Translation 1:
Diction:
- Gigantic-seems huge, bigger than giant, larger than life
- As- we are reading this while it was occurring
- Insect- less repulsive than bug, more scientific
Syntax:
Since morning comes before uneasy dreaming, it seems that the morning is more significant than the uneasy dreaming. Including transformed in his bed creates more of a creepy feeling because we begin to imagine an insect in our beds
Imagery/Details:
- Uneasy dreams- creates a picture for the reader of someone tossing and turning in their bed
- Into a gigantic insect- we picture a huge bug, and it creates this creepy crawling feeling again.
Translation 2:
Diction:
- Changed- connotation- usually changed means for the better, in this instance it would represent the opposite
- Woke- creates a startled feeling
- Giant- just big, nothing too ordinary
- Bug- creates a creepier feelings than insect
Syntax: Beginning with the characters name puts the focus of the passage on this character and dives right into the event.
Translation 3:
Diction:
- Troubled- connotation- complicated, somewhat self inflicted.
- Transformed- more drastic than changed, something bigger than that, something harder to control
- Enormous- larger than life, extreme
Syntax:
Putting troubled dreams before the morning makes the troubled dreams to be more important and the morning is only extra details.
Imagery:
Again the fact that it states in his bed makes it something that we can picture and even relate to and something that grosses us out even.
Translation 4:
Diction:
- Awakening- peaceful, like a fairy tale, not abrupt.
- Agitated- stressful, uneasy, not calm or peaceful. seems worse than troubled or just uneasy
- Monstrous- like a monster, mean, ugly
- Vermin- more than just a bug, could be a mouse or something larger
Syntax:
Placing his name in the middle really takes the focus away from him. It makes it seem like he is not really important to the plot, just a mere addition to help move it along. The use of commas splits it up so that we absorb each section separately, and understand that each part is important.
How does the word choice, syntax, punctuation, and imagery shift in each affect meaning?
Each different translation completely changes the way that the reader looks at the text. This all occurs just by changing around the words and how the sentence is formed. In some of the translations, the person is extremely important. In some translations there is a creepier feeling and others it seems to be kind of normal.
Is one more effective than another? Why?
Personally I think the last was the most effective. By breaking it up with commas you really look at each part as it has equal importance. I also think the diction was more dramatic and created more images in the readers head. It makes the passage seem to be even more creepy and stressful. Making the character himself not appear until the middle of the sentence makes the reader want to keep reading to see what exactly is going on, not everything is given away right away.
What does this exercise bring up about the difficulty of reading translated texts?
Translation can be very difficult because we don't always know the authors intention. When translating some words, have many different words that are similar in another language, but have different connotations and create different feelings. Since the translator is not always sure of the authors intentions they don't know for sure if the author wanted it to be on the creepier side, or a little less intense. The different translations can change the tone of each passage because the words and the formation of the sentence makes some words and areas have more importance than others.
