Posted by Robert Thompson on June 20, 2006 at 21:26:47 from 80.177.174.120 user robert.
In Reply to: Re: illustrations (Re: SA series and copyright) posted by Jock on June 20, 2006 at 19:02:48:
A good translator does not translate word for word, but tries to use the appropriate words to convey context, cultural background and emotion. Incredibly difficult!
As I have already said, my point was that the original translations did not attempt to convey the English cultural background.I am not daft enought to suggest that a translator should translate every word for word, what I did say was that the early editions actually went off on their own "tack"
Are you saying that the Swallows and Amazons are portrayed as German and Czech children exploring German and Czech lakes and that WD takes place on the Baltic?
Yes - and no - I did not mention WD.
Several critical comments by AR
The classic is the 1933 German translation about which AR complains in a letter to Cape (see Signalling from Mars) but I don't know of many others. He did, however, make enthusiastic comments about US illustrations - I think by Mary Shepard.