How To Do a Good Translation

The world may be divided by peoples of different languages but knowledge transcends the barriers of language, thanks to the existence of translators. Doing translation from one language to another is both a skill and an art. Mere knowledge or scholarship on two languages alone can not make one qualified to be a good translator.

When translating a written text from one language to another, the type of skills required for a translator varies depending upon the content -- whether it is fiction, non-fiction, poetry, textbook, biography, philosophy, religion, holy scripture, mythology, hymns, etc. A good translator, having excellent command over the two languages, need not be able to do translation in all (or several) of these groups of content. A translator must make an honest self-judgment about his range of knowledge, exposure and degree of assimilation and decide to undertake translation only on those subjects where he can do real justice.

If you are interested in doing translation, there are always some general guidelines available for you to do a good job of it and we shall learn some of them here:

1. At least one of the two languages is to be your mother tongue. Translation comes out best if this condition is satisfied. If you are translating from your mother tongue, you can grasp every nuance of the source text and convert it to the target language. If you are translating from another language to your mother tongue, you can always present it in such a fashion that the true import of the source is brought in lucidly to the liking of readers of your own language. This is an ideal situation. But it may not be a binding consideration in the case of true masters of language who have command in two languages other than their mother tongue.
2. You must have good command over both the languages. A good knowledge of both the languages, their styles, typical usages, grammar, popular idioms and phrases, backed by plenty of experience reading books in both the languages (especially related to the subject of translation) are indeed the basic qualifications needed by you to be a good translator.
3. You must have adequate subject knowledge.
   • In the case of fiction: When it comes to translating a fictional work like a novel, short stories or mythological stories, possession of knowledge on finer nuances of the source language, its dialects, slang and some reasonable exposure on the cultural background of the characters will be necessary. Having a rudimentary knowledge of history, ethnicity and geographical locations, etc. would be all the more advantageous.
   • In the case of textbooks: It goes without saying that the translation of textbooks is best left to academicians of excellent writing skills who are well versed in the subject matter. Where the academician lacks writing skills, the work can always be made collaborative by a subject expert joining hands with a writing expert.
   • In the case of poetry: Translation of poetry is extremely tricky and unless the translator has in-depth knowledge of poetry and a poetic mind to grasp the original poet's word plays and overt and covert poetic expressions, the work may fail miserably. Where the poetry is of ancient origin, the translator must consult books and commentaries written by scholars expounding the meanings of the poems in the original language. Translation of poetry from the source language into the target language again in the form of poetry is an extremely difficult task, to be attempted only by poets possessing bilingual mastery.
   • In the case of religious scripture, hymns and philosophy: It is another very tricky and slippery area, never to be treaded by amateur writers. As a translator, you must have a reasonably in-depth knowledge of or exposure to the specific religion's beliefs and practices. If the source language is an ancient one (like Sanskrit), it is all the more important that you possess proven qualifications in grasping the language and its very complicated structure, phrasings and usages. You must have a solid reading background sourced from reputed authors, scholars and religious gurus on the subject. 

     Rather than attempting to work out your own independent interpretations in case of mystic and cryptic statements appearing in the source, it may be much safer to do the translation based on existing explanatory works available in the source language done by widely acclaimed and qualified religious gurus, wherever appropriate.  If you happen to be translating the works of a religion that you do not belong to, you have to be doubly cautious in your effort, else you will face lots of brickbats if you err on your interpretations and explanations of the source book.

4. You must ideally have independent and proven writing skills in the target language. This is an extremely important qualification if your translation is to get good acclaim. Having independent writing experience (not translation alone) in the target language will definitely add fillip to your work. As a proven writer, you already have a flow and rhythm, which will help you to do the translation with ease and aplomb.
5. The translated work should appear as though it is an original piece of work in that language. This could be the litmus test for the success of a translated work. Ideally, the (translated) writing should not give an opportunity to the reader to guess or grasp that it has been translated from another language, unless and until the reader stumbles upon this piece of information in the publication! This is where the skill and art of translation is put to the most severe test.
   
   To succeed in this arena, some specific tips are below:
   • Word by word literal translation should be shunned. Read a line or a couple of lines in the source; fully grasp the content and import. Write it in the target language in the way a native writer would write it. At the same time, make sure that you have not done any over-emphasis, distortion or a twist over the original.
   • Break long sentences into smaller ones to give better clarity; break too big a paragraph into smaller ones for ease of readability. Reorganize some sentences here and there if it will improve flow or understanding. Do not convert simple and short sentences in the original to compound and long-winding ones, just to show off your linguistic prowess.
   • Take the liberty of changing reported speech in the original to direct speech, if it is going to enhance readability and avoid boredom.
   • Convert exclamatory statements to expressions that are widely known in the target language (rather than exactly translated equivalents). When you come across proverbs or widely used idioms and phrases, look for popular equivalents in the target language and use them instead.
   • When translating conversations, where the original contains slang, write it in the form of slang commonly used in the target language.
   • When some technical words of the original language are commonly known in the target language, too, use the same words simply transliterated, rather than attempting to translate exactly in the target language (which the common reader may not understand). For example, use "computer," "radio," "motor," etc. if the source language is English and the target language also uses these words very commonly.)

Like any other skill and art, translation, too, has to be nurtured by practice, perseverance and polishing. The success of a good translation, as already emphasized, will depend on the extent to which the translated work appears to be a piece of original writing in that language.