ABSTRACT
In the Introduction to this book I affirmed the need for a close relationship between the theory and the practice of translation. The translator who makes no attempt to understand the how behind the translation process is like the driver of a Rolls who has no idea what makes the car move. Likewise, the mechanic who spends a lifetime taking engines apart but never goes out for a drive in the country is a fitting image for the dry academician who examines the how at the expense of what is. In this third section I propose, therefore, to approach the question of the translation of literary works through close analysis of examples, not so much to evaluate the products but rather to show how specific problems of translation can emerge from the individual translators’ selection of criteria.
