people. They require a knowledge of linguistics; an appreciation of literature for
children; a writer’s instincts; and an awareness of the interests of English-speaking
children.
One of the reasons why publishers are reluctant to include books in translation on
their lists is the complex nature of the translation process and the difficulty of finding
highly qualified people to translate the literature successfully. Unless the editor reads the
original language, the translator’s judgement proves to be vital, and the editor is
dependent upon it for the success of the publication.
Translators are faced with the dilemma; do they produce a literal, word for word
rendering of the story or do they flow with the spirit of the story. There are dangers
inherent in both positions, for a lack of vitality and readability may result from being too
literal, and an adapted version may easily be far removed from the author’s original
intent. These adaptations become particularly bothersome when they are oversimplified
for younger children. In the purest form, then, translating literature for children
presents a complex challenge wherein the translator tries to retain the original sense
and meaning of the story in another language.
What is the process of translating? How is one work of art transformed into another?
Several translators have distinctive views on their role as the process applies to
themselves. American writer and translator of many Greek novels for young people, for
example, Edward Fenton:
The first and foremost aspect of translation is, of course, that of meaning. The
translator must know both languages well enough to know what is meant in the
original language and then to dredge from the depths of his experience and
judgement in the second language the most effective, most suitable, and most
evocative equivalent word or phrases. In addition to this, translation is not merely a
matter of shifting linguistic gears. It is also a shift from one culture to another, from
one way of thought into another, from one way of life into another. What may be
strange and exotic must be made to seem, if not familiar, at least rational and
acceptable.
Fenton 1977:639One of the most internationally recognised translators is Patricia Crampton of Britain.
She translates from six languages and views the process not as a cultural mirror but as
an active performance.
You read a score and you do your very best to perform it in such a way that the
audience understands what the composer meant.
[The process has to be]...totally faithful to what your author intended. Almost
inevitably you will be dealing with an author who writes well. But writing well
involves different rhythms. And certainly if we just take Swedish, German, and
English, you have got three tremendously different rhythms. You have somehow
got to be true to the artist in the author, his own creativity. While you hope to
appeal to the English reader in the same way he appealed to the Swedish reader.TRANSLATION 513