David Katan’s Translating Cultures

Fitzgerald or Fagles?

Translations are essential to us and our culture, because through ancient documents, inscriptions and books, historians and archeologists reconstruct the ancient societies and civilizations, as well as the story of our forefathers and the history of the entire human race. They allow communication between us and different countries and nations, whose language might be different from ours and this may create difficulties in being able to understand each other. However, translators make this possible as they are the mediators between two different cultures. The need for translations is massive, from both a social and political outlook. According to David Katan’s Translating Cultures, “The translator is a bilingual mediating agent between monolingual communication participants in two different language communities” (16). Therefore, for a translation to succeed translators have to be not only bilingual, but also bicultural. A translator is furthermore put in an exclusive but at the same time, difficult position because it is his responsibility to clarify certain ideas within cultural and natural boundaries. This can be done by keeping the same exact (literal) meaning. Interpreting and translating a text is not a simple and easy task; it takes time and is also challenging, because “the translator cannot merely search for equivalent words in the target language to render the meaning of the source” (Dingwaney and Maier, 3). Up until today there are many translations of ancient works and books, such as the Odyssey; and so, there is a wide range for people to choose from. This choice must be taken with the most care because some may be exceptionally good at communicating the essence of the original text while others ...

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...is your choice whether you prefer a more simple and true to Homer’s style version, or a more straight forward and challenging text. If I have to make a choice, I would select Fitzgerald’s Odyssey. Even though Fagles’ translation is simple and relatable and holds the poetic structure, Fitzgerald is more attentive in both the way he structured the text and its contents and the choice he makes in vocabulary. In the latter, a lot of attention is given to those details that Fagles at certain times overlooks because of his lyrical formation. Fitzgerald’s text is definitely more challenging and because it is so bold, it allows the reader to understand the translator’s interpretation yet leaving him or her space for their own understanding without forcing his own. Ultimately the translation by Robert Fitzgerald is more suitable for a high school student studying English.