{"id":26797,"date":"2021-08-20T19:36:42","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T19:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bunnystudio.com\/blog\/?p=25602"},"modified":"2025-10-09T01:37:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T01:37:39","slug":"book-translation-how-to-get-it-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bunnystudio.com\/blog\/book-translation-how-to-get-it-done\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Translation: How to Get It Done!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Book translation is one of the hardest forms of translation<\/a>. Let\u2019s take a look at the main challenges of book translation and let’s figure out how to acquire a great translation online.<\/p>\n

Book Translation: How to do it?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Precision<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

Creating a precise translation is usually the first intuition that a translator has, and rightly so. Suppose we have to translate this fictional passage:<\/p>\n

The vampire attacked the explorers, without mercy and with utter determination.<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Could we attempt a completely literal precise translation of this passage? Sure, it doesn\u2019t offer much difficulties. If we translated from English into Spanish we would end up with something like this:<\/p>\n

El vampiro atac\u00f3 a los exploradores, sin compasi\u00f3n y con completa determinaci\u00f3n. <\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

The passage can be translated literally, without much problems. Perhaps the only tricky word in the English original version is \u201cutter\u201d<\/strong> in that it can be translated into several different synonyms. Perhaps the word \u201cmercy\u201d<\/strong> offers the same challenge. Note that we settled on \u201ccompleta\u201d<\/strong> and \u201ccompasi\u00f3n\u201d<\/strong>, respectively. This is really a very minor challenge though. The literal translation works perfectly well.<\/p>\n

Usually, this is what we want to do in book translation: We want to create a completely literal translation first and foremost. Often, however, this is not quite possible. Let\u2019s try to understand this a bit more.<\/p>\n

Naturalness<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

An issue we\u2019ll inevitably encounter when attempting book translation is the issue of naturalness. Let\u2019s try to explain this with a fictional example. Suppose we need to translate this passage from English into Spanish:<\/p>\n

\u201cA rolling stone gathers no moss\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s better that way.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

This expression carries with it some translation risk. We could attempt to translate it literally into Spanish. We would end up with something like this:<\/p>\n

\u201cUna piedra rodante no acumula musgo\u201d dijo ella. \u201cEs mejor as\u00ed.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

This literal translation could very well work. It simply translates the expression as precisely as possible, stating that a rolling stone gathers no moss, without any explanations or additions. This can work quite well.<\/p>\n

There are times, however, when a literal translation of these proverbs or expressions won\u2019t do. As we know, \u201cA rolling stone gathers no moss\u201d means that a person who keeps changing locations will not accumulate wealth or responsibilities. The expression is rather complex, and perhaps we could attempt a translation which strives for naturalness and not literal precision. In other words, we can aspire for meaning, first and foremost:<\/p>\n

\u201cAl moverse tanto no se acumulan responsabilidades\u201d dijo ella. <\/em><\/strong>\u201cEs mejor as\u00ed.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Here, we translated the expression to try to convey the meaning immediately. We basically wrote down: \u201cMoving around so much means you don\u2019t accumulate responsibilities\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s better that way\u201d. Here we\u2019re basically attempting to convey the meaning and not create a literal translation. When we talk about \u2018naturalness\u2019 we mean precisely that. We\u2019re attempting to cut to the core of the expression and not get lost in literal precision.<\/p>\n

Another situation which usually requires striving for naturalness and not literal precision is when we\u2019re trying to create an aesthetically pleasing translation, so to speak. This is often the case in book translation: we’re trying to translate beautifully and not really literally.<\/p>\n

Tough Cases<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There certainly are tough cases in book translation. Roald Dahl\u2019s writing is a great example of a tough translation scenario. Check out this quote from \u2018Matilda\u2019:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ignorant little slug!\u201d the Trunchbull bellowed. \u201cYou witless weed! Empty-headed hamster! You stupid glob of glue!\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

This little extract offers several challenges. Roald Dahl\u2019s books are very much like that; in fact, there are much more complex extracts and phrases in many of his books. Let\u2019s try to understand this one piece by piece.<\/p>\n

First of all, note the challenge of literally translating several words such as \u201cslug\u201d \u201cwitless weed\u201d or \u201cempty-headed hamster\u201d as well as \u201cglob of glue\u201d. It\u2019s quite possible that we\u2019d have to stray from literal precision and into a more aesthetic rendition. In fact, we may have to move beyond aesthetics as well. In these cases, we may very well find that these expressions would need to be replaced by other expressions in the target language, which stay true to the meaning but are something different altogether.<\/p>\n

What about the name \u201cTrunchbull\u201d? This is a challenge typical of Dahl\u2019s books. This author gave names to characters which, in themselves, were very indicative of the style and attitude of that person.<\/p>\n

In fact, students of Dahl\u2019s work, have pointed out that the author may have created as many as 500 new words in his works. Many of these words appeared in \u2018The BFG\u2019 as part of the invented language in the book. Most of them defy translation altogether. A translator must work hard here, moving beyond precision and even naturalness into a realm of utter creativity.<\/p>\n

Book Translation: Before We Get Going<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Book translation is a long and arduous process. This is particularly the case if the book to be translated is a work of literature. In this case, a literal translation will seldom do and a translator must strive to transmit meaning in an aesthetically pleasing way. There are some things which we need to take care of, before setting off on a long translation project though.<\/p>\n

Editing and Proofreading<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

A translator, as we know, takes a text from a source language and into a target language. Converting the text has challenges, as we\u2019ve seen throughout this article. A translator must work hard to make sure that the conversion of the text and the final product is the best possible translation.<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t tell the whole story though. The source material can have several different issues which make the translation process problematic or even impossible. This is a particularly important consideration in book translations.<\/p>\n

For starters, the source material should ideally be proofread before sending it to a translator<\/a>. This makes the process of translation a lot swifter and guarantees a better result.<\/p>\n

Some source materials have tremendous problems we may call \u2018structural\u2019, which will impede a proper translation. In this case, we need to make sure that the text works completely in the source language<\/a>, before we attempt a translation.<\/p>\n

Consider the following example of a material in English with severe problems. This sort of text would face a lot of challenges if taken through the process of translation:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe process of translation for a good translation must involve a large amount of amount of things. First of all, proofreading is key. It is very problematic to have a text with several errors throughout. Moreover, if the text has in a large number of structural problems, editing is a must.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Evidently, this text is poorly written. If we want to take it through the process of translation, we would probably have to edit it substantially. A translator who receives a text in need of editing must either edit the work themselves, or try to ignore the problems and hope for a decent translation. This is not an acceptable situation.<\/p>\n

It’s always better to work from source materials which have been proofread and edited. This makes the job of translation much easier and successful.<\/p>\n

A Blueprint for Book Translation <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s try to set out a number of principles for book translation, before moving on:<\/p>\n