Image from: https://www.zuerich.com/en
The Tourist
The Tourist
Many things must be considered when translating a tourism text. Of course, this is the case with any translation work: what are you trying to accomplish with this writing? In the case of tourism, the translator must keep in mind that the work is meant to persuade the reader to visit a specific destination. In other words, a tourism text is a sales pitch. Often, fidelity to the original text must be dropped in order for something to sound appealing and make sense. Our class looked at a few German excerpts from a bilingual tourism booklet on Zurich. Below you will find an excerpt on a shop in Zurich, my translation of that excerpt, and my reflection on the process of this translation. I have also included, at the very bottom, the original English translation found in the bilingual tourism booklet. It might be interesting to compare the two translations.
The Excerpt
Greenwich am Bellevue –
Das Geschäft für antike Uhren
Fachsimpeln, kaufen, verkaufen oder tauschen – in gemütlicher Atmosphäre kann man bei Greenwich in die faszinierende Welt der mechanischen Uhren eintauchen und in alle Ruhe die unzähligen kleinen und grossen Schätze der Uhrmacherkunst betrachten. Greenwich bietet Uhrenfreunden alles was das Sammlerherz begehrt, von der simplen Drei-Zeiger-Uhr bis zur hochkomplizierten Uhr der Spitzenklasse – von Audemars Piguet über IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega and Rolex bis Zenith. Mann stösst auf Raritäten von kleinen, längst geschlossenen Manufakturen genauso wie auf gefragte Klassiker. Bei dieser grossen und bestens sortieren Auswahl an hochwertigen Uhren in allen Preislagen ist es schon beinahe ein Kunst, nicht fündig zu werden.
Rämistrasse, near Bellevue
www.greenwich.ch
Greenwich am Bellevue –
Das Geschäft für antike Uhren
Fachsimpeln, kaufen, verkaufen oder tauschen – in gemütlicher Atmosphäre kann man bei Greenwich in die faszinierende Welt der mechanischen Uhren eintauchen und in alle Ruhe die unzähligen kleinen und grossen Schätze der Uhrmacherkunst betrachten. Greenwich bietet Uhrenfreunden alles was das Sammlerherz begehrt, von der simplen Drei-Zeiger-Uhr bis zur hochkomplizierten Uhr der Spitzenklasse – von Audemars Piguet über IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega and Rolex bis Zenith. Mann stösst auf Raritäten von kleinen, längst geschlossenen Manufakturen genauso wie auf gefragte Klassiker. Bei dieser grossen und bestens sortieren Auswahl an hochwertigen Uhren in allen Preislagen ist es schon beinahe ein Kunst, nicht fündig zu werden.
Rämistrasse, near Bellevue
www.greenwich.ch
My Translation
Greenwich on Bellevue
The store for antique watches
Talking shop, buying, selling or exchanging – all this is possible in the comfortable atmosphere of Greenwich, where you can dive into the fascinating world of mechanical watches. In this peaceful shop you can examine numerous treasures, both large and small, from the art of watch-making. Everything that a watch-enthusiast could desire is here, from simple three-handed watches to complicated watches of the highest class – from Audemars Piguet to IWC, from Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega and Rolex to Zenith. Curiosities abound, and you will easily find as many novelties from small, long-closed manufactures as you will popular classics. To explore this large and wonderful selection and not find something worthwhile is itself almost an art form.
Rämistrasse, near Bellevue
www.greenwich.ch
Greenwich on Bellevue
The store for antique watches
Talking shop, buying, selling or exchanging – all this is possible in the comfortable atmosphere of Greenwich, where you can dive into the fascinating world of mechanical watches. In this peaceful shop you can examine numerous treasures, both large and small, from the art of watch-making. Everything that a watch-enthusiast could desire is here, from simple three-handed watches to complicated watches of the highest class – from Audemars Piguet to IWC, from Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega and Rolex to Zenith. Curiosities abound, and you will easily find as many novelties from small, long-closed manufactures as you will popular classics. To explore this large and wonderful selection and not find something worthwhile is itself almost an art form.
Rämistrasse, near Bellevue
www.greenwich.ch
My Reflection
As with the translation of the newspaper article, I faced the same questions of "what is the purpose of this text?" and "who is my audience?" The audience for this text was pretty much the same as in the first text, except maybe that it would be a broader, more international English-speaking audience. But that didn't really effect my translation. What was very different, was the purpose of this tourism text. Whereas the newspaper article was meant to rapidly relay particular information to the reader, the purpose of this text is to entice the reader to visit the shop. In such a case I felt less bound to the original German than in other translation works. Rather then trying to follow word for word what the author wrote, I continuously found myself rephrasing an idea, or using a different word that sounded better in English. I assumed that someone who read a more literal, yet dry translation would be less likely to visit the place than someone who read an interesting piece that took a few more liberties with the text. As someone who believes fidelity is incredibly important when translating, I found this process to be both challenging and liberating. How do I keep the idea and sense of what the author has written, but make it sound good in English?
In order to accomplish this, I added "all this is possible" in the first sentence of my translation. That phrase is not in the original sentence – instead the author goes right to describing the comfortable atmosphere of the shop - but somehow it made the translation sound smoother. I also created two sentences out of the original long first sentence. Such a long sentence in English just didn’t sound good. I also added “curiosities about” later on where there is nothing in the German. Similar to the first additional phrase, I found that it enhanced the English translation.
I needed to do some research for this text too. I wasn’t sure if “Uhren” meant clocks or watches (it can mean both in German), so I visited the website of the store and saw that this store sold mostly watches. And, as I don’t know the brands of many watches, I also looked up the names of Jaeger-Lecoultre, IWC, etc. in order to make sure that they had the same name in English. Such research, or double-checking, was needed throughout the whole tourism text to make sure that I was accurate in the description of different events and destinations.
I also worked on my grammar comprehension during this translation process. During class, we deconstructed the German sentences of these blurbs. This not only increased my comprehension of the text, but my understanding of German grammar improved as well. Had we not scrutinized the German phrase “dieser grossen und bestens sortieren Auswahl an hochwertigen Uhren in allen Preislagen,” I would have misinterpreted the meaning of “sortieren.” And as always, it is very useful to study German grammar structures. With such attention, my grammar in both English and German will improve!
As with the translation of the newspaper article, I faced the same questions of "what is the purpose of this text?" and "who is my audience?" The audience for this text was pretty much the same as in the first text, except maybe that it would be a broader, more international English-speaking audience. But that didn't really effect my translation. What was very different, was the purpose of this tourism text. Whereas the newspaper article was meant to rapidly relay particular information to the reader, the purpose of this text is to entice the reader to visit the shop. In such a case I felt less bound to the original German than in other translation works. Rather then trying to follow word for word what the author wrote, I continuously found myself rephrasing an idea, or using a different word that sounded better in English. I assumed that someone who read a more literal, yet dry translation would be less likely to visit the place than someone who read an interesting piece that took a few more liberties with the text. As someone who believes fidelity is incredibly important when translating, I found this process to be both challenging and liberating. How do I keep the idea and sense of what the author has written, but make it sound good in English?
In order to accomplish this, I added "all this is possible" in the first sentence of my translation. That phrase is not in the original sentence – instead the author goes right to describing the comfortable atmosphere of the shop - but somehow it made the translation sound smoother. I also created two sentences out of the original long first sentence. Such a long sentence in English just didn’t sound good. I also added “curiosities about” later on where there is nothing in the German. Similar to the first additional phrase, I found that it enhanced the English translation.
I needed to do some research for this text too. I wasn’t sure if “Uhren” meant clocks or watches (it can mean both in German), so I visited the website of the store and saw that this store sold mostly watches. And, as I don’t know the brands of many watches, I also looked up the names of Jaeger-Lecoultre, IWC, etc. in order to make sure that they had the same name in English. Such research, or double-checking, was needed throughout the whole tourism text to make sure that I was accurate in the description of different events and destinations.
I also worked on my grammar comprehension during this translation process. During class, we deconstructed the German sentences of these blurbs. This not only increased my comprehension of the text, but my understanding of German grammar improved as well. Had we not scrutinized the German phrase “dieser grossen und bestens sortieren Auswahl an hochwertigen Uhren in allen Preislagen,” I would have misinterpreted the meaning of “sortieren.” And as always, it is very useful to study German grammar structures. With such attention, my grammar in both English and German will improve!
Excerpt of Other English Translation
Greenwich at Bellevue -
The store for antique watches
Talking shop, buying, selling or swapping – in a relaxed atmosphere, visitors to Greenwich can casually dive into the fascinating world of mechanical watches and examine the countless large and small treasures of the art of watch-making. Greenwich offers watch-lovers everything their collector’s hearts desire, from the simple three-index-watch to highly complicated, high-end pieces – they range from Audemars Piguet to IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega and from Rolex to Zenith. One can find rarities by small, long since closed manufacturers as well as sought-after classics. In this large and well organized selection of first-class watches in all price ranges, it would be difficult not to find something you love.
Greenwich at Bellevue -
The store for antique watches
Talking shop, buying, selling or swapping – in a relaxed atmosphere, visitors to Greenwich can casually dive into the fascinating world of mechanical watches and examine the countless large and small treasures of the art of watch-making. Greenwich offers watch-lovers everything their collector’s hearts desire, from the simple three-index-watch to highly complicated, high-end pieces – they range from Audemars Piguet to IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega and from Rolex to Zenith. One can find rarities by small, long since closed manufacturers as well as sought-after classics. In this large and well organized selection of first-class watches in all price ranges, it would be difficult not to find something you love.