11-17-2011, 03:55 AM
For the most part I'm all for modernising the text, so long as it still resembles the original. It seems to me that there are just as many instances of 'old' translations which, whilst full of gravitas, still paraphrase the original in order to achieve flow and, as Duncan said, those 'sonorous phrases'.
Let's not also forget that those older translations, for example the turn of the 20th century versions which are often available free online, are representative of the language and styles of the early 20th century, not the ancient world. Although I'm no expert on Greek language, the reviews I've read of Fagles' modern translation of the Iliad stick far closer to the original than many previous attempts, which often sanitise the violence by avoiding too literal a translation; e.g. Fagles will have a combatant's 'intestines unravelling from the gaping wound' whereas older translations would simply state that the combatant was 'mortally wounded', even when the original Greek explicitly states the wound involved the man's intestines spilling out.
That said, I do think using modern idioms and colloquialisms give the text too short a shelf life and serve only to make the work seem dated soon after publication.
Let's not also forget that those older translations, for example the turn of the 20th century versions which are often available free online, are representative of the language and styles of the early 20th century, not the ancient world. Although I'm no expert on Greek language, the reviews I've read of Fagles' modern translation of the Iliad stick far closer to the original than many previous attempts, which often sanitise the violence by avoiding too literal a translation; e.g. Fagles will have a combatant's 'intestines unravelling from the gaping wound' whereas older translations would simply state that the combatant was 'mortally wounded', even when the original Greek explicitly states the wound involved the man's intestines spilling out.
That said, I do think using modern idioms and colloquialisms give the text too short a shelf life and serve only to make the work seem dated soon after publication.
Arma virumque cano
