About book Is That A Fish In Your Ear? Translation And The Meaning Of Everything (2011)
Very good although challenging at times. Bellos looks at translation and the host of issues that come with translation from what is translation to how humour is handled in translation. Some very thought provoking parts; the huge variation in vocabulary and grammar between languages and how these impact on translation, the issues around translating poetry and comic strips (I've always liked Asterix but never realised how much of that was due to the skill of Anthea Bell. A fascinating read for anyone who reads translated material, has their words translated or just wonders how the UN & the EU cope with a myriad of languages. It took me five days to mark this as 'read'. I didn't want to break my habit of actually reviewing the books I'm reading but on the other hand, I had no idea how to review this adequately. It's a quest doomed to fail.David Bellos' book about translation took me an age to get through. I ordered it when I ordered 'Exploring Translation Theories', a boring-looking guide required for one of my translation courses. I'd heard Sanne from booksandquills on YouTube talk about it and I'd seen how cute and intriguing the cover looked in her video. That cover is deceptive, but I'm glad it is. Put simply, I would not have had the courage to start reading this, had I known the painful intelligence of it. I have not read much non-fiction before and this book about meaning, language, and culture in general (and simultaneously in particular) was a great place to start. It was challenging, mind-boggling, and one of the best books I've ever read. Each chapter is worth a review, which is why I find writing an overall reflection such a challenging task. There is the fact that language logically - and beautifully - causes differentiation between individuals, not the linguistic unification idealised by the Bible. There is the realisation that the ideas of a "native speaker" or "literal translation" are bonkers. There is the representation of the language of law as having its own linguistic system within Saussure's structuralist paradigm. There are the frightening prospects of machinal translation and interpretation. Is That a Fish in Your Ear? is a staggering lot of wise words in the right order. If you decide to read it, really read it, it will transform your vision on the world and all of the ways its inhabitants communicate.
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A fascinating book about language.
—Suad
Liked it. Interesting, anecdotal.
—KatnissMellark5
