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Nov. 26th, 2010 10:53 pm
Så håller jag i gång
It's always gratifying to see a translator do a competent job of handling a bit of wordplay. I'm reading a Swedish translation of an American detective novel (which would be a surreal enough experience even if it weren't set in an alternative New York City with all the names changed). Granted, it's not so challenging with a pair of languages which share as many cognates as Swedish and English, but it can still be tricky.
We have a scene where several officers are listening to a surveillance tape trying to puzzle out the identity of an assailant. One of them is struck by the apparent contradiction of the line, "Håll där, lägg av nu, du slår ju ihjäl henne!" ("Hold there, leave off, you're beating her to death!") until he realises that the first bit is not a shouted command but the surname "Holder". After I finally puzzled this out, it took only a moment to conclude that the original juxtaposition was probably "Hold her, let her go".
The novel, incidentally, is from about the midpoint of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series--early enough, it seems, that he feels he needs to stop and explain bits of police detective work (such as how to match bullets and casings to the gun which shot them) that I think post-CSI readers consider common knowledge. A bit tedious as exposition, perhaps, but excellent when it comes to building vocabulary.
Apropos of which, the level of the language is pretty ideal for where I am right now. Full of common colloquialisms, but not overly slangy. That is, the antiquated McKay's I picked up cheap lacks many of them, but they're easy enough to find online, either in the Lexin Dictionary or, failing that, the Swedish Wiktionary.
After one week, I'm already about two-thirds of the way through. Perhaps I'll stop in to the little bookstore on Belmont and pick up the other one on the shelf. It was a sad selection--three or four Swedish books--but still better than I've found so far anywhere else. I wouldn't mind picking up something a bit more literary, but at my current level, I'd be overwhelmed if it were anything more than a short story.
We have a scene where several officers are listening to a surveillance tape trying to puzzle out the identity of an assailant. One of them is struck by the apparent contradiction of the line, "Håll där, lägg av nu, du slår ju ihjäl henne!" ("Hold there, leave off, you're beating her to death!") until he realises that the first bit is not a shouted command but the surname "Holder". After I finally puzzled this out, it took only a moment to conclude that the original juxtaposition was probably "Hold her, let her go".
The novel, incidentally, is from about the midpoint of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series--early enough, it seems, that he feels he needs to stop and explain bits of police detective work (such as how to match bullets and casings to the gun which shot them) that I think post-CSI readers consider common knowledge. A bit tedious as exposition, perhaps, but excellent when it comes to building vocabulary.
Apropos of which, the level of the language is pretty ideal for where I am right now. Full of common colloquialisms, but not overly slangy. That is, the antiquated McKay's I picked up cheap lacks many of them, but they're easy enough to find online, either in the Lexin Dictionary or, failing that, the Swedish Wiktionary.
After one week, I'm already about two-thirds of the way through. Perhaps I'll stop in to the little bookstore on Belmont and pick up the other one on the shelf. It was a sad selection--three or four Swedish books--but still better than I've found so far anywhere else. I wouldn't mind picking up something a bit more literary, but at my current level, I'd be overwhelmed if it were anything more than a short story.