9/28 Reading Comments

     Although I never considered myself to be a poetry person, I found this week’s readings to be very interesting. Before I read the readings by Beichman and Pulvers, I was under the impression that poetry was easier to translate, because it is generally shorter than stories or books. However, after reading the two texts, I understood how difficult it is to translate poetry because there is no one rule that translators can follow. Japanese words, especially in poetry, can be extremely to find their exact English counterparts. Although a word might have a literal translation in English, this does not mean it is appropriate in the context of the phrase. This proves that translation can be considered a very broad concept; although it might seem black and white, there is much room given to the translator. 

    I agreed with how Beichman discussed the importance of choosing the correct words. He stated that the choice to add words, or the choice to exclude words from the original text is essential, as this can make or break a text. I thought that it was very impressive when Beichman discussed the importance of sound while translating poetry. This is very important because sound and rhythm are important in reading poetry, and this same sound and rhythm must be translated identically in a different language. I was impressed with the translation of Kojiki, as the translation maintained a similar rhythm and sound as the original version in Japanese, although words were both included and excluded. Although the translation of this poem was not completely word-for-word accurate, it was successful in conveying the same energy as the original text.