Like-Blog
Presenting you the most interesting translation solutions
Why Like-Blog? Now, first of all, this blog is a blog that you should like (and read regularly) – at least, if you are interested in translation. Then, the topic discussed here is one in which the meaningful likeness between a text and its translation in the language pair English-German plays a key role. On this page, I will take a close look at some interesting translation solutions that I have come across in the course of my work as a translator and translation scholar.
A translation solution is only as good as the arguments that support it. This means that any translation criticism, whether positive or negative, needs to be justified. The quality of a translation solution shows only when we compare it to other possible translation solutions in a given translation situation. Therefore, a translation critic should not only say why a translation solution is bad, but also demonstrate what a better solution might look like. I will try to stick to these principles of translation criticism. So if you have any questions regarding my line of argument or if you disagree, please, let me know your opinion by phone at +49 4171 6086525 or by e-mail to bittner@businessenglish-hamburg.de. So much for the introduction. I hope you’ll enjoy reading this blog!
Guinness (February 2024)
In “The Trouble with Harry’s” (Vanity Fair, 2 November 2009), Mark Seal writes: “Rupert Guinness, the second Earl of Iveagh and head of the Guinness-beer family, after hearing Giuseppe Cipriani’s dream of building an elegant hotel on land he owned on the Venetian island of Giudecca one night, said, ‘Count me in.’”
The German version is quite close to the original: “Rupert Guinness, zweiter Earl of Iveagh und damaliges Oberhaupt der Guinness-Bierdynastie, sagte, nachdem er sich eines Abends Giuseppe Ciprianis Traum angehört hatte, ein elegantes Hotel auf einem Grundstück zu bauen, das er auf der venezianischen Insel Giudecca besaß: „Ich bin dabei.“”
The translation is basically okay. Since the prepositional phrase with the English present participle (“after hearing”) is correctly rendered as a temporal subclause in German (“nachdem er sich [...] angehört hatte”), the verb of the main clause (“sagte”) needs to move closer to the subject. In the resulting sentence structure, however, this verb is separated from the pertinent direct speech by the aforementioned temporal subclause and a relative clause – which is syntactically disadvantageous.
To remedy this, the syntax should be completely reorganised: Eines Abends erzählte Giuseppe Cipriani dem zweiten Earl of Iveagh und damaligen Oberhaupt der Guiness-Bierdynastie, Rupert Guinness, von seinem Traum, ein elegantes Hotel auf einem Grundstück zu bauen, das er auf der venezianischen Insel Giudecca besaß, und Rupert Guinness sagte dazu: „Ich bin dabei.“