Literary translation is a specialized type of translation used for translating artistic texts and literature. This type of translation can only be done by specialists who are themselves writers, poets, or have extensive practical experience in the field of literary translation.
Types of literary translation
At Kyiv translation bureau “AventA” you can order translation services for:
- fiction literature;
- articles for newspapers or magazines;
- materials on philosophy and psychology;
- books, brochures, scripts, letters, comics;
- religious, advertising, journalistic texts;
- songs, cartoons, documentary and feature films;
- public speeches;
- prose and poetry;
- folklore, historical articles;
- novels and other artistic texts.
Quality of literary translation
Tens and hundreds of foreign authors’ works are published in our country – and they are mainly published in Russian. We enjoy reading these novels, stories, poems…
But do we ever think about who translated them?
Hardly ever.
We usually do it only if the translation is awkward, careless and contains lots of mistakes which offend the eye and distract from the story and enjoy reading.
Please note!
Isn’t it unfair: the better the translation is, the more accurately the smallest details were presented, the more unnoticed the translator’s work is?
Here is the example.
A great many people read Song of Hiawatha by Henry Longfellow. In Russian they read it in Ivan Bunin’s translation. He was able to translate the poem so that the reader, completely bewitched by a slow recitative, watches the story change fancifully without thinking about the author or the translator…
Those who know English say, not without reason, that artistically this translation is much better than the original.
Literary text translation specifics
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Not requiring precision
Unlike technical translation, for example, where accuracy is crucial, literary translation is characterized by freedom, flexibility, and not necessarily adhering strictly to the original text. In literary translation, what matters most are the emotions and feelings evoked in the readers, not necessarily precision. The translated text should evoke similar sensations and experiences in the reader as the original does.
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Idioms and wordplay
Literary translators often encounter idioms and phraseological expressions (proverbs and aphorisms) that do not carry the same meaning when translated literally. In such cases, it’s necessary to find equivalents in the target language. Additionally, translators frequently deal with wordplay—a form of humor that may not translate directly into another language. To recreate the humorous effect, translators often have to “play around” with words in the translated text. Wordplay is considered one of the most challenging aspects of literary translation.
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Artistic talent
Only a translator with literary abilities can produce high-quality literary translations. Indeed, doing good translations is generally a hard task. And if the translation needs to be proofread literary in order to preserve both the general idea and implied sense, mood, shades of humour, sorrow or irony, the task becomes twice or even three times more difficult.
Our translators who specialize in literary translation are writers themselves. Most of them are both perfect at translating showing excellent artistic skills and write prose or poems publishing them in periodicals or own books.
Surely, there is no Ivan Bunin among them. Such genius is only born once a century, and not even every century. But we are sure that your readers, when reading the works translated by our artists, will never think about who did the translation completely engrossed by the story, fascinated by the beauty and wonderful force of the lines, watching closely the author’s thoughts and feelings…
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Preserving style
A translator must adhere to the style of a particular era and comply with cultural nuances. To achieve this, they must immerse themselves in the text, study the era to which the literary composition belongs. Difficulties may arise, for example, with works by Eastern authors. They often contain quotes from the Quran and Arabic colloquial expressions that cannot be translated literally.
Stages of literary translation
The process of literary translation can be conventionally divided into 4 main stages:
- literary analysis of the source text;
- artistic translation;
- editing, making editorial corrections;
- typesetting and formatting of the translation.
At each stage, different specialists work on the translation, performing their respective tasks. This helps to avoid inaccuracies and errors in artistic translation.
Price of literary translation
The cost of literary translation depends on various factors: the volume of translation, subject matter, language complexity, urgency, the need for proofreading by a native speaker, typesetting, and formatting of the final translation.
Note!
The majority of our clients in Kyiv order translations from English to Russian and from Russian to English. If you need to have a literary translation of any work at a moderate price into these or any other languages, then by contacting us, you will make the right choice.