Literary translation is an art by nature – the literary translator must be able to both translate the original story into the target language, while also keeping the artistic sense of storytelling to avoid the risk of sounding too mechanical. However, along with the creativity that comes with the literary translation services, comes the risk of making errors. The Little Prince has an extremely famous example of this…
Famous Literary Translation Errors: The Little Prince and His Need for A Sheep
The Little Prince remains one of the most beloved children’s books worldwide. Despite being first published over 70 years ago, interest in the novel is still high. Just last year even, a new movie adaptation with the same name was released.
Not only is The Little Prince still widely read, but it is also still widely discussed – namely, which English literary translation captures the original’s spirit the best. In the same year Le Petite Prince was published in France by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Katherine Woods translated the piece into English. This translation is still held in the highest regard by fans of the novella, although it is currently out of print.
A reason many claim that Woods’ literary translation is superior to more modern takes, is the time it was written in. Living and translating at the same time as Saint-Exupéry gave her a better understanding of what he was saying in his own whimsical style. Her translation is far more poetic and ambiguous than others. In contrast to that are the other wide spread translations by Richard Howard or Irene Testot-Ferry, whose English take on the novella is far more straightforward and colloquial.
This discussion comparing the two English Translators’ renditions continues over into the Asian language translations as well. In the past most Asian translations took the English work as their source material, even if it was not the original. As such, Asian fans and collectors of The Little Prince often go to great lengths and costs to procure Woods’ version.
At the same time that her translation is coveted as one of the best, it is also riddled with far more mistakes than any other. Literary translation always brings a level of uncertainty – culture and idioms, as well as how they are expressed, are vastly different from country to country. Due to these variances metaphors can easily be lost in translation. However some translations simply are mistakes. Such is the case when Woods wrongly translated the French word ami, which means friend, as the English word for sheep. Such an example can be found in Chapter 4 of The Little Prince:
Il était une fois un petit prince qui habitait une planète à peine plus grande que lui, et qui avait besoin d’un ami […]
Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet that was scarcely any bigger than himself, and who had need of a sheep […]
However, as fans continue to hold her translation in high regards, this error has become a vital part in identify Woods’ versions in other languages. This identification process is generally known as the sheep-test. To perform this one takes a translation of The Little Prince, for example, a Chinese translation and looks at the paragraph where Woods unintentionally put the word sheep instead of friend in the English version. If the mistake is found, it can be determined that the Chinese, or any other translation, was based off of Wood’s. Only these works that repeat her iconic mistake can truly be considered continued translations of Woods’ version.
The mistranslation is an example of the artistic implications behind literary translation – often, conveying a story from one language to another requires much more than candid, word-for-word translation. In order retain the spirit of the original work, a language translator must find ways to portray the nuances of the original author’s word choice, tone and other literary factors, in the new target language. Therefore a literary translator gives the text his or her own personalized note – in the case of Ms. Woods, this turned out to be the curious addition of a fluffy farm animal.
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation services, interpreting services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation services in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation services, legal translation, government translation services, international development translation services, education translation services, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation services, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
Language Connections Inc.
2001 Beacon Street, Suite 105,
Boston, MA 02135
Phone: +1-617-731-3510
Email: service@languageconnections.com