Comments on Seidensticker Reading - Yang

I thought the argument Seidensticker made about translating proper names was compelling. I agree that it is ridiculous to judge the quality of the translation solely based on how many proper names are translated and how many are omitted from the original. Also, I agree that excessively explaining the cultural nuances of proper names can mess up the rhythm and make the text harder to follow, such as the choice of whether or not to explain a concept such as "Oseibo" in Korroke in the text itself, in the footnote, or just leaving it as is. 

I think the comparison between the lengthy Japanese translations and the simplicity of the original sentence from Hamlet is strange. The sentence is short and concise, sure, but part of that is also due to the fact that it uses Shakespearean English. Japanese is naturally a wordier language than English as it uses individual characters rather than words, so I don't think it's fair to say that the Japanese translations "badly disturbed" the rhythm of the original sentence.

I have no idea why Italians call translators "betrayers," but his analogy of calling a translator a counterfeiter also didn't make sense to me. I get that he is saying the translator should reproduce every detail of the original work accurately, like what an actual counterfeiter would do, but I don't think it's a bad thing to have a translation that is "better than the original." Sure, it is not the translator's business to improve on the original, but if they happened to do so, I don't think it is a bad thing, and it should be considered praise for the translator. 

I fully agree with the quote "Translation is not interesting unless it's difficult. It becomes boring when it's easy." I think the fun of translating mostly comes from the difficult decisions you make, such as word choice, sentence structure, etc. If everything only had one correct answer and was smooth sailing all the way, it would become such a boring job so quickly that AIs should be the ones doing the work rather than actual human translators.

I definitely failed to pick up on why Komako became mad in Snow Country. I would not have considered that it's because of the differences in connotation between the phrases "good girl" and "good woman," so I guess Seidensticker was right that this lack of explanation will leave the reader as confused as Shimamura himself. Perhaps a better and more colloquial way to translate "shiru hito zo shiru" would be "if you know you know" instead of "he who knows knows," which seems a bit wordy.

Regarding the translation of the opening sentences in Snow Country, I get the fuss about the way Seidensticker translated the first sentence. But, as he points out, it is impossible to avoid the subject of the sentence in the same way the original does, so it is justified. However, I felt like his translation of the second sentence "The earth lay white under the night sky" is much better than the literal translation of "The bottom of the night turned white." The latter makes no sense and sounds awful.

Personally, I would hate to translate for Kawabata. Also, the Banana slander at the end was uncalled for.