Translator Quotes

“Before getting translated, a poem already gets shrunk or expanded within the ‘sphere of intellect’ of the translator in the original language, and it again gets shrunk or expanded within the ‘sphere of intellect’ of the translator in the target language.”
― Suman Pokhrel

“Chance of source language influencing the target language and that of the translator intervening onto the style of original writer are major challenges in literary translation.”
― Suman Pokhrel

“Poetry emerging from a poet enters into the reader only when it comes within the readers’ 'sphere of intellect. A reader cannot take poetry by expanding it beyond his/her consciousness, rather can take by shrinking it within. Thus, there exists a chance of every poem getting changed while reaching every reader. This ‘getting changed’ is a form of ‘getting translated’, in a way. So, every assimilation of any poem is a translation.”
― Suman Pokhrel, भारत शाश्वत आवाज [Bharat Shashwat Aawaz]

“Overly literal translations, far from being faithful, actually distort meaning by obscuring sense.”
― Ken Liu, The Three-Body Problem

“This is my gift to you, this story that is also a song, these words that are a part of Fokir. Such flaws as there are in my rendition of it I do not regret, for perhaps they will prevent me from fading from sight, as a good translator should. For once, I shall be glad if my imperfections render me visible.”
― Amitav Ghosh, The Hungry Tide

“One word absent from a sentence, or misinterpreted incorrectly, can change the entire meaning of a sentence. One word can change the meaning of everything. Before you believe anything about God or anybody, ask yourself how well do you trust the transmitter, translator or interpreter. And if you have never met them, then how do you know if the knowledge you acquired is even right? One hundred and twenty-five years following every major event in history, all remaining witnesses will have died. How well do you trust the man who has stored his version of a story? And how can you put that much faith into someone you don't know?”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

“They say that wisdom is a dying flower, and I disagree. In a world covered in mud, the lotus still continues to grow. Even after mankind washes itself away from the surface of the earth, knowledge will still remain. Look no further than the bosom of Nature. It offers all the solutions needed to cure and unite humanity. Wise men only exist as interpreters and transmitters of Truth. Their time on earth is limited, but Nature's existence is eternal. Open books shall always exist for those with an opened eye and pure heart; for Truth can only be seen by those with truth in them.”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

“We’re like two dogs in battle on their own;
They fought all day but neither got the bone,
There came a kite above them, nothing loth,
And while they fought he took it from them both."

From Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale”
― Geoffrey Chaucer

“«“We’re talking about the technical aspects of translation again. Do I have to do all the work here? Who can tell me one of the problems translators face?” Rashmi raises her hand. “Well, most words have different meanings.” “Good,” Professeur Cole says. “More. Elaborate.” St. Clair sits next to Rashmi, but he’s not listening. He scribbles something fiercely in the margins of his book. “Well,” Rashmi says. “It’s the translator’s job to determine which definition the author means. And not only that, but there could be other meanings in relation to the context.”55 “So what you’re saying,” Professeur Cole says, “is that the translator has a lot of decisions to make. That there are multiple meanings to be found in any word, in any sentence. In any situation.” “Exactly,” Rashmi says. And then she cuts her eyes at me.»”
― Stephanie Perkins, Anna and the French Kiss

“We are told that in translation there is no such thing as equivalence. Many times the translator reaches a fork in the translating road where they must make a choice in the interpretation of a word. And each time they make one of these choices, they are taken further from the truth. But what we aren’t told is that this isn’t a shortcoming of translation; it’s a shortcoming of language itself. As soon as we try to put reality into words, we limit it. Words are not reality, they are the cause of reality, and thus reality is always more. Writers aren't alchemists who transmute words into the aurous essence of the human experience. No, they are glassmakers. They create a work of art that enables us to see inside to help us understand. And if they are really good, we can see our own reflections staring back at us.”
― Kamand Kojouri

“U istoriji je zabeleženo mnoštvo susreta vladara ili generala koji nisu mogli neposredno da komuniciraju, jer nisu vladali jezikom svojih sagovornika. Nikada, međutim, istorija ne beleži da li su uz njih bili prevodioci, ostavljajući nam tako da zamišljamo neme vladare i generale koji prevrću očima, češu se ili lupkaju prstima po kolenima dok čekaju da istekne vreme predviđeno za njihov susret. Prevodioci za to vreme čuče u senci drveta i gledaju kako se spušta noć. (Prevodioci su nesrećni ljudi)”
― David Albahari, Male priče

“In days long past, Jarod said he’d write a sentence about my love, translated in Russian, and that sentence, like my love, is clearly not for sale, unlike his virginity, or this book, which I’m both offering at ten times the market value, so hurry up and buy now, before it goes down.”
― Will Advise, Nothing is here...

“I wish to be the bridge between our worlds.”
― Rae Knightly, Ben Archer and the World Beyond

“You don't need a translator to understand the happiness in a smile.”
― Anthony T. Hincks

“Alcohol is man's universal translator.”
― Anthony T. Hincks

“En un instante se mostraba indiferente a las miradas de todos; acto seguido estaba dispuesta a apartarse del mundo para siempre; y a continuación decidía resistir con la mayor energía.”
― Jane Austen

“Out in the wilderness, nature is your translator.”
― Bhuwan Thapaliya

“If you simply copy and paste instant translations, you only end up with meaningless and contextless junk, which has no relation to the culture and the people.”
― Abhijit Naskar, World War Human: 100 New Earthling Sonnets

“Better to have no translation, than to have a translation without soul.”
― Abhijit Naskar, World War Human: 100 New Earthling Sonnets