undomiel9 said:
Anyway, we both do agree that the translator should be skilled indeed, don't we?
We do, indeed. I agree that there's a huge burden on the translators to cope with such an example of masterpiece. Hence, they must be real professionals, as the fact that Mr Sapkowski took his inspiration from different cultures, in my view, does not make the process easier. As you stated before the ideal translator should not only have throughout knowledge of both languages but also be a scholar, a woman/man of knowledge who has more than general idea of European history and mentality of people leaving here. Yes, the plot in "the Witcher" has universal meaning, yes, it refers to common beliefs, and yes, the French and the English may find the elements of their own backgrounds in the novels. However, I was concerned about two things: Firstly, I'm afraid that it is that they won't find, won't recognise Polish or Slavic accent in the plot without which the unique "spirit" of the whole saga is not the same. Secondly, what is fairly understandable to the British and French may not be so clear to Americans. The crew responsible for translation must find a way to preserve the spirit and to reflect cultural nuances of the nations of "the Old Continent." I wouldn't like to be in their shoes if they were to fail.
undomiel9 said:
- LotR and Silmarillion are as Anglo-Saxon as The Witcher is Slavic, I'm afraid. Just to mention the elven language, based on the Ugrofinnish dialects.
I have always thought that LotR was inspired by Anglo-Saxon culture. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Tolkien an Oxford professor of Anglo-Saxon language? Moreover, it is clearly visible that he was inspired by Old English literature (a character and his companions set off on a journey into unkown. All of them are brave, loyal and honourable. Suddenly, the hero and his most faithful follower find themselves in isolation and are forced to face adversities which prove their spiritual strength. Sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it?). Plus, I think that Ugrofinnish dialect is somehow related to Viking/Norsemen culture. If that's the case, in 9th century the Norse and English were so simiar that both nations could understand each other (not without some problems), I also found out that word "Middle-earth" derived from Old English "middangear" - the lands inhabitable by humans.