Subj : New Year's Day.
To   : Alexander Koryagin
From : Anton Shepelev
Date : Mon Mar 01 2021 16:34:42

Alexander Koryagin:

DM> Do  you  you know there are bilingual books, when on the
DM> left page is the English original and on the right  page
DM> is Russian translation. The latter is always longer.

Well-observed!  I  have  typeset such parallel texts myself.
But check also those where the Russian is the  original.  Is
the  Russian part there longer too? I have taken a wild shot
at the Moon and counterposed the Russian  and  English  ver-
sions of the opening paragraph of Tolstoy's resurrection:--

Как  ни  старались  люди, со-  All  the  efforts  of several
бравшись в одно небольшое ме-  hundred   thousand    people,
сто   несколько   сот  тысяч,  crowded  in a small space, to
изуродовать ту землю, на  ко-  disfigure the land  on  which
торой  они жались, как ни за-  they  lived;  all  the  stone
бивали камнями  землю,  чтобы  they covered it with to  keep
ничего  не  росло на ней, как  it  barren; how so diligently
ни счищали всякую пробивающу-  every  sprouting   blade   of
юся травку, как ни дымили ка-  grass  was  removed;  all the
менным углем и нефтью, как ни  smoke of  coal  and  naphtha;
обрезывали деревья и ни выго-  all the cutting down of trees
няли    всех    животных    и  and  driving  off  of  cattle
птиц, -- весна   была  весною  could   not   shut   out  the
даже и в городе. Солнце  гре-  spring, even from  the  city.
ло,  трава,  оживая,  росла и  The   sun  was  shedding  its
зеленела везде, где только не  light; the grass, revivified,
соскребли  ее,  не  только на  was  blooming forth, where it
газонах бульваров, но и между  was left uncut, not  only  on
плитами камней, и березы, то-  the greenswards of the boule-
поли,   черемуха   распускали  vard, but between  the  flag-
свои  клейкие  и  пахучие ли-  stones,   and   the  birches,
стья, липы надували лопавшие-  poplars and wild-berry  trees
ся  почки;  галки,  воробьи и  were  unfolding their viscous
голуби по-весеннему  радостно  leaves; the  limes  were  un-
готовили  уже  гнезда, и мухи  folding their buds; the daws,
жужжали  у  стен,   пригретые  sparrows  and  pigeons   were
солнцем. Веселы были и расте-  joyfully making their custom-
ния, и птицы, и насекомые,  и  ary nests, and the flies were
дети.   Но   люди -- большие,  buzzing   on  the  sun-warmed
взрослые люди -- не  переста-  walls. Plants, birds, insects
вали обманывать и мучать себя  and   children  were  equally
и друг друга.  Люди  считали,  joyful. Only  men -- grown-up
что  священно  и важно не это  men -- continued cheating and
весеннее утро, не эта красота  tormenting   themselves   and
мира  Божия, данная для блага  each  other. People saw noth-
всех     существ, -- красота,  ing holy in this spring morn-
располагающая  к миру, согла-  ing,  in this beauty of God's
сию и  любви,  а  священно  и  world -- a gift to all living
важно то, что? они сами выду-  creatures -- inclining     to
мали, чтобы властвовать  друг  peace,  good-will  and  love,
над другом.                    but  worshiped  their own in-
                               ventions for  imposing  their
                               will on each other.

As  you see, the English translation is longer than the Rus-
sian original, even though it is incomlete and omits some of
the  Russian words. For example it has "grown-up men"instead
of "mature, grown up men".

My opinion, therefore, is that a good translation is  gener-
ally longer than the original because it tries to follow the
author's style on a language not adapted to it.

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 * Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)

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