I have created this blog to publice my translation (home)work. Every other Sunday you can read some new translation work. As you can see the texts are divided over several topics. You can also find a reflection on every genre and an error analysis.
Enjoy reading!
Brexit means Brexit. The mantra of the last two months since the referendum in which the British voted for a leave out of the European Union. Yet need to be decided what a Brexit exactly means.
This supposed to change now that the summer recess is finished . At Chequers, her estate, Theresa May organises Wednesday an off-side brainstorm day. Al ministers are asked to bring a blueprint.
During her vacation they already finished making survey stakes. Philip Hammond (Finance) mentioned Sunday he wanted to maintain access to the intern European market, for instance financial services and car industry. He seemed to imply strict immigration restrictions are less of importance.
When the British leave the intern market – and for example want to act by the world trade organisation – this can have major consequences for the British economy, as a result trade becomes harder with the closest neighbours. When they want to maintain access, they must keep to the European regulations, help pay and acknowledge the right of free travelling of persons, as for example in Norway. However, this is quite opposite of what the British voted for.
Strategic plan
Once the divorce procedure is started, forty years of regulations ought to be sifted by civil servants to check what regulations are still sufficient and what need to be changed. The department of Finance has already declared that lost EU subsidies must be compensated. Agriculture on the other hand is in need of a complete new subsidy system.
Subsequently House of commons and House of Lords need to approve this as well as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. One apprehends that the amount of work effects the pressing matters as health and education.
Former director general from officialdom, Gus O’Donnell, spoke last weekend about an ,,adminstrative and juridical changes” that will take years and years and years.
‘It is really important for the government to have a strategic plan: What kind of land do we want to have? When that decision is being made, there is room to think about a divorce procedure. I woud not be in a rush.’
What seemed to me as the easiest genre wasn’t easy at all. It is really hard to maintain the writer his/her meaning without changing to much. I have tried to stay as close as possible to the original text, however i had to make certain adjustments.
Onomatopoeias where hard aswell. It was a challenge to find words that meant the same. You can not simply type the word in a online dictionary, therefore i searched for a website with a list of English onomatopoeias.
Annie M.G. Smith has a peculiar way of writing which is really difficult to translate. In Dutch it is quite common to start a sentence with ‘en’ where on the other hand I found it sound odd in English. as a result i tried to avoid using ‘and’ too often.
One of things the writer of Jip and Janneke does too is repeating the words: ‘zegt (person)’ when someone is saying something. The English language has such a lexical variation that i used other words in some cases. However i was in doubt whether i should change the text or let it stay as it is now. Most likely it was her intention to make use of this amount of repetition. It is a childrens book anyway.
The Passievrucht had some beautiful adverbs and discriptive language. for example: ‘betonnen buik.’ As I mentioned before you have to take in consideration: What did the writer mean? What was his aim?
Overall it was a good experience and i learned a lot. It made me aware translation isn’t as simple as it seems.
Next time i would try to look up more English sayings and avoid translating the text to literally.
We drive silently to the hospital. Ellen is driving, I am counting the stripes on the road. The road is full of cars on warpath. At first Ellen drives to fast, then to slow. She is not using her blinkers. I keep silent.
Billboards rise up at the banks of the road.
THE FUTURE IS HERE
WHAT MAKES AN ENTREPRENEUR HAPPY?
‘money’ I answer.
‘Sorry?’
“oh, nothing.’
We park inside the concrete belly of the hospitalcity. Walk through roofed street full of people dressed in tracksuits who push wheelchairs. At a square, surrounded by the smell of frying oil and wilted flowers, are some people playing gypsymusic.
I say ‘go left here.’
She says ‘There is the elevator.’
I see her face reflecting in the window. All the colour is drawn from her lips because of the tension.
She had said ‘I can not be held responsible for my actions …’
‘If they tell me what I fear they will say, then …’
She was not finishing her sentences for weeks.
‘Please sit down,’’says the doctor. And when we sit: ‘I have not such very pleasant news for you.’ I see Ellen grow numb. She pushes her chin against her chest, looks straight at the ground. ‘in particular for you, sir.’
Her back straightens, her chin goes up. I can see it out of my corners. She briefly turns her head towards me. All of a sudden I notice that my clothes stick all cold and wet against my body due to overly sweating.
‘You are infertile. And aside we can not fix it, I am aware this must be shock, it is always been this way.’
The first thing I feel is, at least what I first notice, is relieve. There is made a huge misstep. Files are mixed up, results are filled in wrong, someone with the same name, at this exact moment, sitting at another room, now hears the results of my examination: ‘You are completely fine, sir. Your seminal fluid is in very good condition.’
‘But that is impossible,’ I reply. ‘I have a thirteen year old son!’
‘Well, how was it?’ You must know: Jip and Janneke have been tot the circus.They are back home now.
‘How was it?’ Mother asks. ‘Great!’ Jip Shouts. ‘absolutely great! The monkey was riding a bike!’ ‘The other monkey ate right of a plate,’ says Janneke. ‘Using a fork and knife!’ Jip yells: ‘and we saw a man throwing vases,’ ‘And the vases didn’t even break!’ screams Janneke. They both keep talking at the same time, mother can’t keep up anymore and says: ‘take turns now, Jip.’ However it is almost time.
Before they go to bed, Janneke says: ‘Can you stand somewhere up high and juggle with vases Jip?’ ‘Ofcourse,’ says Jip. ‘Then you have to be that lady who is standing next to it.’ Jip puts the chair on top of the table and goes laying at it on his stomach. Janneke hands him the vase from the dresser. Jip throws it in the air. And catches it really well. Janneke is standing beside it all. She takes her skirt and makes a bow towards the public. ‘Hop,’ says Jip. He throws the vase really high up now. Bam…says the vase. O no, it is broken now. Completely broken! Jip’s mother enters the room. ‘What happened?’ she says. ‘I was the man who juggles with vases,’ says Jip. ‘And I was the lady standing next to it,’ says Janneke. ‘But I still need a lot of practise,’ grumbles Jip.
‘You are going to bed,’ says mother. ‘Come on, Janneke, back to your place. My beautiful vase damaged!’ Mother is really sad. And Janneke goes come startled. When Jip is in bed, he says: ‘at the circus the vase stayed in tact.’ ‘Yes,’ says mother, ‘sadly enough my vase hasn’t survived.’
And just before Jip falls asleep, he thinks: I will buy mother a new vase.
Mary's translation 