Many writers think that the more their language has "too sophisticated" words, the smarter they will look and the more prestigious they will be ranked among their colleagues or readers. It's beautiful, rich, and yet, not overwhelmed with "showing off", sophistications. It is amazing how beautifully simple and sincere is their language, without comlications. Tolstoy, Dostoevskiy, Goncharov, Chekhov are world classics for their 1) thoughts and 2)language. I came across somebody's question here about the Russian language, and that it did not change much since 19th century, if compared with how different is Victorian English (Dickens, etc.)from modern. So considering Garnett's translations "ain't broke", I am not seeing any compelling arguments for "fixing" them. Besides, the English-speaking world, at one time having no other choice but Garnett, still found these Russian novels and stories to be the masterpieces that they are, and Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, et al, to have unique styles and voices, even varying from one work to the next (for example, I like being able to tell Dostoevsky was ON when he wrote The Brothers Karamazov in a way he wasn't quite when he wrote The Possessed). The worst offender of this sort I have come across was Avrahm Yarmolinsky's translations of Gorky's short stories.įor these reasons I go out of my way if I have to in order to find Garnett's translations. It's jarring, and makes me wonder what else in the text is being so vandalised. I prefer that Russian currency, for example, be called rubles and not dollars or pounds street names should not be translated Russians should not be saying things like "jolly old chap", "right laddie!" and "aye, mate".
BEST RUSSIAN TRANSLATOR UPDATE
I would not expect nor would I desire a translation to update its language to appease modern readers any more than I should wish modern clothes and an updated hairdo to be put on the Mona Lisa. If P and V are using a lot of 20th (or 21st) century words in their translations, I may end up being disappointed in them."Īgreed. I think that I expect an 1800s-era novel to sound like an 1800s-era novel when it is translated. If P and V are using a lot of 20th (or 21st) century words in their translations, I may end up being disappointed in them.īob wrote: ""gay" would be an appropriate synonym for "happy" in the context of an Anna K translation. What I wanted to say here is that, to me, "gay" would be an appropriate synonym for "happy" in the context of an Anna K translation. One problem is that my to-read shelves are very crowded. I really enjoyed Dostoyevsky (Crime and Punishment, Brothers K, Notes from Underground) and Tolstoy (Anna K) when I was younger, and now that there are new translations out I am slowly psyching myself up to reread them, as well as tackling War and Peace for the first time - the P/V version has been bought, but remains unopened so far. I am a 58-year-old attorney in Washington DC. I am jumping in here without introducing myself in an introductory thread, as is customary, but I'm afraid I'm too eager to participate in the discussion to take the time to go into the other thread. Tom wrote: "Well, P should certainly know better, but maybe V over-ruled him, though as I understand their working methods, she does the first draft and he "cleans" it up. Just wondering on what P & V's philosophy is in this regard of contemporary uses of language and meaning. Or is it just because I work with teenagers that my mind has been corrupted on the only realistic connotations of this word? I thought Constance Garnett was stuck in Victorianisms, but why would anyone now use the word 'gay' to mean happy? I don't think anyone uses that word in English to sincerely mean happy, cheerful or joyous.
the same word as was used in the Constance Garnett translation of the same text. What surprised me just now is that in one scene of Anna K, P & V use the word "gay" to describe some fun-loving youths. (I also bought three more Russian novels in the P & V translations recently, since I keep hearing that they are the best.) I read The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov in Constance Garnett's translations, and am now reading Anna Karenina in the P & V translation. I am just chiming in with a translation comment/question to whomever would like to reply. The prevailng oppinion in acadamia was that the current team of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsy were the b." Doug wrote: "I studied Slavic literature in college and moved to Russia two and a half yers ago.
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