What's in a Translation?

Translation is deciphering another language into one's own language. However, more often translations are more likely to suffer through bias. This is largely due to the fact that every language has a unique structure despite its similarities to other languages. This seems to happen when some languages cannot properly translate the exact words from another language. For example, in the following quotes "bug" is substituted with "vermin". This can be the translator's bias in which he or she wants to intensify the effect of the language therefore he or she completely change the word. 

This makes translating a difficult task because bias is the biggest hurdle to overcome. A translator's bias is difficult to overcome because so often languages do not translate exactly. Different translations affect the tone and the mood of the reader greatly. Tone can change due to word choice of the author which affects the overall mood of the reader. Similarly, syntax can also affect the tone like quote #4 by using the commas to separate the order of events. It made the situation seem to happen almost suddenly. 

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Original: Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer verwandelt.

(Got this amazing idea, so the darker the color gets the more effective the quote was on me.....)

#1:As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.
This quote was the second most effective on me. The diction in this quote is a little more intense compared to that of #2 and #3 but lesser than #4. Words like "uneasy" "gigantic" and "insect" make a unique effect on the reader compared to #4. Uneasy means causing or feeling anxiety.  In this case it makes Gregor seem like he is ill and currently sick, so the dreams are a side effect of the sickness. However, in #4 "agitated" makes Gregor seem like he is used to getting fits and violent dreams. Gigantic means huge or enormous. In this quote he is transformed into an enormous insect, but in the other quotes it says "giant" or "monstrous" so gigantic makes this quote seem different and it heavily emphasizes the size of the bug compared to the other quotes. 

"Insect" is used in this quote but other quotes use "vermin" or "bug". "Insect" makes the Gregor seem like an insignificant organism while "vermin" characterizes Gregor to be a despicable animal and "bug" makes him look like a tiny and annoying organism. There is no significant syntax because it is just one sentence. However, this different to #4 because that one had many commas unlike this one which is straightforward and without commas. The structure is simple and easy to understand because it is a single sentence. This allows for easy understanding for the reader reading the translation, this is different from #4 because of that one has many commas. Although this quote is much easier to understand, #4 is much more effective because of the word choice the author has chosen. 

#2:Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.
This quote was the least effective on me because it is too simple and it has no complex structure or syntax. Even the diction is mediocre so this dims the effectiveness of this translation in specific. "Uneasy" is used once again to describe the dreams. However, only this quote used "changed" instead of transformed. This changes the connotation of the sentence overall. Changed makes the translation seem that Gregor turned different in his appearance, but transformed makes Gregor seem like he not only changed physically but also mentally. 

Similarly, the name of the character has also changed from Gregor to Gregory. This is unique to only this translation, all the other translated works use Gregor. This quote also uses "bug" like #3 and uses a synonym "giant". Giant for the most part is the least effective adjective compared to all the other quotes. The quote is a single simple sentence illustrating a morning where Gregor turned into a bug.

#3:When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.

 Some diction words the author uses are "troubled"and "enormous" which is different compared to the other quotes. Troubled means having anxiety. In this situation, it seems like Gregor is having difficulty sleeping so that is why he found himself transformed into a bug. This kind of changes the meaning of the sentence, and changes the effect because he turned into a bug one time. 

Enormous means extremely large. This means Gregor changed into a large bug, however in the other quotes Gregor is described more in depth while this one says "bug". Bug is not effective at all compared to "vermin" or even "insect" because it sounds childish and insignificant. The syntax is simple once again without any commas or interruptions. The structure is a dependent clause in the beginning of the sentence with an independent clause. 

#4:One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.

This quote was the most effective on me because of the specific word choice the author uses. Diction words like "monstrous", "vermin", and "agitated" have the greatest effect on me from this quote because of the vivid details I imagine. This is different from all the other quotes that use not as strong synonyms for the words present in the quote. Monstrous means having the ugly or frightening appearance of a monster. Specifically "monstrous" makes me feel like the man has transformed into a monster who is pure evil in his intentions and actions. Vermin is defined as parasitic worms, insects or people perceived as despicable and as causing problems. "Vermin" makes the man less of a insect, he is a pest, despicable, or more of a disturbance to the society overall. Agitated is a feeling or appearing to be troubled or nervous. "Agitated" describes the dream to be more of a nerve-wrecking experience. 

For structure, there are also many commas making the sentence seem choppy and short. The event happens over a short period of time as demonstrated with this sentence. For syntax, the events that occur in this quote seem to be happening in order. First he woke up, then he found out he became an insect. The diction in this quote is the strongest that allowed for more vivid details for the reader. The events that occur seem like list of occurring details, instead of a story revealing the details like the other quotes. This quote also is the longest one that appears so it has a lot of description.