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WHO SAID TRANSLATING WAS EASY?

Quique reveals the making of his latest contribution to FOREVER DONNA website: the translation of ALL (yes, all) songs of Donna Summer to Spanish. It's indeed a huge project, which has taken a superb effort from him and no doubt helps to make Donna Summer's name even more solid on the Internet world. See the link for the translated songs at the end of his article.

 

Who said translating was easy? Actually, if it was just to search the literal meaning of the words in a dictionary and transcribe them just as it is, then it would. But in a translation process there's much more than that. It's about trying to capture the very sense of the text (not just the explicit one, but also the one hidden behind the play on words and the double meanings) and trying to adapt the translation of the words and sentences which compose it to that sense, always wanting to respect to the possible maximum the original author's presumed intention and to introduce the minimum doses of the translator's own invention. Therefore, a translation process is always a corruption of the original text.

Corruption? Yes, indeed. It's impossible to translate a text without incorporating (sometimes, willing and, sometimes, unwillingly) the translator's subjective interpretations about the original text, always for the sake of achieving a better and easier understanding of the resulting product for the casual reader.

Better and easier understanding? Again it is the translator's own presumption of the interpretative capability of whoever reads his/her work. No condescension intended, the translator looks for his/her work to be easily understandable by the largest number of readers since, when all's said and done, this is his/her task: to translate/interpret a text originally unintelligible for the public whose work is destined to. In this process, the translator/interpreter finds his/herself in the presence of a multitude of decisions which have to be taken: to choose a precise meaning for each word from the many possible ones, to give some sense to a sentence basing it only on his/her own subjective interpretation or, on the contrary, to let sentences a priori incoherent for the own reader to choose the possible sense of them.

Undoubtedly, the translating process becomes not only an unavoidable corruption of the original text, but also a re-interpretation process which borders almost on a creative one. In other words, more than translating, the translator creates a translation out of the many possible ones. More than the translation of the text, it's his/her translation of it. And, therefore, it runs the risk of getting in conflict with other colleagues' own creative translations. In every creative process (as a translation is) decisions are raised and to choose a way or another involves that risk.

Then, why running that risk? Or, that is, why have I done it? In a few words, because it's worth it. Through the Internet I've met many Donna Summer's Spanish speakers fans who don't know the English language in depth and who would like to know what our diva is singing about. It's true that there's something in her voice which got us hooked on from the very start (and which still keeps us that way now) and which goes far beyond the lyrics she may sing. For many (count me in), it's a conjunction between the melodies and her interpretative ability; but, even so, when listening to her, curiosity 's aroused about what she'll be singing about. At least, I did feel it at my time and that was what prompted me to start to learn English.

Besides satisfying that curiosity, another reason why I've got myself into this monumental venture is my humble consideration that in the lyrics written by her own self can be found little fragments of the woman behind the diva, brush strokes of a sort of self-portrait which help us to know the person more than the idol (and no, Cathy, I'm not referring to "I feel love" ;o) ). When you fall in love with, or simply admire, someone, you want to know more of that person. I think that through her own lyrics, or those which she identify with, we can get a little bit closer to the real Donna Summer.

And if, with all this, someone feels him/herself prompted to know more English in order to be able to create their own translations and run into friendly conflict with mine, well, that would be good, wouldn't it? :o)

Finally, I wouldn't want to finish this text without thanking some people for their direct or indirect contribution to the translation process:

Hugo Arévalo and Sandro Coutinho: For their great collection of Donna's lyrics, which have served me as a base and essential consultation when our diva's Bostonian accent made me impossible to understand her words.

My cyber-friends (so far) unknown (you know who you are) for their great help and collaboration in this process. ("Lucky takes you out for a ride with a pair of striped pants ironed with fevered love while the cake is out in the rain" Have I got it right? :o) ).

Donna Summer: For prompting this 11 years old boy to learn more English because he couldn't believe that his diva was singing that she needed a hot "sticky fluid (stuff)" for that night.

I sincerely hope you all like this translation.

Quique

Webmaster's Notice: The Spanish-translated Donna Summer songs are available at the new and improved LYRICS ZONE section. 

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