Quote 1:Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.
- Simplistic structure which provides only essential details. There is not an excessive use of adjectives, and only uses them to provide positive or negative connotations to words such as "dreams" or "bug". The details included are meant to set the scene and describe what happened, but it is said like a statement and not meant to provoke imagery.
- Specific avoidance of using commas to ensure it sounds like a statement. Since the sentence begins with "when", there could be a comma after "morning" which would change the diction to be analytical. "Bug" is described as enormous, suggesting he was not just a bug, but significantly larger than how a real bug would be. This acts as a hyperbole, where a reader may imagine a bug comically large and add a humorous tone to the quote.
- The use of "as" at the beginning shows he realized his transformation while he was waking up, not after. "One morning" is also mentioned before "uneasy dreams", making the structure focused on introducing a setting before providing details. Lastly, imagery is seen in how his transformation is described. "Insect" is a more formal word for "bug", as well as how "gigantic" is a more exaggerated version of "giant". As a result, the use of synonyms makes the text seem more sophisticated and precise.
- The use of commas four times makes the structure(broken up=broken man) interruptive, so there is more focus on each individual part. "One morning" is said first, so that the setting is immediately established. The diction/connotation associated with agitated dreams suggests there was something specific on his mind that was based in experiences/fears. Lastly, imagery is played with in saying "monstrous vermin" because vermin is often associated with mice. This may make a person imagine a large creature that is not the bug/insect mentioned in the other translations.
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Though each translation has essentially the same plot elements and equally serve to develop the plot, meaning is expressed through the style and structure of the sentences. Syntax is possibly the most noticeable difference amongst the four, such as the placement of "One morning" in the translation. The first two place the phrase after mentioning Samsa's dreams, which places more emphasis on how he was unable to sleep. In the second two, "one morning" is placed before the dreams were mentioned (the fourth translation even had it as the first words) to give more attention to the setting. While the point being made is the same, the difference was the reader's attention to one specific part to tell them where they should be focused: the setting or Samsa's mental state. Punctuation plays into this as well, because the author's use of commas splits sentences into multiple parts. For example, quote 1 has no commas and is a statement that introduces a major plot element. On the other hand, quote 4 uses four commas (some grammatically unnecessary) to have fragmented sentences represent how Samsa's life is now broken and unpredictable.
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| Now that's an "enormous" man-bug. |
In all of the translations, imagery is a mechanism to express tone. The first two quotes are similar in how they describe the transformation as being a bug, but differ in their descriptions. Quote 1 says "giant" and quote 2 says "enormous", with the first acting as a key descriptor and the other being a dramatization. The simplicity of the imagery in quote 1 makes it more serious, because the details appear to be more accurate and less concerned with frivolous adjectives. The overemphasis of the bug as enormous thus makes quote 2 a tad more comical, since the word "enormous" may make a reader imagine a bug as big as a human. As for quotes 3 and 4, Samsa's new form is described as either a gigantic insect or monstrous vermin (respectively). The use of the word "insect" instead of "bug" does not have a drastic effect on the imagery or tone, since they are synonyms of each other. "Gigantic" is also a medium between "giant" and "enormous", so a reader will likely imagine Samsa in a similar way. However, the translation in quote 4 is drastically different due to how he is referred to as vermin. "Vermin" is typically equated with a mouse or rat, so this would cause a reader to think Samsa did not turn into a bug. The concept of what can be considered vermin is also argumentative, since it can be any organism that is a pest. The addition of the word "monstrous" also gives it a terrifying tone, making it appear like the author meant for the book to be part of the horror genre.
This exercise brings up the importance of translations to show how unless the target language has been mastered, it may be impossible to understand a text's implicit meanings. As a result, it becomes difficult to read a translated texts because all analytical assumptions could be based in falsities. This revelation is not a new one in society; take Judaism and Islam, for example. Both religions have many translations of their sacred texts, but each religion wants their followers to learn the text's language so they can fully grasp what has been written long ago. Many words and phrases in Hebrew and Arabic do not exist in English, because they may have associated connotations that cannot be expressed. This means some followers of these religions cannot say an English follower has read the Torah or Quran if they have not read it in its original language. There is not much that can be fixed about this predicament, since language is just as much embedded in culture as it is in words. Perhaps with the analysis and interpretations of numerous fluent scholars can we finally understand what these authors are trying to get across.
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