Is it easy to engage in literary translation?

"Of course, - tells a translator of scientific, technical, medical or legal texts. At first glance, this is true. In literary translation is not needed scrupulous accuracy (indeed, it is often even harmful). And the degree of responsibility of an interpreter, it would seem less. If he is in his translation will make the eyes of some princess is not blue, and blue, to confuse one with another rare ailment, and instead of the Code of Rights "write" position "from that no one gets hurt. But it is only at first glance. "Unrestrained freedom" in literary translation and there can not be. On the other hand has its own characteristics, which I will try to explain. Immediately I want to dispel one persistent misconception. Many believe that literary translation should be an excellent knowledge of foreign language with which to translate. "In perfection" is impossible to know any language, even their mother, because the language is too many-sided that one man was able to thoroughly learn all the facets. Whoever starts translating fiction, must meet two conditions: 1) have a congenital (in institutions do not teach) literary talents, and 2) very respectably know the native language with its grammar and punctuation. If the second is still possible to learn the first or given, or, sorry, no. And then ... more starts nuances that distinguish a good interpreter of the mediocre and bad. Location where they are, do not mean the degree of importance. Believe me, they are all equally necessary and important in the translation work. 1. The product, which you transfer, be construed as if it were written in Russian. I still never ceases to amaze dissimilarity Russian and English languages. Take, for example, the following sentence: "He had various problems to be solved immediately". It can meet anywhere: in the modern detective story, in the novel, where the action takes place in the Middle Ages, in the short story or a multi-volume fantasy saga. In English, it fits well in any context. In Russian, it is impossible. Of course, now the word "problem" lepitsya anywhere, to the place and out of place. For example, a modern detective admits a translation: "Problems at him bulk - above the roof." And if they say medieval knights? And if we are talking about a dragon, and slept for a thousand years, and suddenly awakened from sleep? 2. You must be able "to translate an untranslatable" ... No, not some puzzling curse. Most often, this is a play on words, built on the features of the original language. I translated a short story, where the earthly authorities slalom orders to a remote base, located at the prominent feature on the ecumenical nowhere. Because the messages pass through many intermediate stations, each operator misrepresented their own way. Yes, the principle of a circle. By language story did not pose any difficulty, but I struggled for a week on the texts of orders and response messages. Naturally, they had to write again, adapting to the realities of the Russian language. And at the same time, I had no right to sacrifice the common meaning of the piece ... But as they say in advertising zavlekushkah, "that's not all. The true "test of aptitude" happens when, say, you come across an acrostic, and you're standing on his ears and nose, making the English phrase, it is encrypted, to the Russian ... This is not a theory. Last fall I had the pleasure (and necessity) to practice writing acrostics. 3. Observe the laws of the genre, take into account the age, location and personality of the characters. Words relevant when translating a detective, where the action takes place in the mid 19 th century, are not suitable to describe a similar scene in the fantasy. We often meet translations where translators very often molded "Sirs" and "Lady", while the events unfold not in England. Well, can not be invented worlds of pure British titles and addresses! Do not allow this unwritten laws of the Russian language. "Steward", "lord", "ruler" ... Is it too little in our language beautiful and sonorous words? .. Now about individuality. Again, we take the conventional phrase: "I haven't much time for conversations". In the mouth of the secular chatterbox its better translated as: "Time does not allow me to continue our conversation." A farmer says: "Well, once I scratched the language here. Suffers literally? To some extent, yes. But remember: the translation must be heard in Russian! Weirdly, if the dialogue recalls the transcript of a "round table". Sometimes, in order to achieve liveliness of speech has to pronounce sentence and remarks aloud and in some places to remove unwanted "correctness". 4. Prima. Trans. "Another indicator of professionalism of the interpreter - the ability to feel where you want to comment, and, of course, - the ability to find this comment. Time passes, changing realities, and yesterday's everyday words cease to be intelligible. For example, many people now know what "utilities bills for the apartment? One editor called me and asked, and whether there is in the Russian language the word "LFCC", which I used in the translation. I suggested he look in the dictionary Dal or rummage in Yandex. And a word not very old, in his not-so distant childhood I often heard: "Well, again LFCC slap?" (Ie, soiled trousers) ... If you have comments you need to write in Russian novels of the Soviet way of life 50-x years, what then to say, for example, on the American West at the middle of the century before last! And then suddenly the hero schegolnet phrase from any English poet, who has never translated into Russian. And again, butting in to the Internet, shake search engines, find, and dates of life, and the date of writing the poem ... It happens also that the authors ... not that stretching the truth, and the very liberties with historical facts. For example, in the mid-forties the 19 th century someone sends a telegram from London to Vienna. Again, a walk in the Internet, where one finds that the telegraph in those days there was only within the London and pinned the British capital with some British cities. A cable under the Channel Tunnel paved only in 1851 ... A younger generation may ask me: "Che parishsya?" Oh, guys, lucky me that my childhood was neat book, where everything is strange due. So accustomed. 5. Do not shift a part of their work on the shoulders of editors, proofreaders and DTP. The editor is not obliged to engage an interpreter instead of commenting, his lack of work to catch stylistic lyapy. Proofreader - not elementary school teacher, a decade of writing checks blockheads. Verstalschitsa - not a servant who is obliged to clean up after sloppy "gentleman". A self-respecting translator must check the text for the presence of extra spaces between words and removes them. A competent ownership Word'om not even discussed. I remember one good translator, "the old school" could not learn how to fix the paragraph indention. She did so, as accustomed to do on a typewriter - flies indent whitespace key. She repeatedly testified requested. Neither in what! When it is tired, and she hinted that the rules are obligatory for all, the lady, as they say, "slammed the door" ... Of course, such cases are rare, but a good translator, a true professional, always doing more than what they should. And not in the ranking and not the fees for the author's list. What? It is a matter for self-reflection. If you say something to engage in a very easy and simple, it is true ... almost. Like riding a bicycle, when you learn. But even if your health has learned, the road still are different ... So with literary translation.