Lost in Translation

I’ve always hated translated books. If the original was written in English, I read it in English. If the original was written in Spanish, I would read it in Spanish. I think you cannot appreciate exactly what the author meant to say, or the literary devices they used or any little detail that might have meant a lot to the author. As a person who is constantly shifting between two languages I can tell you it is impossible to translate anything exactly. The book we read for tomorrow is a perfect example of a book that is lost in translation. For all of you that do not speak Spanish trust me on this, and the rest can see it for themselves. The book is translated in the wrong verb tense—probably something that I would consider important when translating a book. In the Spanish version, on page 5, the author says “vivirás ese día, identico a los demás” which means “you will live that day just like you have lived every other day,” but the English version, on page 6, says, “this day is just like any other.” Do you see the difference? Another example, a more obvious one, can be seen on page 16 and 17 where the text says, “te apartarás” (meaning “you will move aside”) while the English version says “you move aside.” That English phrase translated into Spanish would be “te apartas,” two completely different verb tenses. So why is this? Why would you translate a book in the wrong tense?

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my bilingual rant of the day and I’ll be back next week for more.