Branches Book

BRANCHES

I would need to have a deep understanding of the text and the original language. Many times through the process, I found myself getting confused with what was happening because the text didn’t provide clear character intentions, much unlike English writing. I was disappointed with myself because it became painfully clear how fairly crude my understanding of the Russian language is. It was a realization that was hard to bear because the culture is a big part of my identity. I translated “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Anderson. The author is Danish, but I used the translated Russian text I read as a kid. The story addresses the blur between good and evil, which I did not understand as a child. The most difficult part to translate was actually the first chapter. It’s the setup for the whole story, and therefore it needed to be engaging and clear. However, the original language was very difficult to understand. Since I couldn’t rely on my vast understanding of the Russian language, I had to find an effective way to translate this crucial yet confusing section. To start, I literally translated every word of the text. I paid no attention to flow and clarity, I simply got everything down. Knowing myself, I knew I would have no trouble going back into my raw translation and thoroughly refining it. Nevertheless, this was the first draft of the opening line: “There lived on Earth one evil-beyond-evil troll.” Yikes! My problem was that many Russian fairy tales begin with жил на свете , which roughly translates to there lived on Earth , and I tried to keep the original wording. Luckily, I later realized that the goal isn’t to translate the exact wording, it’s to translate the exact feelings the author evoked in the original text. So I substituted the phrase with the common way to start stories in English, which is “once upon a time.” This way, I provide the feel of a classic fairytale that English readers can connect with. From there, I applied the two-step process to the rest of the story and, if I do say so myself, it worked! My ultimate goal was to provide the reader with a literary experience that was trivial to me as a child. Only until the culture shock did I come to understand that not everyone has read this story. I do feel I achieved my goal, despite the hardships. I present you with the timeless tale of “The Snow Queen” as well as a little insight into my childhood.

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