Translation - art & business » Literature / Poetry »
About translating Hemingway into Arabic
Thread poster: Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 07:48
Dutch to English
+ ...
Dec 25, 2021

I keep a file of memorable quotations from books I read. I was actually looking for another quotation when I came across this one from "Crescent" by Diana Abu-Jaber:

P. 31 – "You're not really fluent in a language until it's pretty much invisible to you," Han says. "When I translate, I deal with words as conscious things. You stare at the pages and you know what everything means, in both languages, and you wonder how on earth to make both languages – with all their history and ... See more
I keep a file of memorable quotations from books I read. I was actually looking for another quotation when I came across this one from "Crescent" by Diana Abu-Jaber:

P. 31 – "You're not really fluent in a language until it's pretty much invisible to you," Han says. "When I translate, I deal with words as conscious things. You stare at the pages and you know what everything means, in both languages, and you wonder how on earth to make both languages – with all their history and innuendos – mean the same thing."

"When you put it like that, it sounds sort of impossible."

He rubs his palm over his forehead a moment. "Trying to translate Hemingway into Arabic is like trying to translate a bird into a river. Not only do you have to translate the words, you also have to translate the feelings and ideas for all kinds of things from one culture to another – like what faith or courage is."

"Crescent" is a wonderful story about a group of middle-eastern immigrants in Los Angeles who gather at a cafe, where the 'first person' is chef, server, friend and confidante. There is a love story in it as well and the book has recipes in it, for those who are interested. ▲ Collapse


AnnaSCHTR
 
Agneta Pallinder
Agneta Pallinder  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:48
Member (2014)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Thanks for the recommendation! Dec 26, 2021

Thanks Tina - the book sounds wonderful. Instantly ordered my copy from eBay. Really looking forward to reading it.
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
NancyLynn[Call to this topic]
Maria Castro[Call to this topic]
Fernanda Rocha[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

About translating Hemingway into Arabic







CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »
Wordfast Pro
Translation Memory Software for Any Platform

Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users! Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value

Buy now! »