Sunday, March 15, 2015
Dream the American Dream
The American Dream has been the defining aspect of the United States for the entire history of the country. The idea that anyone can, through hard work, pull themselves up from their current position, and live a good life. This being said, the finer details of this idea are harder to pin down. Usually, aside from the main point of making it, many people can interpret the idea to fit their own situation, and add their own desires to it. For me, the American Dream is the desire for a person to make a better life for themselves than their parents did, and to give their children the opportunity to make a better life than they had. I have seen this dream in action, in my own family. My father embodies the American Dream in my eyes. He was born in a small town in Pennsylvania, and his family didn't have much money when he was growing up. He joined the Army, learned the skills he needed to, got married to my mom, and worked incredibly hard. When he left the military, he got an entry level job working at a communications company, and worked his way up to top through smart job switching and hard work. He's now employed as a Vice-President at a communications company, after working his way to make a good life for him and his family. The American Dream is still alive, but is slowly being killed by the difficulty of starting a business and a lack of mobility in the workplace. The government has made it so that the most qualified people are not always the ones hired to fill a position. Diversity quotas must be filled, and if a person was unlucky enough to be born a white male, they may fall behind in their career because of their employer's desire to fulfill the standards for diversity established by the federal government. Businesses are becoming more difficult to maintain, and as the Affordable Care Act places more financial stress on small businesses, more will likely fall. The American Dream is still alive, but it is barely clinging to life. The Dream can be resurrected from its current state, but it will take time, and it may be difficult. Some of the most important parts of the plan may be difficult for some to grasp, and it will take work from everyone to make the Dream alive again. The first step is to open our doors for immigration, as people immigrating into the United States have been proven to work the jobs necessary to our economy, and this will inject a new lifeblood into the stagnating economy. The economy needs to be deregulated, and its time for the influence of corporations on the government to end. Allowing for competition to exist in fields that have been subsidized and regulated by the government will foster innovation, as companies strive to gain a competitive edge on the free market. The Federal Reserve needs to be audited, and a potential return to a metallic backing for the dollar should be evaluated as a possibility. This will strengthen the dollar, and lower prices of consumer goods across the country. The American Dream can be revived, and this is how it will be done.
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Is School Kafkaesque?
I would like to start off with my translation of the original sentence, just to see how the others compare.
Translation #0: As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from restless dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed to an enormous pest.
This translation is pretty rough, because I had to look up three of the words, that are probably most subject to changes in translation, but I feel that it accurately holds the syntax of the original sentence, and is most literal, without changing any words for artistic purposes.
Translation #1: As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.
Diction: The sentence uses phrases such as uneasy and insect, which are less strict interpretations of the original German sentence. Uneasy conveys more of a sense of impending fear than the original word, which can be translated literally as either restless or troubled. Insect is a very loose interpretation of the original word, which is case of word differences in German compared to English. The German word is a singular form of the word vermin, which in English is typically just plural, so the closest translation could be pest.
Syntax: The word order is fairly standard, with little variation from the original sentence, or how it would be read in English word order.
Imagery/details: The sentence is fairly detailed, with the description of Samsa's dreams and new form both being vivid. The use of the word gigantic makes the insect which Samsa has been changed into seem larger than life, and is good for the artistic purposes of the sentence.
Structure: The sentence is structured in a logical way, showing the progression from awakening to awareness of being a giant insect. However, the way it is set up creates a sense of confusion, as there is no pausing when reading, and the reader quickly discovers the new form.
Translation #2: Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.
Diction: This translation uses much more simplistic diction than the other versions, using the shorter and less complex "giant" as opposed to a more advanced word such as "gigantic." In addition to this, the translator made the interesting choice to Anglicize Gregor's name as "Gregory," which none of the other translations did.
Syntax: The syntax is used to shorten the sentence, and the lack of punctuation makes it more rushed, similar to translation #1.
Imagery/Details: This version is less descriptive than the other versions, and uses smaller and less specific details.
Structure: The sentence is structured in a similar way to sentence #1.
Translation #3:When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.
Diction: This sentence uses a similar diction to translation #1, with the exception of replacing "as" with "when." This makes the entire sentence feel more distant in the past, as though the entire story is being told from some point in the distant future, instead of in the near future.
Syntax: There is little to note about the syntax, and it seems to be very similar to the previous two translations.
Imagery/Details: This sentence is very detailed, and describes the dreams as troubled, and not uneasy. This makes them seem much more disturbed, and not quite fearful of the future.
Structure: The placement of the time modifier in the sentence makes it an afterthought, and focuses the attention on the troubled dreams of Gregor.
Translation #4:One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.
Diction: This sentence uses diction to convey a much more heightened sense of horror and revulsion at the thought of Gregor's transformation, as he is described as a "monstrous vermin," which carries a more negative connotation than the more scientific word of "insect." This is the only translation where the exact nature of the transformation is unclear, as many animals could be considered vermin.
Syntax: This translation is very halted in the delivery, and is broken into five smaller parts through commas. This makes the sentence seem more dramatic, as though the narrator is allowing for the audience to hang on to every word that is being said
Imagery/Details: This translation is by far the most detailed, and goes into greater depth than others. The dreams are described as "agitated," furthering the sense of loathing and anger that is conveyed through the description of Samsa's new form.
Structure: This sentence is structured very differently than the others, and is very different from how the original German sentence is structured. From this, it becomes clear that the translator is attempting to provide a more loose interpretation of Kafka's writing, and make it more engaged for an English reading audience. The revelation of the main character's name is moved to the middle of the sentence, and the time is moved to the beginning, placing it as one of the more important things. It seems as though the translator has made it so the character is not as important as what is happening to him.
Response:
The variety of shifts in the different translations provide a variety of meanings to the original sentence. Some seem more exact, while others are meant to be more dramatic. The first translation appears to emulate the original sentence the most, and may be an attempt at a literal translation of the text. The fourth translation is the most dramatic, and could be seen as a more dramatic translation, possibly more of a retelling than a direct translation.
I believe that the most effective translation is the first one because it is the closest out of the four to what I would see as a literal translation, holding the majority of the syntax and structure of the original. The diction is fairly close as well. Obviously, the ideal solution to reading translated books would be to learn the original language of the book, but since this is not a practical solution, the most effective translations are typically the ones that hold the closest resemblance to the original, without interpreting the author's sentence for dramatic effect. It may be slightly less interesting, but it is a truer translation.
Translation #0: As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from restless dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed to an enormous pest.
This translation is pretty rough, because I had to look up three of the words, that are probably most subject to changes in translation, but I feel that it accurately holds the syntax of the original sentence, and is most literal, without changing any words for artistic purposes.
Translation #1: As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.
Diction: The sentence uses phrases such as uneasy and insect, which are less strict interpretations of the original German sentence. Uneasy conveys more of a sense of impending fear than the original word, which can be translated literally as either restless or troubled. Insect is a very loose interpretation of the original word, which is case of word differences in German compared to English. The German word is a singular form of the word vermin, which in English is typically just plural, so the closest translation could be pest.
Syntax: The word order is fairly standard, with little variation from the original sentence, or how it would be read in English word order.
Imagery/details: The sentence is fairly detailed, with the description of Samsa's dreams and new form both being vivid. The use of the word gigantic makes the insect which Samsa has been changed into seem larger than life, and is good for the artistic purposes of the sentence.
Structure: The sentence is structured in a logical way, showing the progression from awakening to awareness of being a giant insect. However, the way it is set up creates a sense of confusion, as there is no pausing when reading, and the reader quickly discovers the new form.
Translation #2: Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.
Diction: This translation uses much more simplistic diction than the other versions, using the shorter and less complex "giant" as opposed to a more advanced word such as "gigantic." In addition to this, the translator made the interesting choice to Anglicize Gregor's name as "Gregory," which none of the other translations did.
Syntax: The syntax is used to shorten the sentence, and the lack of punctuation makes it more rushed, similar to translation #1.
Imagery/Details: This version is less descriptive than the other versions, and uses smaller and less specific details.
Structure: The sentence is structured in a similar way to sentence #1.
Translation #3:When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.
Diction: This sentence uses a similar diction to translation #1, with the exception of replacing "as" with "when." This makes the entire sentence feel more distant in the past, as though the entire story is being told from some point in the distant future, instead of in the near future.
Syntax: There is little to note about the syntax, and it seems to be very similar to the previous two translations.
Imagery/Details: This sentence is very detailed, and describes the dreams as troubled, and not uneasy. This makes them seem much more disturbed, and not quite fearful of the future.
Structure: The placement of the time modifier in the sentence makes it an afterthought, and focuses the attention on the troubled dreams of Gregor.
Translation #4:One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.
Diction: This sentence uses diction to convey a much more heightened sense of horror and revulsion at the thought of Gregor's transformation, as he is described as a "monstrous vermin," which carries a more negative connotation than the more scientific word of "insect." This is the only translation where the exact nature of the transformation is unclear, as many animals could be considered vermin.
Syntax: This translation is very halted in the delivery, and is broken into five smaller parts through commas. This makes the sentence seem more dramatic, as though the narrator is allowing for the audience to hang on to every word that is being said
Imagery/Details: This translation is by far the most detailed, and goes into greater depth than others. The dreams are described as "agitated," furthering the sense of loathing and anger that is conveyed through the description of Samsa's new form.
Structure: This sentence is structured very differently than the others, and is very different from how the original German sentence is structured. From this, it becomes clear that the translator is attempting to provide a more loose interpretation of Kafka's writing, and make it more engaged for an English reading audience. The revelation of the main character's name is moved to the middle of the sentence, and the time is moved to the beginning, placing it as one of the more important things. It seems as though the translator has made it so the character is not as important as what is happening to him.
Response:
The variety of shifts in the different translations provide a variety of meanings to the original sentence. Some seem more exact, while others are meant to be more dramatic. The first translation appears to emulate the original sentence the most, and may be an attempt at a literal translation of the text. The fourth translation is the most dramatic, and could be seen as a more dramatic translation, possibly more of a retelling than a direct translation.
I believe that the most effective translation is the first one because it is the closest out of the four to what I would see as a literal translation, holding the majority of the syntax and structure of the original. The diction is fairly close as well. Obviously, the ideal solution to reading translated books would be to learn the original language of the book, but since this is not a practical solution, the most effective translations are typically the ones that hold the closest resemblance to the original, without interpreting the author's sentence for dramatic effect. It may be slightly less interesting, but it is a truer translation.
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