“To what extent can a translation be ‘referentially’ unfaithful?”
In his book, Experiences in Translation, Italian author and literary critic, Umberto Eco, contends that interpreting a text in two languages is far more salient for a good translator than simply comparing the two languages. Of course, the former undertaking is more complicated, but it bears far more fruit than simply weighing one language against another. Eco argues that studying translation is like studying bilingualism in that only through observation, that is, continuous daily observation, can one gather sufficient data on the development of a double linguistic competence. Yet, there are limitations to such study, especially in terms of credentials. How do we determine who is fit to perform such a task and/or dra
w such a conclusion? Likening this question to translation, it is easy to determine that translation is not a skill that everyone possesses. Ultimately, a good translator is not just someone who can navigate between languages, but someone who knows what it takes to produce a faithful and meaningful translation.
In short, a translation can be referentially disloyal or even treacherous to the original text when it is sympathetic to the translator’s feelings. Many translators fail to recognize that their own interests are not always compatible with the art of translation. The translator’s purpose(s) for translating the text should be momentarily put on hold to avoid any personal nuances in the target text. Along these same biased lines, many translations become estranged because the translator fails to see the target text as primary to the source text. Being so intent on maintaining the syntactic structure, word choice, etc. of the source text can ironically lead to translations that are unfit. A good translator knows that, when reapproximating a text from one language into another, the original author’s intent matters more than maintaining “spettacolare” as “spectacular,” for instance. Some languages, like English and Italian, are often in disagreement with one another. A proper example of such an occasion is showcased in some poor translations of Dante Alighieri’s works. Since Dante’s language is so divergent from modern Italian, translating his 14th-century works into modern English is a great feat. Many translators are therefore unsuccessful in their enthusiasm to preserve his poetry or prose word-for-word.
In conclusion, a translation can become denotatively unfaithful if the translator fails to recognize that a translation is not a verbatim replica of the source text. Mediating between languages is an important skill, but not the only one in carrying over one text over to another. A source-oriented translator is far more likely to yield a disloyal translation than a target-oriented one.