Mouse or Rat?: Translation as Negotiation [Hardcover]

 

 

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To judge by its premise, the respected Professor Eco wrote one of the most brilliant books. Many authors before him (George Orwell, e.g.) and including him (Eco, 'On Literature') attempted to answer the question 'how I write', but hardly anyone asked themselves 'How am I being translated into foreign languages, and what do I think about it?'. Admittedly, to ask this question one needs to be able to answer it, and without Eco's knowledge of foreign languages it is impossible. If, however, like him, a reader knows at least one more language, apart from his native one, then 'Mouse or Rat?' will be an engaging, at times merely hilarious, reading. Bearing in mind Eco's long-standing research into semiotics of language, literature and philosophy, this monograph of his is at times a curious self-assessment of Eco the linguist, philosopher, writer and, in fact, translator.

This 'personal' aspect must always be remembered. In spite of drawing general conclusions, the book is often an analysis of Eco's own experience in engaging with professionals who translated his works. Eco argues - powerfully and convincingly - that translation is a negotiation between two cultures, and not merely two linguistic systems, which thesis cannot, of course, be regarded as the new word in Translation Studies. Strictly speaking, he does not attempt to formulate any new ideas, and shows great respect to Steiner's `Before the Babel'. His main goal is therefore to illustrate the application of different translation techniques (ekphrasis, rewriting, foreignising and domesticating of the source text, adapting for screen, etc.) to a variety of texts and then to analyse the results from the point of accuracy and equivalence.

As I indicated above, if a reader commands at least one foreign language, then Eco's book will be an interesting reading, not to mention the fact that the reader's awareness of the limitations and opportunities of his first and second languages may become more acute. However, bearing in mind his belonging to the so-called Joycean tradition in literature, one cannot help thinking at times, how much each of Eco's readers benefited from the author's availability for consultation and advice, as it is evident how many gems of the Master's unrivalled erudition could be lost (or, indeed, were lost).

Among the book's most inspirational and engaging passages are the analysis of Joyce's extract from 'Finnegans Wake' and its translation into French and Italian; the analysis of a poem `A Silvia' by Leopardi and its rendering into French; the exploration into the pains of a translator working on Dumas's novels, etc. The only problem the reader may encounter is the layout of the book, mainly the alteration between regular and bold fonts and italics, for purposes of highlighting various instances of translation.

Nevertheless, for an unexperienced reader 'Mouse or Rat?' will possibly be one of the best introductions to Translation and Language Studies, and even to Litetary Criticism. Despite its complexity and the monstrous abundance of examples, its basic idea is terribly simple - besides the knowledge, the key to a successful translation (and, in fact, writing) is one's sensitivity to language. This ability to 'sense' the opportunities and limitations of the source language and of the target language, so as to achieve the best possible equilibrium, makes a translator a true diplomat, a messenger between his own cultural milieu and that of the source text.

I guess that every professional translator has an author whose books he/she would love to translate. I have always felt such a desire regarding the books of Umberto Eco. As far as his novels are concerned, "Mouse or Rat?" managed to kill this desire once and for all.
The book does not only tell us a lot about translating, but about the author, too. It is a great book insofar as it makes it clear that translating is a skill, an artform, and bloody hard work, because you really have to weigh your words. Translating is not only about languages and being able to manage at least two of them, it also requires a profound knowledge of the civilization, culture, and everyday life these languages are inseparably connected with. The book makes it clear that translating is not something which virtually everyone can do (you wouldn't believe how many expat housewives with kids who can't get a job in the country their husbands have been sent to start working as so-called "translators" as soon as they have a smattering of the language of their new home country!), but that it should be left to the experts. This revelation alone should make the book compulsory reading for everyone who wants to use the services of a translator.
I found Eco's comments about his own work, especially his novels, most fascinating. Nobody who reads them can ignore the fact that he pours an awesome lot of knowledge into these books and that he secretly hopes that the reader will not just read and enjoy the story for its own sake but recognise the book as a kind of roman-à-clef. In "The Island of the Day Before" the characters indirectly quote pieces of Italian Baroque poetry ("spot the poem") and every chapter has the title of a 17. century book ("spot the book") - a challenge not only to the reader of the original but also to every translator. (To be fair: Eco seems to offer support to his translators, but even so their task is a daunting one.)
"Sometimes I ask myself if by chance I write novels purely in order to put in hermetic references that are comprehensible only to me. I feel like a painter who, in a landscape, puts among the leaves of the trees - almost invisible - the initials of his beloved. And it does not matter if not even she is able to identify them."
I am not sure how seriously this comment of Eco's should be taken, but it put me off his novels. I do like a challenge, but as a translator I fervently believe in making a text comprehensible to the reader; I am not sure that Eco would want me to do this and I doubt that I would enjoy trying to do it in the case of his books.

Being about to embark upon a masters degree in translation, Umberto Eco's book was the first I read on the subject. It was a great place to start. The book is very accessable, and would appeal to academic and those with a casual interest alike. It introduces the main implications in translating, and portrays it as a not as straight forward as one would think topic.
The argument as to whether translation should be source or target based is covered.
Eco refers to a range of sources,which illustrate points well.

However, the one shortfall I can see is probably inevitable yet still reduced my enjoyment of the book. Eco uses examples from a variety of languages - French, Spanish, Italian, German etc. To gain full effect from the examples one would need to understand each language, and as I can only understand one of them besides English, many of the examples were lost on me. I would imagine that I am not the only one to encounter this problem. However, without this range of examples, Eco's arguments would have far less impact, so perhaps one could see this as a viscious circle of the genre.

All in all, however, an excellent read. The book highlights some of the main areas in translation studies and can double up as either a fascinating read for the casual reader or as an extremely good place to start for those wishing to develop the interest further.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Rats! He almost got it.
I found Eco's Mouse or Rat an enjoyable read, although I took exception to some of his insights.

In discussing Nerval's book (p. Read more

Published 2 days ago by thomasmilan

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing for the serious student
Those who expect some new insight or a deeper understanding of translation will be disappointed. This book mostly states the obvious - what everyone with some translation... Read more

Published 14 months ago by Stefano Cotrozzi

5.0 out of 5 stars A self-reflecting tool
I am doing MA in Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature and for my thesis i am carrying out a detailed comparative analysis of a Chinese novel and its English translation. Read more

Published on 25 Oct 2007 by R. Buonocore

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