Feature: Israeli writers are challenged to translate their books accurately

Israeli authors strive to keep their books' original meaning while translating them into English, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, French, and more popular languages as World Book Day is marked across the globe.

World Book and Copyright Day is an annual occasion created by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote worldwide publishing, reading and copyright.

The symbolic date in world literature of April 23 was chosen because it is believed to be the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, as well as of several other prominent authors, according to the UNESCO.

The first World Book Day was celebrated on April 23, 1995; at this date, countries worldwide organize events to increase awareness of the importance of continuing to read books while there are so many other temptations in our modern societies.

Netanel Semrik, publisher and founder of ContentoNow, International Publishing House, said that books and especeally those translated from one language to another serve as bridges between cultures, countries, and peoples.

But at the same time, translation of a book is a highly complex task, "it will never be the same book that was written in the original language because this is the magic of translation," stressed Semrik.

ContentoNow has already translated more than 1000 books from Hebrew to more than 12 languages, "there is a huge challenge in order to create the practical understanding of what exactly the author meant."

Hebrew is a very special and exotic language, there are many, many phrases in Hebrew, cultural, military, and business wise and even in the children's books that needed to be adjusted properly to the international audience.

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There is a very particular structure of the language that distinguishes it from other ones, for example, all the objects get female or male gender form, it is written from right to left and has ancient Torah letters.

Each language has its unique cultural baggage, historical background, emotions, character, quantity and gender representations, and many more distinctive characteristics that probably make it impossible to produce identical books in different languages.?

When it's a really great translation, "we're not working with translators, we're working with real authors," because real translation is like writing the book, all over again, in the Chinese language, or in English, or Spanish, or Arabic, said Semrik.

It even gets more complicated for writers or readers that know more than one language, they can experience ultimately a different perception of similar meaning words based on the level of proficiency, associations, and subconscious connections they have to each language.

Aaron Ben-Ze'ev, founding and former president of the European Philosophical Society for the Study of Emotions, said that for example, it would be easier to say "I love you" to a partner in a second language than in the mother tongue in which it will have a deeper meaning.?

Ben-Ze'ev, who was also the president of the University of Haifa, is a professor of philosophy that writes books about love and emotions, according to him good translators can even improve the original books.

"Translators don't merely translate word by word, but interpret also author's state of view and author's attitude," and sometimes choose words which will express the text better,?told Ben-Ze'ev.

Ben-Ze'ev uses in his books examples from the Jewish world, traditions, and folk proverbs, but it is not easy to deliver the message in other languages.

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For example, there is a Hebrew saying that in a direct translation says "canceled in sixty" while its actual meaning is that someting is insignificant when it becomes as small as one of sixty of something.?

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Another Hebrew saying means in a direct translation, penny law same as one hundred law while its meaning in Jewish heritage is that courts and all others should treat the same way big money and small money issues.

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Ben-Ze'ev believes that a good translator should find in each language equivalent proverbs or sayings instead of just translating word by word which could lead to a loss of a deeper meaning.

Another phenomenon Ben-Ze'ev talks about in his books is how foreign languages are perceived by not native speakers, especeally in between romantic partners, "the excitement will be greater because change and novelty more crucial in generating emotions."

Jokes, specific sense of humor, folk proverbs, sayings, and traditional folklore are more challenging to translate, especially from unique languages such as Hebrew.

Professional translation "has to help the international audience to understand the deep intentions behind the story, or the association, or what you really intended while writing this phrase or another phrase, and that's the real challenge," noted Semrik.

In the end, reading the same book in different languages will never be the same, "different readers, different translations, different ways of understanding the story, the story is never the same", said Semrik.

Semrik concludes by telling his secret sauce for successful translation, "there's one secret..one question that we want to know, in what language does this person dream", a great translator will dream in the language that he translates to. Enditem

(Nick Kolyohin)