German language

English to German: Translation Process

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Translation Process

It’s been two days of translation work and we are at the end of Chapter one. Since this is the first time my translator and I have worked together on a project we are carefully working on each sentence.

Our process:

–       Read sentence out loud in English.

–       Read sentence out loud in German.

–       Discuss whether we have it right.

–       Investigate words in two printed dictionaries and three online ones.

–       Agree on changes.

–       Start on next sentence.

I think I might have to stay here all summer! 🙂

As we go along, the work should be faster. We understand each other better and are quicker at deciding what word we want.

A Novel: From English to German

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

The German translation of my novel Fracture Line  has arrived, and it feels like Christmas. It’s exciting to read my novel in another language, but now the hard part begins.

Working with a translator is an interesting process. We plan to spend the week discussing the nuances of each sentence and whether the voice sounds like my writing.

Dialogue is an area that we need to be careful with. I may want the character to sound sad, but in the translation they come off as angry.

And then there is proofreading. I thought proofreading in English was hard. Ha! The joke is on me.

I have a good relationship with my translator and know enough German to read, but I wonder how an author knows their novel has been translated in the manner they intended to write it if they don’t know the language. I guess it’s just one more mystery in the publishing industry.

Translating a Novel

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

#writetip

A friend of mine with a background in translation asked if she could translate my novel, Fracture Line, into German. I, of course, very quickly said yes.

It’s an interesting process to go through with a surprising benefit.

As she is translating, she it looking at every word. This means some great proofreading is being done. It also means she pushes me on word usage, questioning me on whether I’ve picked the best word or not.

My German isn’t bad, but it’s not great, and I must say it’s fun to read my novel in German. She’s sent me the first 10 chapters for review and I’m stretching my brain, trying to read in another language.

The process is improving my German, and we are having some fun discussions about when to use ‘Du’ and ‘Sie’, and how in the world do you translate bull wheel?