Nepenthe

Federico's website .

Gained in Translation - Tim Parks for the NYRB “But isn’t it all just subjective?” The scene is a Translation Slam, so-called. Two translators translate the same short passage and discuss their versions with a moderator in front of an audience of other translators. “Slam” suggests violent struggle and eventual victory or defeat. In reality, it’s all very polite and even protective. There will be no vote to decide which version wins. Nobody is going to be humiliated. All the same, the question of which choice is better comes up again and again. Right now, we’re looking at the difference between “group” and “phalanx” in the phrases “commander of a group of loyal knights” and “commander of a phalanx of faithful men”—both translations of the Italian “ comandante a una schiera di fedeli .” The translator who has used “knights” explains that since the “commander” in question is King Arthur, the “ fedeli ” or “faithful” whom he commands would surely be the Knights...