Mar 19 • 09:34 UTC 🇰🇷 Korea Hankyoreh (KR)

Very Soon [Language Life]

The article critiques the translation choices made regarding Donald Trump's statement "very soon" about ending the war with Iran, advocating for a more literal translation to reflect the original tone.

The article discusses a recent comment made by U.S. President Donald Trump, who responded 'very soon' when asked about the ending of the war in Iran. This literal translation was met with criticism for being awkward, with some suggesting it resembled a machine translation. However, the author suggests that this seemingly clumsy translation might be more truthful in conveying Trump's simplistic language, contrasting it with a potentially misleading smoother interpretation that might have elevated his words to a more dignified level. The researcher points out that Trump’s vocabulary is notably simplistic, likening it to a fourth-grade level, which raises questions about how news outlets represent political figures.

Furthermore, the article references the thoughts of French translator Antoine Berman, who cautioned against what he termed 'destructive tendencies in translation,' where rough and direct speech is polished into sophisticated language. This practice, according to Berman, can distort the truth of the text by misrepresenting the speaker’s original tone. The author argues that maintaining the rough edges of a foreign language in translation can preserve its authenticity, making a case for translations that reveal more about the speaker's identity rather than those seeking to smooth out the language for reader comfort. In this instance, the literal translation of "very soon" serves to highlight the true nature of Trump's casual remarks more transparently than a more polished interpretation would have.

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