Tolkien Translations - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

PrinceOfTheHalflings · 05-25-2010, 12:22 PM

Interesting. I've read the Dutch translation, which isn't too bad.

The French translation is quite good - there's a couple of other decent ones too. The Danish, for example.

I wouldn't mind looking at the Icelandic translation, Hringadróttinssaga. It would be a pity if that was less than good. There's no doubt that it is a hard book to translate. Tolkien had a unique grasp of English. You are quite right about problems in the new German translation, Pitchwife. Tolkien went to a lot of trouble to finesse his dialogue to convey specific things about different characters, and it's a pity to see someone ride roughshod over it. It would be like "translating" the English Tolkien uses into a contemporary "street" version while still randomly retaining the occasional thou and thee.

I cringed a little at a comment on this thread, admittedly from 2003, which heaped scorn on Professor Shippey!

Tom Shippey might not be right 100% of the time, but he knows a heck of a lot more about JRR Tolkien than almost anyone who isn't Christopher Tolkien.

05-25-2010, 12:22 PM	#32
PrinceOfTheHalflings Wight Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 120	Interesting. I've read the Dutch translation, which isn't too bad. The French translation is quite good - there's a couple of other decent ones too. The Danish, for example. I wouldn't mind looking at the Icelandic translation, Hringadróttinssaga. It would be a pity if that was less than good. There's no doubt that it is a hard book to translate. Tolkien had a unique grasp of English. You are quite right about problems in the new German translation, Pitchwife. Tolkien went to a lot of trouble to finesse his dialogue to convey specific things about different characters, and it's a pity to see someone ride roughshod over it. It would be like "translating" the English Tolkien uses into a contemporary "street" version while still randomly retaining the occasional thou and thee. I cringed a little at a comment on this thread, admittedly from 2003, which heaped scorn on Professor Shippey! Tom Shippey might not be right 100% of the time, but he knows a heck of a lot more about JRR Tolkien than almost anyone who isn't Christopher Tolkien. Last edited by PrinceOfTheHalflings; 05-25-2010 at 12:26 PM.