Literary translation is considered the most difficult.
Sure, medical, legal and financial translations have their own rules and difficulties.
In order to keep a translated story capturing, the translator of literary texts must have strong writing skills. If we talk about the translation of poetry, then the translator must also be a poet.
What is the biggest concern when when working with literary translation?
“Sometimes, in order to be closer to the original, you need to move away from it as much as possible.”
This is the opinion of experienced translators of literary texts. Indeed, when comparing two languages, there are not always enough means to express thoughts and images.
Would you like an example of a brilliant translator’s job? Many bilingual readers of Kurt Vonnegut believe that the translator R. Rait-Kovaliova translated his novels much better than the author wrote them. Keep in mind K. Vonnegut is one of the most significant American writers of the 20th century.
Let’s compare literary and technical translation. Where do you think the translator prefers style and form, and where – content?
Of course, style and form are more important for literary translation. Technical translation forgives literalism.
And what about the aphorisms? For a translator, the difficulty of translating them lays in saying something already known in a new way. At the same time, he is expected to extract a clear thought from the phrase of the source language:
There are 3 essential skills of a literary translator:
- strong knowledge of languages;
- literary flair and writing skills;
- technical skills – the ability to transform the original text into the text of the target language.
Our team employs more than 15 translators of literary texts with at least 5 years of experience.
All our experts have been improving their skills in translating fiction for many years.
We will translate for you:
- science fiction and fiction books;
- scripts for TV series and films;
- stories and their collections.
We do not take orders for urgent translation of literary texts. Here is why.
Translators do not work with literary translation according to the standard system for translating large technical texts. In them, translation work is accelerated by automated translation, CAT tools, which, with the help of glossaries, quickly “works through” established terms and precision information. (Precision information is an important information in the text that needs to be conveyed as accurately as possible. It is typical for technical texts).
A translator and editor works with literary texts, sometimes involving the author to make important edits and comments.
At later stages, a corrector also may join.
What is the price for literary translation?
- English;
- Italian;
- German
