Dimensions
143 x 222 x 23mm
A dazzlingly erudite demonstration, by one of the world's most brilliant thinkers, of how mistranslations can affect culture, politics and art.
Based on a series of lectures on translation these essays are thought-provoking and compelling discussions on the difficulties of translating faithfully.
Using examples from classic literary texts including his own bestselling novels Eco examines the rights and wrongs, the misunderstandings and the "negotiations" needed in order to translate. One of the most obvious of these is in Italian translations of 'Hamlet'. Where Hamlet, on hearing Polonius behind the arras, cries out: A rat!, the Italian Hamlet's cry is: A mouse! There is a very good reason for this . . .
With great wit and humour, in examining various translations, Eco demonstrates how these negotiations are made. Illuminating the pitfalls of literal translation, he asks a machine to translate an excerpt from the Bible into Spanish then back into English, then into German and then again back into English. The result is hilarious but as Eco points out, it is still vaguely recognisable as a version of the Bible and obviously not the first adventure of Harry Potter.
Accessible to everyone, these essays should also be a requisite for any student of translation.
