Thank you, I'm glad the information is useful. How is your reading progressing? I was just thinking about your translation comparisons, tonight I have to write an article for chapter 1 of part 2 and Luiza Ivanovna's speech with her German phrases is impossible to read neither in Russian nor in my translation. That is indeed a challenge for translators. Have you compared it?
Ooh, is this my first translation comparison request? Awesome. I didn't compare Louisa's speech. I have a few notes on that chapter, including some of Ilya Petrovich's rant at Louisa which itself has some interesting translation choices, particularly for А ты опять, опять, такая-сякая ты этакая! The funniest one is McDuff's 'Madam this-that-and-the-other'. It doesn't really work.
I'll put something together today on Louisa's speech and add it to a note. I keep forgetting about the Notes feature. Thanks for asking!
If you do this, it will be very interesting. Really interesting, did someone simplify her speech. I had to think about her words to understand what happened there and what is the problem..
These phrases, “такая-сякая ты эдакая,” sound awkward in the original, like self-censorship to avoid swearing. Usually, they are used in retelling to avoid repeating someone else's curse words. It sounds absurd in direct speech now because you have to think for yourself and can substitute any adjective. For some, the insult might be “fat,” for others, “old,” and it all fits 😂
I've put all eight translations into my spreadsheet if you need that to get started on something. I'm writing up a post just now that should be out in the next couple of hours.
Oh, great. I will reference your post, if you don't mind, and insert a link to everything. I usually publish the article around 9 pm (Central European Time) or later, I need to get home 😅
Wow! Thank you for all the time you spent on putting these answers together. I never imagined they would contain such depth! I can’t imagine how long it took you. It is so appreciated.
That does it! My Bucket List now contains experiencing the White Nights of St. Petersburg! The way the colors transform is quite stunning…and that’s just through a video. I need to experience this in person!
Your comments on the Egyptian oasis reference were quite enlightening. I had no knowledge of either poem and was quite confused by that brief section. It definitely makes we want to dive a bit deeper into them.
Do you have any recommendations on English language texts that explore notes like the one you mention from Dostoevsky’s Bible? I can do some online research, but are texts you especially like to reference, I’d love to look for them.
Alas, I have not found any books with a comprehensive explanation of Crime and Punishment. Yes, in fact, there aren't even such books in Russian, but you can find more information, of course. I gather information for each chapter from literary articles, but they usually cover only one small aspect. And it turned out to be a revelation for me that it is really difficult to find information in English, given how many people read Dostoevsky. There are many interesting books about his biography in English, but practically nothing about detailed text analysis. And the vast number of translations often even hinders this.
Regarding the poems of Lermontov and Pushkin. Here, too, everything is complicated by translation, and indeed it takes a lot of time. I am not skilled in translating poems and have only found amateur translations. You can read here
Thank you for your insights Dana. Great work!
Thank you, I'm glad the information is useful. How is your reading progressing? I was just thinking about your translation comparisons, tonight I have to write an article for chapter 1 of part 2 and Luiza Ivanovna's speech with her German phrases is impossible to read neither in Russian nor in my translation. That is indeed a challenge for translators. Have you compared it?
Ooh, is this my first translation comparison request? Awesome. I didn't compare Louisa's speech. I have a few notes on that chapter, including some of Ilya Petrovich's rant at Louisa which itself has some interesting translation choices, particularly for А ты опять, опять, такая-сякая ты этакая! The funniest one is McDuff's 'Madam this-that-and-the-other'. It doesn't really work.
I'll put something together today on Louisa's speech and add it to a note. I keep forgetting about the Notes feature. Thanks for asking!
If you do this, it will be very interesting. Really interesting, did someone simplify her speech. I had to think about her words to understand what happened there and what is the problem..
These phrases, “такая-сякая ты эдакая,” sound awkward in the original, like self-censorship to avoid swearing. Usually, they are used in retelling to avoid repeating someone else's curse words. It sounds absurd in direct speech now because you have to think for yourself and can substitute any adjective. For some, the insult might be “fat,” for others, “old,” and it all fits 😂
I've put all eight translations into my spreadsheet if you need that to get started on something. I'm writing up a post just now that should be out in the next couple of hours.
Oh, great. I will reference your post, if you don't mind, and insert a link to everything. I usually publish the article around 9 pm (Central European Time) or later, I need to get home 😅
That would be great. Thank you.
Still writing. It's taking a while, ha ha.
My comparison spreadsheet is here by the way:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dIlWuKf6cXCEEyukkSOifgfh760LXvr8NPD3QSGFbYo/edit?usp=sharing
Wow! Thank you for all the time you spent on putting these answers together. I never imagined they would contain such depth! I can’t imagine how long it took you. It is so appreciated.
That does it! My Bucket List now contains experiencing the White Nights of St. Petersburg! The way the colors transform is quite stunning…and that’s just through a video. I need to experience this in person!
Your comments on the Egyptian oasis reference were quite enlightening. I had no knowledge of either poem and was quite confused by that brief section. It definitely makes we want to dive a bit deeper into them.
Do you have any recommendations on English language texts that explore notes like the one you mention from Dostoevsky’s Bible? I can do some online research, but are texts you especially like to reference, I’d love to look for them.
Alas, I have not found any books with a comprehensive explanation of Crime and Punishment. Yes, in fact, there aren't even such books in Russian, but you can find more information, of course. I gather information for each chapter from literary articles, but they usually cover only one small aspect. And it turned out to be a revelation for me that it is really difficult to find information in English, given how many people read Dostoevsky. There are many interesting books about his biography in English, but practically nothing about detailed text analysis. And the vast number of translations often even hinders this.
Regarding the poems of Lermontov and Pushkin. Here, too, everything is complicated by translation, and indeed it takes a lot of time. I am not skilled in translating poems and have only found amateur translations. You can read here
http://samlib.ru/s/sharafutdinow_f_z/threepalms.shtml
https://aleksandr-pushkin.su/podrazhaniya-koranu/?lang=en
These answers are so helpful in giving more depth to my understanding. Thank you.
You're welcome 💞