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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42280
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42280
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Translating another writer's book, you are limited: you have only the words that the author wrote. You get to move them around, because grammar has to match. You get to look for expressions in the target language that match expressions in the source material. You get to struggle with semantic gaps, and do your best to fill them. You do not "localise" the work, as it were.

What does that mean? It means that culturally, your point of view remains source-culture. If in the source culture giving a woman a red rose means "I hate you", and in the destination culture it means "I love you", you keep the red rose. At most, you may add a "translator's note" as a footnote, explaining the situation.

**Your translation must be perfectly legible in the destination language**. It should read as if written in the destination language, set in the source culture. That means correct word usage and correct grammar, and also correct language register. Your "metal tubular-framed plastic covered cupboard" doesn't do that. I struggle to assign any meaning to that phrase. "Covered cupboard" - as opposed to one that has no cover? Or does it have some additional cover, like a curtain over it? "Plastic" - OK, the cupboard is made of plastic. But wait, you said just a moment ago that it was made of metal? "Tubular-framed" - so its frame is one big tube? How does that even work? If what you mean is a plastic cupboard with metal corners, that's what you should say - "a plastic cupboard with metal corners". **Grammatical structures do not transfer between languages** - you've got to adjust for that.

At the same time, **your translation must also read like the source** - you cannot change the culture, the setting, etc. If it's happening in Naples, you can't move it to "New City". If measurement is in yards, you can't convert to meters. If characters are celebrating [Novy God](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novy_God), it's not Christmas.

Original score: 2