9/21 Reading Comments - Zoe Chock

I really enjoyed Cathy Hirano's piece. It was an interesting perspective not only to hear what she thought about her work, but also how her son, someone fluent in both English and Japanese, was able to thoroughly enjoy her translation. Translating is much harder than it appears- I didn't realize the extent of which the translator is constantly seeking the right words to convey not only the direct meanings of sentences, but also the subtle nuances that don't exactly translate from one language to another. Especially with her example about the Japanese humor, I realized that translators have to think about what references or icons different audiences will understand, and how to bring that same comedy over the language barrier. One thing that she mentioned really stuck with me, and that's how she mentioned that the English flow if pictured, is somewhat linear, and the Japanese flow somewhat circular. It makes a little more sense now why I can't always follow Japanese sentences as smoothly as English ones. She also mentioned that there is a very fine line between translating and tampering with the original text. As I've learned after doing the first translation for this class, it is much harder said than done, and I've realized that adding words for the purpose of context doesn't always translate into adding for clarity. 

Seidensticker's interview was also really eye-opening to the critical side of translation. I didn't realize that just two of his sentences of Kawabata's Snow Country would receive so much hate from Japanese readers. I think I do understand Seidensticker's reasoning though, that he thought to pay attention to rhyme and rhythm in English to help the flow, but I guess it doesn't always translate well to leave some words out. It sounds frustrating that as a translator, if you're working with someone like Kawabata who doesn't say more than is necessary, that you'll be unclear for some of the passages you have to translate. But thinking about how he put thought into using each word for a specific purpose without wasting space is very admirable. It was interesting though, to hear that Seidensticker thought of Kawabata as a better writer, even though he liked Kafu's works more.