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Poll: Is there any famous translator/interpreter you look up to/admire?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Aug 5, 2011

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Is there any famous translator/interpreter you look up to/admire?".

This poll was originally submitted by Mariam Osmane. View the poll results »



 
Agnieszka Ufland
Agnieszka Ufland  Identity Verified
Poland
Member (2009)
English to Polish
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Piotr Cholewa - Polish translator of Pratchett's books Aug 5, 2011

For me it's Mr Piotr W. Cholewa who manages to translate Terry Pratchett's books without loosing their original humor.
I love reading both English original and Polish translation to see how he got himself out of "untranslatable" bits


 
Angus Stewart
Angus Stewart  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:39
Member (2011)
French to English
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E V Rieu Aug 5, 2011

The translator I most look up to is E V Rieu, founder of the Penguin Classics series and translator of Homer's Odyssey. It was as a consequence of reading his lucid translations that I first became aware of the work of translators and the contribution that they made. This spurred me to start seeking out other translations of the same source texts in order to make comparisons. That was many years ago and little did I realize at the time that translation would become my future career.

 
Niraja Nanjundan (X)
Niraja Nanjundan (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 21:09
German to English
Translators whose work is commendable Aug 5, 2011

Since I don't know them personally, I can't really say that I look up to them or admire them, but these two translators have certainly done work that is highly commendable.

*Edith Grossmann, who has translated many literary works from Spanish to English, most notably books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

*Jay Rubin, who has translated many of Haruki Murakami's books from Japanese to English.


 
John Cutler
John Cutler  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 16:39
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes Aug 5, 2011

I'm not sure if any of them are famous, but I admire the work of several translators here on proz.com. The only "work" I've seen of theirs is in answering Kudoz questions; they do it so professionally that it impresses me.

 
Patricia Charnet
Patricia Charnet
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:39
Member (2009)
English to French
yes Aug 5, 2011

John Cutler wrote:

I'm not sure if any of them are famous, but I admire the work of several translators here on proz.com. The only "work" I've seen of theirs is in answering Kudoz questions; they do it so professionally that it impresses me.


+1 some very knowledgeable people on here


 
Marjolein Verhulsdonck-Roest
Marjolein Verhulsdonck-Roest
Netherlands
Local time: 16:39
English to Dutch
+ ...
Yes Aug 5, 2011

I think Wiebe Buddingh' did an admirable job translating the Harry Potter book series into Dutch.

 
Steven Capsuto
Steven Capsuto  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:39
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
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Four relatively well known literary translators, and one less-famous dubbing translator Aug 5, 2011

Without thinking too much about it (I'm sure there are others I admire very much):

Richard Wilbur, for his witty English verse translations of Molière, especially his version of "Tartuffe," which has always given me tremendous translation envy.

Gregory Rabassa, for his numerous translations of Latin American literature into English. I admire him greatly and I plan to read his autobiography soon.

Edith Grossman, who has been prolific and versatile and has a
... See more
Without thinking too much about it (I'm sure there are others I admire very much):

Richard Wilbur, for his witty English verse translations of Molière, especially his version of "Tartuffe," which has always given me tremendous translation envy.

Gregory Rabassa, for his numerous translations of Latin American literature into English. I admire him greatly and I plan to read his autobiography soon.

Edith Grossman, who has been prolific and versatile and has also produced wonderful essays about what it means to be a literary translator.

Lucia Graves, probably best known (in translation circles) for her English versions of Ruiz Zafón's novels. Her use of the English language is stunningly beautiful.


Also, someone who is not famous but whose work I admire: on several occasions I've met María José Aguirre, who translates "The Simpsons" for dubbing in Spain. That's got to be hard work and she does it absolutely brilliantly!

[Edited at 2011-08-05 13:28 GMT]
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Robert Forstag
Robert Forstag  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:39
Spanish to English
+ ...
A third vote for Edith Grossman Aug 5, 2011

Time consuming though it was, I found it fascinating to simultaneously read large sections of the original and her translation of both The Feast of the Goat and The War of the End of the World. I also find her general approach to translation compelling, as encapsulated in the following quote (from her Wikipedia bio):

"Fidelity is surely our highest aim, but a translation is not made with tracing paper. It is an act of critical interpretation. Let me insist on the obvio
... See more
Time consuming though it was, I found it fascinating to simultaneously read large sections of the original and her translation of both The Feast of the Goat and The War of the End of the World. I also find her general approach to translation compelling, as encapsulated in the following quote (from her Wikipedia bio):

"Fidelity is surely our highest aim, but a translation is not made with tracing paper. It is an act of critical interpretation. Let me insist on the obvious: Languages trail immense, individual histories behind them, and no two languages, with all their accretions of tradition and culture, ever dovetail perfectly. They can be linked by translation, as a photograph can link movement and stasis, but it is disingenuous to assume that either translation or photography, or acting for that matter, are representational in any narrow sense of the term. Fidelity is our noble purpose, but it does not have much, if anything, to do with what is called literal meaning. A translation can be faithful to tone and intention, to meaning. It can rarely be faithful to words or syntax, for these are peculiar to specific languages and are not transferable."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Grossman
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Gwenydd Jones
Gwenydd Jones  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 16:39
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Lucia Graves Aug 5, 2011

When I was doing my MA in Translation Studies I decided to study a section of Lucia Graves' translation of "La Sombra del Viento" (The Shadow of the Wind) for one of the modules. I contacted her via her website with a few questions about her translation on the off-chance that she would get to back to me. She did write back answering my questions and I was able to use her comments in my essay. I thought it was fantastic that she took the time to do that, and very motivational.

[Edited at 2
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When I was doing my MA in Translation Studies I decided to study a section of Lucia Graves' translation of "La Sombra del Viento" (The Shadow of the Wind) for one of the modules. I contacted her via her website with a few questions about her translation on the off-chance that she would get to back to me. She did write back answering my questions and I was able to use her comments in my essay. I thought it was fantastic that she took the time to do that, and very motivational.

[Edited at 2011-08-05 14:03 GMT]

[Edited at 2011-08-05 14:23 GMT]
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Henry Hinds
Henry Hinds  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:39
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam
Famous? Aug 5, 2011

Famous is not a word that describes translators and interpreters, for we tend to be relegated to the background. However, for those of us in the know, there are many who would deserve fame.

It also happens that money follows fame, and since we tend not to be famous, poor pay is also common in our profession. I would hope that some of those who have achieved at least a modest degree of fame by translating books that have become best-sellers would have a proper share of the profits. B
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Famous is not a word that describes translators and interpreters, for we tend to be relegated to the background. However, for those of us in the know, there are many who would deserve fame.

It also happens that money follows fame, and since we tend not to be famous, poor pay is also common in our profession. I would hope that some of those who have achieved at least a modest degree of fame by translating books that have become best-sellers would have a proper share of the profits. But as we all know, although literary translation can in some instances confer a bit of fame, for the most part it is the kind of translation that pays the least, and it is often done as "labor of love" or "to publish so as not to perish".

[Editado a las 2011-08-05 15:46 GMT]
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wonita (X)
wonita (X)
China
Local time: 12:39
Some colleagues Aug 5, 2011

with whom I have worked together.

Truly professional!


 
Williamson
Williamson  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:39
Flemish to English
+ ...
Gorbachev's interpreter. Aug 5, 2011

Interpreters are working behind the glass curtain. Translators sit behind computer screens for days on end.
Although there is one whom I admire: the interpreter of Mr.Gorbachev: Pavel Palazchenko, who helped shaping history.


 
Catherine GUILLIAUMET
Catherine GUILLIAUMET  Identity Verified
Local time: 16:39
English to French
+ ...
In memoriam
William J Gladstone Aug 5, 2011

L'auteur du Dictionnaire anglais-français des sciences médicales et paramédicales, chez Maloine ed., incontournable, et encore inégalé, pour tout traducteur médical.

J'ai eu la chance de discuter plusieurs fois avec lui par courriel et au téléphone.

D'ailleurs, j'ai toujours conçu mon propre glossaire comme un complément "du" Gladstone.

Chapeau, Monsieur William !

Catherine


 
Jack Doughty
Jack Doughty  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:39
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Pavel Palazchenko Aug 5, 2011

Gorbachev's interpreter in the last years of the Cold War and since.
I saw and heard him many times when I was working at BBC Monitoring, and I always thought he did an excellent job. I didn't know his name at the time, of course. But I believe Pavel Palazchenko (Павел Русланович Палазченко) is a well known and highly respected interpreter in Russia.


 
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Poll: Is there any famous translator/interpreter you look up to/admire?






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