreen]

RE: Do books lose their meaning in translations?

Well, not necessarily. On the contrary I would like to see it in a positive way. So many creations in other languages are now possible to be read in English or any of your preferred language which is a boon in itself. Without translation, it wouldn't have been possible to read, say, a literature by Rosa Montero originally in Spanish.

 

[Joshua Farrell]

RE: Do books lose their meaning in translations?

I think the main issue with translations, is that if you do not have reference on the culture, colloquialisms and history of what you are translating, then there is much that can be lost in translation. If it is fiction, usually the best way to translate a saying from one language to another, is to find something similar to it for reference, and use that as a jumping point to connect it to a different audience.

 

[Nomad]

RE: Do books lose their meaning in translations?

You cannot translate books, especially literary books like novels and poetry, you can only transliterate. I have read a lot of translated books. When I  do not know the original language, I cannot find out how well is the translation however, when I know the both language, I can make a comparison, in most case there are blunders.

 

[Nascent]

RE: Do books lose their meaning in translations?

Probably yes. Many times the translated word or sentence may not convey the same emotions which the original author wants to convey. But the plus point is that you are able to read books in your preferred language, which otherwise would not have been possible, thanks to translated material.