ATA July BI-2-REV2.qxd
6/29/07
9:58 PM
Page 58
Humor and Translation
Mark Herman
[email protected]
Synonyms, Antonyms, and Oxymorons
This column was inspired by “retiring”
and “outgoing,” a pair of words that can be either antonyms
or synonyms, depending on meaning. The words were the
answers to a recent Will Shortz puzzle on Public
Broadcasting System radio’s “Weekend Edition.”
Most languages have such pairs of words. In English,
“large” can be the smallest size, “baaad” can be good, and
a person may be fortunate or unfortunate enough to “luck
out.” Formal English is not exempt: the adjectives “best”
and “worst” are antonyms, but the verbs “best” and “worst”
are synonyms.
And then there are oxymorons, phrases in which the contradiction is built in: “jumbo shrimp,” “real phonies,”
“everyone above average,” “scientific fortune-telling,” W. S.
Gilbert’s “modified rapture,” and the old army joke, “military intelligence.”
Words meaning their opposites or contradicting themselves are usually funny. When the words are puns—Lent is
a fast time and also a slow time—or euphemisms—a character in Guys and Dolls has a “perfect” criminal record, i.e.,
many arrests and no convictions—they are inherently funny.
But what if there are oxymorons that are only meant to
be ambiguous and are not meant to be funny? The translator
must then avoid even unintentional humor.
Consider a lament by Isolde in Act I of Richard Wagner’s
opera Tristan und Isolde:
O blinde Augen!
Blöde Herzen!
Zahmer Mut,
verzagtes Schweigen!
These lines are at least partially oxymoronic, especially
the third line, which might be rendered as “cowardly
58
Defective vision!
cornered courage!
peevish heart!
disgruntled silence!
And here is an acceptable one:
O blinded vision!
blunted valor!
Sullen heart,
resigned to silence!
Correction: Lotti N. Eichhorn was the first to point out an
error in the April 2007 column. The correct literal translation
of fünf gerade sein lassen is “to let 5 be an even number.”
[O blind/clouded/hidden/false eyes!
foolish/stupid/awkward/embarrassing/disagreeable hearts!
tame/docile/mild courage/daring/valor/heart,
despondent/desperate/low-spirited/faint-hearted silence!]
Start Planning Now
daring.” Further, they reflect what a modern audience would
consider an over-the-top romantic sensibility, easily parodied and ridiculed. The translator must re-create them,
using a register of English that Isolde could employ,
keeping as much of the meaning and oxymoronic character
as possible, all the while not being funny. Of course, the
result must be singable to the music, which means generally
following Wagner’s phrasing and syllable count, and, in this
particular case, because of the pattern of high and low
notes, also generally following Wagner’s pattern of long
and short vowels.
Here is an unacceptable translation:
Herman is a librettist and translator. Submit items for future columns via
e-mail to [email protected] or via snail mail to Mark Herman, 1409
E. Gaylord St., Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858-3626. Discussions of the translation of
humor and examples thereof are preferred, but humorous anecdotes about
translators, translations, and mistranslations are also welcome. Include copyright information and permission if relevant.
ATA’s 48th Annual Conference
October 31–November 3, 2007
San Francisco, California
Be sure to check out the
Preliminary Program for
complete details!
The ATA Chronicle
■
July 2007