Notes for the Translator

You've got what looks like a great assignment. You'll probably be part of a team. I hope that in this case, the word "Team" isn't what it often is in business: A euphemism for "Hornet's nest." If you're working alone, I hope you get to go back and forth with Big Mak. I don't know his comfort level with speaking English, but he appears to understand it very well. He quotes from many excellent sources, including Barbara Ehrenreich's then ten year-old commentaries about the yuppies' tenuous place in the economy.

I hope you're able to do a good translation. Translations are often marketing. Books can have different tones in different languages. I wonder about Hoe God verdween uit Jorwerd, which I think is best rendered as, "How God Disappeared from Jorwerd." Instead, the English title is watered down to Jorwerd: The Death of the Village in Late Twentieth-Century Europe. The original angry title is now very academic. I think it's fine if the author didn't have a title at the beginning, but if the first one was his title, his point of view has been changed to increase sales.

For the British edition, it might be ok to leave the everything alone. British audiences are familiar with European politics. They have proximity to the Netherlands, and they should have a fair amount of prior knowledge.

For American audiences, be sure to include maps, timelines, and plenty of footnotes explaining acronyms and other things that are not well known here. I remember searching for something that turned out to be a reference to a brand of cookies. Although it's a serious book, memoirs usually have more pictures. A couple of picture sections would make it more accessible to those thumbing through it in the bookstore. Also, you might have to explain Catrinus Mak's postcard in English. An American audience is likely to assume that the original card was in Dutch and written over with Photoshop.

Finally, you should be part of the book's promotional efforts in the US, even if the author speaks English well. I remember catching Octavio Paz and his translator Eliot Weinberger on tour in 1987. I enjoyed watching their interaction. Both translators and authors have stories to tell, and it would be worthwhile to hear about the process.

Clarification of the Feb. 18 Post

The GF read my take on translating and thought it might be taken as a slam against Geert Mak, because I am struggling through his work. She brought up that I needed to clarify, and mention my paid translations.

Most people take care of their language the way they take care of their cars, which is hardly at all. They drive around badly and have no idea of how things work. Consequently, it is the lot of translators to wade through inconsistencies in grammar, punctuation, and cute flourishes put in for emphasis. Interpreters, who work with spoken language, enjoy what is best defined by the great self explanatory Spanish word, verborrea.

The post on Feb. 18th was an expression of envy of literary translators. It would be fantastic to translate for Geert Mak or anyone who writes as well as he does.

Translating

I think it would be great to support myself as a literary translator. I can't imagine what it would be like to translate for someone who knew how to write.

Het Zuigende Land

Usually, a chapter title is easy. As I closed in on the end of Chapter 5, this one started to drive me crazy. It all hinged on the middle word. The dictionary defines it as, "Sucking." I knew it wasn't, "The land that sucks." In some contexts, however, it means exactly what an English speaker would think it means.

I had to look further and further. The word also yields ads for paints and adhesives. Finally, I figured out that it means muddy or sticky. This would be sticky as in humid. I finally settled on, "The Muggy Land."

Near the end of Chapter 5, Mak describes the mutiny on the Zeven Provinciën. The event has no American counterpart, but it is similar to The Potemkin, even though it didn't help trigger a revolution.

The Netherlands did not sway to the extreme left or right as much of Europe did at the time. It took a middle course, and stuck with Colijn, who is even more like Herbert Hoover as he is described further. Like Hoover, he had an impressive resume. Again, in spite of this, neither was very ept at confronting The Great Depression. Basically, it was good that the Netherlands stuck to a middle course, but the middle course chosen was more suited to the past than the task at hand.

The rise of Hitler was met with some admiration in many quarters of Dutch society. To his credit, Geert Mak is willing to quote editorials written at the time that approved of the new order in Germany.

Finally, the chapter closes with a look at his family dealing with the death of baby Koosje. He talks about how his parents dealt with it, and how family members visited his grave for years afterwards.

I miss Dutch

Lately, work has gotten very busy, which is what happens when you're a freelancer. On Thursday, I have a test coming up to translate Spanish for a school district. Right now, I'm finishing a huge translation, and today, I get to interpret an employees' meeting at a hotel.

I haven't read Mak's book at all. I'm still on page 106. In the meantime, I got some great links to pass on from Marco Schuffelen's page. First off, there's
http://homepage.mac.com/schuffelen/du3ourfathers.html

which has many Catholic and some Protestant prayers and religious texts. It's amazing. I read the "Our Father," and I will dissect the rest after Thursday. He also has lessons. You can find lesson one here:
http://homepage.mac.com/schuffelen/lesson1.html

On Friday, I'll listen to more podcasts and continue reading.