Steiner and Bellos

 What stood out to me from Steiner's reading was how in translation, there is always some sort of transformation. I thought his use of metaphors were very interesting. For example, his analogy of the original being a canvas. My interpretation after reading the article that as translators, we hold the power to bend the original. In my own metaphor, I would describe the translation as a ray of light and translators have tools like a glass lens or an object that can either blend or block that light. How each translator bends that light ultimately effects the quality and shape of that light and finding a balance in doing so is something that Steiner touched upon.

Another thing I thought of that was touched on in class was how much we pay attention to the text. I hadn't thought about how overthinking when reading the text can make things more difficult, and that often it is better to summarize or just keep the main idea.

In Bellos, I resonated with the idea of keeping elements of the original language, whether that be cultural aspects or making language specific features translate. Often, there is an issue with deleting a lot from the original that ruins the overall voice and tone. Even if there is a need to add notes or a small explanation alongside the translation, the sacrifice is worth it in many cases.

-Ariel