McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Latin Translations
Suilan:
I do wonder how much mail Jim Butcher received from people telling him that there are four mistakes in "Die Lied der Erlking." I admit to some negative feelings when I first read the book, like Oh, please! If you make your bad guys German, could you at least bother to get those four words right? Takes a minute to ask someone on the internet to help you with it.
BUT Jim did recover very elegantly by having Harry laugh at the author of "Die Lied der Erlking" in Turn Coat and tell him he got the title wrong and wasn't that embarrassing for a book that's been in print for a century. That really made me chuckle. :D
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: Suilan on August 05, 2009, 04:50:49 PM ---BUT Jim did recover very elegantly by having Harry laugh at the author of "Die Lied der Erlking" in Turn Coat and tell him he got the title wrong and wasn't that embarrassing for a book that's been in print for a century. That really made me chuckle. :D
--- End quote ---
Unless Jim says otherwise, though, I am prepared to believe he did that deliberately.
novium:
--- Quote from: Starbeam on August 04, 2009, 10:34:25 PM ---Except that being able to read Latin and translate it into English doesn't mean you'll be able to translate English into Latin and get it correct, so it doesn't matter how much or how many books you buy and learn from. And as far as I could tell looking at the description of Wheelock, it was the same as every translation I've done for Latin classes. Latin to English.
--- End quote ---
Wheelock's a textbook. a lot of the exercises require going from english into latin, IIRC. I also have a hard time imagining that one could be well versed enough in latin to translated it into english but not vice versa. Sure, you might not be as practiced at it, but if you know the language well enough to successfully navigate declensions, moods, and voices, tenses, and all the rest I can't imagine you'd suddenly forget how. Maybe you wouldn't be skilled enough to write epic poetry, but a little latin here and there would hardly be beyond your grasp.
novium:
--- Quote from: neurovore on August 05, 2009, 02:48:28 PM ---Any error you can avoid making, you should avoid making. It's part of taking writing seriously.
--- End quote ---
Well, I think it might be a part of taking procrastinating seriously. I mean, it would be reasonable for an author setting a story in a city that haven't been in to read a bit about the city and take a look at it on google earth, but I don't expect them to spend hours exhaustively researching traffic patterns and local slang just to make sure that every last inconsequential (and that word is key here, for me) detail is correct. I just want them to tell a good story.
Now maybe this will ensure that I will be damned forever in the eyes of my Classicist brethren, but I still don't think a little dog latin is an unforgivable faux pas.
Suilan:
--- Quote from: novium --- Now maybe this will ensure that I will be damned forever in the eyes of my Classicist brethren, but I still don't think a little dog latin is an unforgivable faux pas.
--- End quote ---
Surely not unforgivable, just embarrassing. Using Latin in your novel is a bit like bragging, and if you do that, you might want to get it right. ;)
--- Quote from: neurovore --- I am prepared to believe he did that deliberately.
--- End quote ---
Ah, but in my eyes, that would diminish the achievement. Anybody can make a mistake (and it's a very small one, as mistakes go), but it does show a great sense of humor to admit to it and use it for your story and make a wonderful joke about it. So I prefer to think it was a mistake. :D
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