Many books by foreign authors are waiting for their translator. The translation of works of art into different languages contributes to the convergence of cultures, creates "bridges" between different countries and eras. Working on the translation of a literary text has its own characteristics, requires patience, excellent command of the native and foreign languages, as well as linguistic flair.
Instructions
Step 1
Read the text to be translated carefully. Try to perceive it as a material that has unique stylistic features. Any work of art belongs to a particular culture and historical era. The author created it for a certain circle of readers with their own taste preferences. It is important to understand the meaning of the work and try to understand the author's intention for yourself.
Step 2
Select sources from which you can glean additional information about the country and historical era that is described in the work. When translating works of art related to a long-gone past or other cultures, you may come across terms that are out of use. Knowledge of the cultural and linguistic features that are reflected in the translated text will allow you to feel more confident when choosing analogies and adequate images.
Step 3
Treat your upcoming translation as a structured process. When translating a literary text, not only inspiration is important, which is necessary for any creative work, but also mastery of the linguistic apparatus, translation technique. Use your previous knowledge of how expressiveness works in different languages when working on text.
Step 4
Work through the text sequentially, observing the order of chapters and sections. Jumping from the beginning of a book to its middle or to the end, you can lose the sense of the whole plot and lose the narrative thread. Subsequently, you will probably have to return to the already worked out parts of the book, clarifying the meaning of the passages and replacing language constructions with more appropriate ones. Such backward transitions improve the quality of the translation.
Step 5
When translating, choose expressive means so that the reader gets the same idea of the book as the author of the original tried to create. It is important to "convert" artistic images, translating them to the level of grammatical structures, to select the appropriate linguistic equivalents. The technique of translating a work of art differs from working on scientific and technical texts in that it does not require an almost literal translation of terminology and individual concepts.
Step 6
Practice regularly translating short fiction texts of different styles, topics and directions. The skill of a virtuoso translation is formed only after a long immersion in the material. Only under the condition of systematic and purposeful development of individual techniques does the mastery of "engineering" of linguistic structures come, lightness and a subtle sense of involvement in the work done by the author of a work of art appear.
