Translation and Creativity

Kirsten Malmkjær argues that translating can and should be considered a valuable art form. Examining notions of creativity and their relationship with translation and focusing on how the originality of translation is manifest in texts, the author explores a range of texts and their translations, in order to illustrate original as opposed to derivative translation. With reference to thirty translators’ discourses on their source texts and the author’s own experience of translating a short text, Malmkjær explores the theory of creativity, philosophical aesthetics, the philosophy of language, experimental and theoretical translation studies, and translators’ discourses on their work. Showing the relevance of these varied topics to the study of translating and translations underlines their complexity and the immensity of understanding that is regularly invested in translations. This work proposes a complete rethinking of the concepts of creativity and originality, as applied to translation, and is vital reading for advanced students and researchers in translation studies and comparative literature. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of contents List of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Definitions of creativity 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Kant’s ten characteristics of creativity 1.3 Madness, danger and art 1.4 Are Kant’s views on creativity still current? 1 Is creativity one thing? 2 Is creativity a special talent or gift? 3 Is creativity an attribute of individuals? 4 Is creativity an attribute of artists? 5 Is originality a prerequisite of creativity? 6 Can creativity be taught? 7 Are there rules for creativity? 8 Does creativity produce fine art? 9 Does creativity occur spontaneously? 10 Is creativity innate? 11 Summary 12 And finally 2 Translation in the context of definitions of creativity 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Does translating qualify as creative given current theorists’ views of creativity? 1 Is translating one thing? 2 Is translating a special talent or gift? 3 Is translating an attribute of individuals? 4 Is translating an attribute of artists? 5 Is originality is a prerequisite of translating? 6 Can translating be taught? 7 Are there rules for translating? 8 Does translating produce fine art? 9 Does translating occur spontaneously? 10 Is translating innate? 3 Accounts of the translating process 3.1 Introduction 3.2 A theory of meaning for translation 3.3 Language processing for translation (i) Experimental studies 3.4 A theory of language processing for translation (ii) Speculative studies 3.5 How to be a translator 4 Creativity in translating and translations 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Aesthetic attention to a text to be translated 4.3 A process of translating a short text 4.4 Intermediate summary 4.5 A-creative, an-aesthetic translation 4.6 Returning to creativity 4.7 Conclusion 5 Afterword References Source for Andersen’s original texts Sources for the translations of the example text (in chronological order by date of publication) Index Kirsten Malmkjaer argues that translating can and should be considered a valuable art form.This work proposes a complete rethinking of the concepts of creativity and originality, as applied to translation and is vital reading for advanced students and researchers in translation studies and comparative literature.