Crime and Punishment - comparing translations
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- Another simple but dazzling video on translations. This time on 'Crime & Punishment' by Dostoyevsky. Does Raskolnikov live in a garret, a closet-like room, a tiny room, or a closet? Does he suffer from hypochondria or depression? What does poverty do to him? Crush him? Suffocate him? Cause him pain? How does he not feel about it all? Craven and browbeaten? Cowardly and abject? Fearful and cowed? Cowardly and downtrodden? How does he feel about it? Irritable, tense state of mind? Tense and irritable? Irritable and anxious? Irritable and tense? Annoyed and overly tense?
Here are the translations I refer to:
Oliver Ready:
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James Hardy:
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Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky:
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Michael R. Katz:
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What do you think of the translation by Jessie Coulson ( oxford world's classics)? In my case I've been jumping between this one and another translation of Crime and Punishment that's in Spanish ( by Alianza editorial). I might stick with the Spanish version. The English version is alright though. It does have some antiquated words but I'm not sure if the translator used certain liberties when translating. Phrases such as " ...your bread and butter " are used, which are American or British idioms. It does feel a bit stiff too. I like that this edition uses a map.
@@sergiopacheco2939 Great to hear from you. I have not read that version but keep sticking to Monas and Ready. How is the Spanish version? The Swedish is very correct but also feels kind of stiff.
@patrik_bergman The Spanish edition reads with a natural and smooth flow. But the translator, Juan Lopez Morillas, uses a lot of antiquated, rare vocabulary and jargon from Spain. So I'm not sure which of the two took more liberties when translating. For instance, before Raskolnikov enters the bar in the first chapter, he says " one glass of beer and a rusk and my mind grows keen, my thoughts clear, my resolution firm. ". In the Spanish version it says, " con un vaso de cerveza y una tostada se fortalece el caletre en un santiamén, se aclaran las ideas y se ratifican Los propósitos." The word " caletre" I never heard in my life. But it refers to skull. And " santiamén " refers In a swift, speedy manner. The english version says " grows keen". Maybe I should check out other English versions to compare. There's another Spanish version, more expensive, by Alba editorial that has good reviews too. I think it's more preferred by many readers.
@@sergiopacheco2939 Great insights thanks. Monas writes: A glass of beer, a cracker, presto, my mind gets a grip on itself. I can think clearly and my intentions grow firm. God, what appaling pettiness! And he spat.
Of the four, I liked the Katz the best. Thanks for the comparison!
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this video. I adore Dostoyevsky, but when I read Pevear's "Underground", in the *first paragraph* I knew something was wrong. Since then, I have been obsessed w/ translations. I want the CORRECT one, but I don't read Russian! So I very much rely on someone like you, and I am now convinced as to which one I should read, and it isn't Oliver Ready's or certainly Pevear's, amd none of these damn "critical" editions...
Which one then
I enjoy these comparison videos. I've read the garnett, the magarshak (a 1960s penguin classic), and the recent Katz. Hard to pick a favorite, probably the Katz, but still enjoy the Garnett.
Man I just bought garnnett version , and it's my first time reading Dostoyevsky, should i return and buy Katz?
@@Jcactus213 I dont think so. Katz is good, but so is Garnett.
@@davidhall8656 thanks🤟
@@Jcactus213 I'm about halfway thru the new Katz bros k now, and while it's good, i still prefer the avsey.
@@davidhall8656 I have heard Oliver ready version is the best
I might try Katz, but I also might stick with another Mcduff translation. Thanks for the video!
iam reading Katz now and i love it
I enjoy your translation videos and I like how you avoid saying one is the best, but that they are different and may suit different readers. I have read the Magarshack and McDuff and didn’t enjoy the latter. I also have P&V on the shelf but unread. It says something about this book that there are so many translations!
One thing that I have always wondered about is the naming of the places in the first paragraph - some use the full names and some just the initials - what is going on here? Were they named in the original?
Thank you! I have noticed a difference regarding the names of people. As far as I know in Russian the full name in three parts is often mentioned but in some translations they are minimized as just Fyodor or Karamazov. I guess each translator chose what they thought was best.
Would you recommend buying the Constance Garrett translation
@@Yash-qd9mw Not really, since it is open to find on the internet and contains too many things other translators have fixed. All that said, it is not bad.
Which english translation would you recommend for someone who has english as a second language? I've read a lot in my life so proficiency might not be a problem, but I have very little experience with classics.
I enjoyed Oliver Ready a lot but Sidney Monas is just lovely. A translation not talked about that often but which is wonderful. Ready is quite British but Monas has another tone.
@@patrik_bergman I compared the two, and Monas is quite good as well. But I'm probably going to go with Ready, it's been recommended quite a bit and the cover is very interesting. Thank you!
The translation I own is by David McDuff. Any comments on that?
Not for Crime and Punishment but for The Brothers Karamazov. For me, his use of language is just a bit too much in the sense of words chosen etc. But he is an excellent translator so see what you think.