Abstract
Very few German literary works are available in Afrikaans translation. The works that are available are in most cases older, classical works that were translated a number of years ago. Over the past three decades, German literature has been said to have “come out of the national ghetto” (Parkes 2002:263) and a number of German novels have been published that were translated into various languages and became international bestsellers. Die Vermessung der Welt, published in 2005by Daniel Kehlmann (born 1975), is one of these novels. In this paper we argue that various factors, including the novel’s unique genre, its international appeal and the relationship between German and Afrikaans, would make an Afrikaans translation of the novel popular among a range of audiences.
Die Vermessung der Welt is regarded as one of the most successful post-war German novels to date and has been translated into more than 40 languages. In a humorous vein, the novel narrates episodes from the lives of two famous 19th-century scientists, Carl Friedrich Gauss and Alexander von Humboldt. Many critics have responded positively to the novel, praising Kehlmann’s sense of humour and his use of satire and irony. Others, however, concerned that the novel might be interpreted as a work of non-fiction, have argued that it contains too many anachronisms and factual inaccuracies. Kehlmann’s response to these comments was that he did not write a biography of one or both of his main characters, but that his novel is a work of fiction. Due to the interplay of historical context and fiction, the specific events and situations narrated, and Kehlmann’s unique approach, the novel’s genre is difficult to define. It could, for example, be viewed as a portrait of two elderly men, each lonely in his own way; a satire on the German classical period; an image of the German bourgeoisie at the start of the 19th century; a study of the sacrifice and morality of science; or an adventure novel.
The unique genre of the source text is one of the key factors to consider when analysing the source text for the purposes of translating the text. In her work on source-text analysis, Nord (2005:41) emphasises that all factors that could influence a translation should be kept in mind when analysing a source text before the start of the translating process. She categories these factors as extratextual – those pertaining to the circumstances around transferring the text – and intratextual – those relating to the text itself. The extratextual aspects relevant to the translation of Die Vermessung der Welt that we discuss in greater detail in this paper include: the author and his intention, the genre of the text, and the reception of the source text. With regard to the author and his intention, Kehlmann makes it clear that the work is a novel, not a biography or a history textbook. He had aimed to show that the cosmos is chaotic and that it cannot be quantified (or measured) easily. In order to make his point he used humour and satire throughout the novel. Being carefully attuned to Kehlmann’s style and tone would be crucial for a translator aiming to retain this effect in the target text. Intratextual factors discussed in the paper include the subject matter and content of the novel, the pre-existing knowledge of the reader, and the specific lexis, syntax and style of the source text.
Our analysis of the above-mentioned extra- and intratextual factors makes it clear that, when translating Die Vermessung der Welt, at least three contexts are involved: the novel is set in the 19th century, and the references to historical figures and events invoke the historical context of the era; its audience is contemporary German readers; while potential Afrikaans target-text readers would have a different cultural context and frame of reference. The translator thus has to mediate between these contexts and in so doing find a balance between the intention of the source-text author and the experience of the target-text reader. From the perspective of translation theory we are of the opinion that the methodological and theoretical framework presented by functionalism is particularly well suited to this translation situation. Not only does the functionalist approach provide methodological tools for formulating a broad approach to the translation, for finalising a skopos and for analysing the source text, it also offers a framework for identifying potential translation problems. In the course of the paper, we focus on each of these aspects: on determining an approach to the translation, informed by Nord’s loyalty principle; formulating the skopos that guides the translation process; identifying factors that could influence the translation and bearing them in mind when making choices in the translation; and paying careful attention to problem areas that arise in the specific translation context.
In the light of Nord’s loyalty principle, which proposes balancing the source-text author’s intention with the experience of the target-text reader, we are of the opinion that in translating Die Vermessung der Welt, it would be important to respect and attempt to retain the effect of Kehlmann’s unique style, but also to consider the needs of potential target-text readers. Based on this point of reference, the skopos for an Afrikaans translation of Die Vermessung der Welt could be formulated as follows:
- It should be a literary translation that respects the connotative, expressive and aesthetic function of the source text.
- It should be a direct translation that attempts, as far as possible, to retain the atmosphere of the source text.
- The reference to and ironicising of historical and scientific aspects should be retained for the sophisticated reader.
- The sense of adventure and humour should be retained so that the less sophisticated reader can enjoy the novel as an adventure novel set in the 19th century.
In our sample translation of selected excerpts from the novel, we use this skopos as a guiding principle for making decisions. When considering whether or not to retain the German form of a word or phrase in our target text, for example, we constantly considered not only the intention of the source-text author or the closest literal translation equivalent, but also reflected on the effect different alternatives would have on potential target-text readers’ response to the text. In one example, the word Gendarm is used in the source text. In 19th-century Germany the word was used to refer to members of the police force, following the French example. The title gendarme is still used in France and some French-speaking countries, and it is known as a loan word in many languages, including Afrikaans. According to Pharos Bilingual Dictionary, Afrikaans equivalents for the English word gendarme are gendarme and polisiesoldaat (Pharos Afrikaans-Engels/English-Afrikaans Woordeboek 2010). In order to retain the historical reference, the word Gendarm in the source text is translated as gendarme in the sample translation, and not as polisieman (“policeman”). The first time the term occurs in the source text we decided to add a brief explanation: “die gendarme, een van die owerheid se polisiesoldate” (“the gendarme, one of the government’s police soldiers”).
In addition to the theoretical and methodological tools already mentioned, the functionalist approach also provides a framework for identifying potential problem areas in a translation – as identified by Nord (1997a). In terms of text-specific translation problems, Kehlmann’s use of humour, satire and irony could prove especially challenging to the translator. One example from the source text that illustrates this is where the mother of the Von Humboldt brothers asks Goethe for advice on how to educate her sons. The answer he gives, as the narrator points out, “no one understands”, and she then asks her head servant for advice. In the excerpt, Kehlmann is most likely satirising Goethe’s grandiloquent style, but at the same time his portrayal of the mother asking for – and eventually subscribing to – the servant’s interpretation of Goethe’s advice might also be viewed as an ironic perspective on German aristocracy where the servant ultimately has the answer. Interlingual, pragmatic and intercultural translation problems also arise, especially in cases where the use of certain words in the source text that point to the historical context might not be familiar to target-text readers.
Ultimately, we found that while a literal translation was feasible due to the close link between the Afrikaans and German language systems, it remains necessary to pay attention to the conventions of Afrikaans in order not to detract from the target-text reader’s experience of the text. For some references unique to the European or German world of the 19th century we chose equivalents in Afrikaans that are more general, for example when translating Diener with dienskneg (“servant”), while words such as gendarme were used in the Afrikaans text. These decisions were consistently made with the style of the source-text author, the atmosphere of the source text, and also the experience of the target-text reader, as stipulated by Nord’s loyalty principle, kept in mind.
Keywords: culture; functionalism; literal translation; literary translation; loyalty; Nord, C.; skopos; translation from German into Afrikaans; Vermeer, H.
Lees die volledige artikel in Afrikaans: ’n Funksionalistiese benadering tot die hantering van taal- en kultuurverskille in ’n Afrikaanse proefvertaling van Daniel Kehlmann se roman Die Vermessung der Welt