About me

My photo
Hello my dear students! Welcome to our class blog! This blog has been started to create an effective and fruitful collaboration between you and me! Hope you will enjoy the course.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Task for Translation

I know some of you took part in translation contest. A pieces of texts were offered for translation, and you did a great job translating literary extracts. But have you ever tried to translate a poem?

To translate a poem, sometimes you need to read between the lines.

Here is a challenge for you! This is a poem by Rudyard Kipling "If" where the author gives advice how to leave a decent life. Many people tried to translate it. In Romanian - Dan Duţescu ("Dacă") - professor of English language and literature at the University of Bucharest, in Russian - С. Маршак («Если…»), М. Лозинский («Заповедь»), В. Корнилов («Когда»), Ф. Искандер («Заповедь»), А. Грибанов («Если сможешь»), А. Шарапова («Из тех ли ты»), etc.

How well can you translate it?

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;
If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: «Hold on!»

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And — which is more — you’ll be a Man, my son!

You can send your translations to my e-mail (ottamay@gmail.com or kuzea20@rambler.ru) and we will share them in class.

2 comments:

  1. Translation submitted by Liliana, group 104A

    Daca
    Daca poti sa tii capul sus,cind toti vorbesc despre tine,
    Sunt pierduti si dau vina pe tine,
    Daca poti sa ai incredere in tine insuti,cind toti oamenii se indoiesc de tine,
    Dar admite-i pentru indoiala lor,
    Daca tu poti astepta si nu esti obosit de asteptare,
    Ori daca esti mintit cu ceva,nu te da in minciuni
    Ore daca esti urit,nu le da ocazia sa te urasca.
    Si totusi sa nu pari prea bun,nici prea intelept.
    Daca poti visa - si sa nu-ti faci visele master,
    Daca poti gindi – si sa nu devina gindurile scopul tau,
    Daca te poti intilni cu triumful si nenorocirea,
    Si sa tratezi acesti doi impostori la fel,
    Daca tu poti suporta sa auzi adevarul pe care l-ai spus,
    Rasucite de ticalosi pentru a face o capcana pentru prosti,
    Ori sa privesti lucrurile pe care ti le-a dat viata sa le distrugi,
    Si apleaca-te si construieste-le cu instrumente uzate.
    Daca poti face o gramada din toate cistigurile tale,
    Risca pe o tura de cap sau pajura,
    Pierde si incepe din nou de la inceputurile tale,
    Si niciodata nu sufla un cuvint despre pierderea ta,
    Daca poti sa-ti fortezi inima,nervul si muschiul,
    Ca sa te slujeasca mult timp dupa ce ei eu plecat,
    Si tine-o asa daca nu ai nimic in tine,
    Cu exceptia vointei,care le spunea:”Sus”.
    Daca poti vorbi cu multimele si sa-ti pastrezi virtutea,
    Ori sa te plimbi cu Regii – dar nici sa pierzi legatura comuna,
    Daca nici dusmanii si nici prietenii iubitori nu pot sa te raneasca,
    Daca toata lumea conteaza pe tine,dar nici prea mult,
    Daca tu ai posibilitatea sa completezi minutele neiertatoare
    Cu valoarea a saizeci de secunde de a alerga la distanta,
    Al tau este Pamintul si tot ce este in el,
    Si - mai mult - vei fi Om,fiul meu!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Translation submitted by Adriana, gr. 104A

    Daca poti fi tare cind toti isi pierd controlul
    In jurul tau ,si spui ca tu esti vinovat,
    De crezi in tine cind toti ceilalti se indoiesc,
    Nu te crede in indoiala lor ;
    Daca poti astepta dar fara sa simti oboseala,
    Sau atunci cind minti sa nu cazi in minciuna,
    Sau atunci cind esti urit sa nu raspunzi cu ura,
    Si totusi nu pari nici bun , nu vorbesti nici intelept.

    Daca poti visa si sa nu depinzi de vise;
    Daca poti gindi si sa nu faci din ginduri scopul tau;
    Daca poti intimpina Triumful si Dezastrul
    Si sa-i tratezi pe acesti doi impostori la fel;
    Daca suporti s-auzi adevarul ce l-ai spus odata
    Rasucit de mincinosi pentru a face o capcana de nebuni ,
    Daca poti privi cum lucurile carora le-ai dat viata acum se risipesc,
    Si acum sa le reconstruiesti chiar cu uneltele uzate.

    Daca poti face o gramada cu toate cistigurile pe care le-ai agonisit
    Si sa risti totul fara a te gindi,
    Si sa pierzi,sis a incerci din nou totulde la-nceput
    Fara sa te plingi sau sa oftezi;
    Daca iti poti manipula si inima,si nervul chiar si vina
    Sa fii inca in puteri cind ele nu vor fi,
    Sa stai inca puternic cind nu vei fi
    DecitVointa ce le va mai tine sus!

    Daca vorbesti cu Regi si fire ti-i neschimbata,
    Sau printer ei-sa nu te simti strain,
    Chiar daca dusmanii si prietenii te pot rani,
    Daca de toti iti pasa dar in acelasi timp de nimeni nu vrei sa auzi;
    Daca in clipa zdrobitoare tu reusesti s-o treci
    S-o treci sis a o depasesti,
    Atunci:Lumea asta mare e a ta,
    Ba chiar si mai mult,atunci-vei deveni OM!

    ReplyDelete