Translations (like wives) are seldom strictly faithful if they are in the least attractive.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Translations often prioritize appeal over strict fidelity to the original text.
- In plain terms
- If a translation is attractive, it likely isn't completely faithful to the original.
- What can you take from it?
- Attractiveness in translation often comes at the cost of accuracy.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What matters more in translation: accuracy or appeal?
- Can you have both?
Another view
Some faithful translations can also be attractive without sacrificing meaning.
More from Roy Campbell
South Africa, renowned both far and wide For politics and little else beside.
Permalink to quote #1 The frost stings sweetly with a burning kiss As intimate as love, as cold as death.
Permalink to quote #3 The timeless, surly patience of the serf That moves the nearest to the naked earth And ploughs down palaces, and thrones, and towers.
Permalink to quote #4
Related quotes
'O frate,' disse, 'chesti qu'io ti cerno col ditto,' e addito un spirto innanzi, 'fu miglior fabbro del parlar materno. Versi d'amore e prose di romanzi soverc…
Arnaut DanielArnaut Daniel quote #4 Rimbaud gave up poetry when it failed to change the world. Orwell at the end must have had his doubts about language, too, or he wouldn't have dreamed up Newsp…
John LeonardJohn Leonard quote #9 El original es infiel a la traduccion.
Jorge Luis BorgesJorge Luis Borges quote #12