Russian translation of La Musica delle Parole

[linndechir]

I've always thought that the greatest compliment one could pay a writer was to offer to translate their work, especially when it's fanfiction and the translator doesn't get paid for his or her efforts, they don't even get an awful lot of recognition for it. A year or two ago someone translated a few of my Forgotten Realms fanfics into Chinese, of all languages; I was proud beyond words. Because it's one thing to send someone a quick review saying "I loved your story". It's an entirely different thing to take the time to translate said story into another language. I've done translations myself, I know how much work it is, but usually only the author gets praise, not the translator.

Soooo, all this rambling just to post a link and a thank-you. puppenmorder  translated part one of La Musica delle Parole into Russian. I am more flattered than I could possibly say. I'm all the happier about this because La Musica is probably one of the best things I ever wrote, and definitely one of my favourites among my own writing. For those of you who do speak Russian, and I know I have a couple on my f-list, if you're interested, you can find the translation here. I know I'm just advertising here, but I feel that puppenmorder  deserves some, or rather a lot of recognition for this. Unfortunately my Russian is not good enough yet to read the translation myself (except with a dictionary while looking up 90% of all words ;)), but a Russian friend of mine told me that it's very well done.

Click here for the translation

Again, puppenmorder , thank you so much! I hope you don't mind my rambling here, but I just felt the urge to express my gratitude more publicly than just in a PM to you. :)

Speaking of Russian, I have a Russian test tomorrow and really should go to bed now instead of babbling on my lj. ;)

Comments

[cat-irix.livejournal.com]

Wow, yes, that's a very good translation! Congratulations for your work getting appreciated in the new circles! and great job, puppenmorder - translating a literary text is extremely difficult (I never succeed to do it with style, so I know how much work it is...)

Good luck with the Russian test! (Pity it probably doesn't involve any fandoms ;)

I'm taking a temporary break from LJ, starting from today (you can guess why), but WWII fanfics are always kosher :)

[linndechir.livejournal.com]

I really wish my Russian was good enough to read the translation myself. But even as it is, this makes me insanely happy. :D

The Russian test went all right, despite the serious lack of fandom. ;) I was more focused on getting the grammar right anyway.

Yes, I can guess why. But since I am, as always, in denial about his death, I will just pretend that this is a day like any other. At least a few people think of him, poor guy.
Temporary break, how long?

[cat-irix.livejournal.com]

One day you'll be able to read the translations of your stories, and probably even to translate them yourself - isn't it something to look forward to?

Until after Jun 4, of course. Replying to comments and emails is ok, I don't get a lot of them anyway. But no games and non-educational entertainment. "Il faut des rites"... (my favourite phrase from Le Petite Prince, which we had studied during my French course).

Pity I can't put flowers on his grave. (I bought them for him, anyway.)

[linndechir.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I'm too lazy to translate them myself. ;) But reading them would be nice of course.

Yes, I thought so, just wanted to ask. I think I'd just get severely depressed if I forced myself to think about this for over a week. I'd rather think about happier things, i.e. his life. But you know me, I'm a wuss and I need happy endings.

Is that a request? I wouldn't mind, but I told you that I'm not sure where exactly his grave is. Should I just put flowers somewhere on the cemetery? I just dread the possibility that there might be a bunch of brainless neonazis on June 4th.

[cat-irix.livejournal.com]

Oh, it could be awesome if you do - from both of us! I understand that it's next to impossible to find the exact location of his grave, but I trust you to do whatever you see fit - the intention counts. Of course if it's not a lot of trouble - I wouldn't want to get you severely depressed! and neither to clash with neonazis.

(Heh, I can't even translate my own fics from English into Russian, in spite of Russian being my mother tongue - I had tried, just for fun, and it sounds way too awkward. But you express yourself a lot better with words, so it may be possible when you learn the language properly.)

[linndechir.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't think paying him a visit would get me all that depressed - just thinking about his death for a week would. I probably won't be able to go there on Friday anyway, but I might just go there the day before. I will definitely tell you if I do. :)

I think literary translations are just insanely difficult. I once translated one of my German fics into English (the Hellstrom/Stiglitz-one), and it was such a pain, it sounded all wrong.

[mezzafredda.livejournal.com]

I assure you it's very well-done. It truly *is* your fic, only in Russian.
Russian is, in fact, a pain in a translator's ass. I can translate my own fics from Russian into English - no problem here - but if I write something in English, it just stays English forever. So, yeah, a great fic and a beautiful translation. It's a shame Russian fandom is so small.

[linndechir.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad to hear it's good. Makes me even happier. :)
Heh, I'm selfishly happy Russian fandom is small, or else I'd be frustrated that I can't read all these fics. ;)

How are you, btw? Haven't heard from you in a while.

[mezzafredda.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, there are few fics, but they're.. how shall I put it.. they are meant to be written and read in Russian. I may try to translate some of them after I'm done with the exams, but I.. I don't even.

Yep, I've hardly ever been online, because - all of a sudden - I have my hands full. Exams, end-of-spring depression, health issues - you bet I feel like shit. lol.
See? Even my comments are little sob stories. How are you?

[linndechir.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean, some things just don't sound right in any other language than the original.

I'm sorry to hear that you're not well. I hope things will go better soon. *sends cyber-hugs* If you ever want to tell me a sob story, you know I'm always available for listening. :)
I'm rather fine myself. Sure, a lot to do for university, but I'm okay. Watching countless Mark Strong movies to keep me from thinking about anything bad. ;)

[ginyanote.livejournal.com]

The only thing I can say is HORRAY. I've had a few of my fics translated into Korean and Portuguese, which was pretty fantastic.

Well...I also want to comment on the beauty of your userpics in this post. Reinhard Heydrich is my role model as well, and he has been for as long as I can remember. A glorious man with a beautiful face, the talent to back it up and the determination to see things through as far as he possibly could.

<3

[linndechir.livejournal.com]

It just makes you feel so incredibly proud. I'm still insanely happy about this. ^^

He is just so uniquely beautiful, of course he makes for great icons. I'm always a bit uncomfortable about using the role-model-icon, it just gives people the wrong idea. And I do admit that it sometimes feels strange, to me more than to anyone else, to admire someone so much despite our very diverging political views. Most people just don't seem to understand that you can admire someone's personality without agreeing with everything (or even most things) they did. If I looked for role models who shared my political and social views, I'd be sorely left alone. ;) I admire his intelligence, his efficiency, his determination, his undogmatic worldview, and his wonderfully complex character, and these are qualities I can admire in a man regardless of his political views.
What a justification rant. IB and WWII fiction made me paranoid about people accusing me of being a Nazi. ;)

Your icon? Made me lol. ^^

[crushakitty.livejournal.com]

Linndechir - you are right to be proud of La Musica, it is one of the best IB fics I have read! I have re-read it quite a few times, it is so well written and just excellent in every way.

[linndechir.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much again. :)

[puppenmorder.livejournal.com]

oh, we're flattering each other as I can see))
I'm so pleased with your post! I have never get such a recognition really. Most readers think that the translator's work is nothing hard and that the author won't learn what they actually think about the fic, so they simply don't comment at all((
I myself like translating most of all and it definitelly helps to improve my English.
However, I'm awfully busy now, 2 fics for translation and my own one for writing, plus the exams... so it will take some time for the Part II.

[linndechir.livejournal.com]

I know how you feel. I've done translations myself, and I might just end up doing it professionally one day. It's sad that many people seem to think translating is easy and anyone who speaks both languages can do it effortlessly. So, I felt like thanking you in this post was the least I could do. :)

I understand, of course. :) Take your time - I also imagine that part 2 must be more difficult to translate. It's so much longer, and I suppose that making porn sound really hot is difficult in every language. ;)