He said! She said! But Who Said it Right?

Above are some funny pictures of messages that were lost or distorted in translation. Translating is a difficult task that if not done right can ruin the meaning of a text. The first line of Kafka's Metamorphosis, like the first line of Camus' The Stranger, has a variety of translations. These translations, while only having slight differences, can have a wide range of meaning and impact on the text and overall purpose. Four different translations of the first line of Metamorphosis are;

#1:As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

#2:Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.

#3:When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.

#4:One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.

My initial observations of the use of literary features in this first sentence are:

• Diction: Each sentence uses select word choice to portray the message within this sentence. In reference to the dreams of Samsa, the different word choice used is uneasy, troubled, and agitated. When referencing what has happened, the different words used are transformed and changed. Then in the description of the creature, the adjectives used are gigantic, giant, enormous, and monstrous, and the nouns used are insect, bug, and vermin. 
• Syntax: The first three translations have no punctuation aside from the period at the end. The fourth sentence in contrast is very chopped up with the use of comas to separate each piece of info from the rest. 
• Imagery/details: All of the translations present a relatively average scene of a man waking up in his bed in the morning, however he is no longer a man but instead a large bug-like thing. The first three translations make the creature seem buggy while the last makes it seem more like a rodent sort of animal. 
• Structure: Three of the translations introduce the reader to the character and then set up the scene and the present the conflict. The other sets the scene first but still brings up the conflict at the end.

By looking at these different literary devices found in the sentences, we can begin to see the varied affect that the translations can have. I think the most profound differences come from the different diction used in the text. The words uneasy, troubled, and agitated, while all having the same visual affect of a tossing and turning sleep, the word uneasy seems less severe or significant than troubled or agitated. This may cause the reader to put less focus on the quality of sleep and its possible relationship to what has happened to Samsa. Next, the words transformed instead of changed seems more magical or mysterious where changed is a more "normal" word and adds less curiosity to the event. The different adjectives used when describing the creature he has turned into vary in intensity, the most calm being giant and the most intense being monstrous. The result of these words being more or less intense make the reader's image of this creature change. While giant may imply human-sized, monstrous implies overwhelmingly large and scary. Furthermore, the use of the word vermin as opposed to insect or bug makes the creature seem more like a rodent potentially. This initial image of the creature can affect how the reader comprehends the characters struggles with being this creature and it therefore important for the image to be as the author intended so the intentions throughout the rest of the book are interpreted correctly. I think that this look at diction also shows how imagery impacts the effectiveness and implications of the sentence. The syntax of the translations is very similar except for #4, which unlike the others which are one long thought, is split up with the use of comas. By separating each piece of information, this translation makes the reader think about each detail individually, and as a result they may be more in tuned to how the different aspects of the sentence play into the overall scene. I think that translation #3 is the most effective because, while i think the syntax of #4 is creative, it's other aspects do not seem effective. #3 uses the words troubled, transformed, and enormous bug, all of which have an appropriate amount of intensity and meaning. I also like that it says bug because it give the reader a good idea of what this thing is but still allows for individual interpretation. 

I think that reading a translated text is very difficult not only to read but also to analyse. A lot of purpose in writing is created through the implications that different words or ideas create. However, there is not always words in one language that have the same implications as similar words in another language. And some words have no direct translation at all. This means that, while translations can create the same basic idea and image, they do not always hold the exact meaning of the text as a whole. This can affect the tone of a passage or work immensely because each word that holds a slightly different meaning can change the mood or intensity and other incorrect translations continue to build on that mistake until the tone or meaning of a passage has become completely distorted. Therefore, I think it is important for a variety of people to analyse and translate a text and then compare, as we did above, to help get the most accurate and effective version for people to read.