Taccuino di traduzione

"Più la storia s'avvicina ai nostri tempi, e più alle fusioni di due civiltà attraverso la carne si sostituisce quella attraverso la carta. Alle invasioni le traduzioni." Cesare Pavese, Il mestiere di vivere: 1940, 11 gennaio

06/09/2007

Intervista a Murakami

Il blogger Selfdivider traduce generosamente un'intervista ad Haruki Murakami pubblicata su una rivista coreana. Dato che Murakami raramente concede interviste e visto che molti di noi non parlano coreano o giapponese, ecco i link alle prime tre parti: 1 - 2 - 3.

Un'anteprima:

L: You finally translated The Great Gatsby, after preparing for years and years.

M: Yes. I was thirty-four years old at the time. I promised myself to translate The Great Gatsby as best as I can, before I turned sixty. I still have a few years to go until I reach sixty, but I finished the translation of The Great Gatsby last October. I heard that in ten days of publication, 140,000 copies were sold. I think there were many readers who were waiting for the translation.

L: How would you criticize your translation of The Great Gatsby, objectively speaking?

M: I think I did well. There are five or six translations of The Great Gatsby in Japan, but my version is probably the best one.

L: Where does such confidence spring from?

M: There’s no need to think about it. It’s a fact. As I was translating, I carefully thought about which Japanese words or phrases would substitute well for the original Fitzgerald version. It was an excruciating process, but fun at the same time.