The rise and rise of translated fiction
The Korean novelist Han Kang has recently been awarded the Man Booker International prize for her novel “The Vegetarian”. (The Guardian May 9 2016). There are several unusual features about the award. Firstly, the total prize money is a not insignificant £50,000. The second, perhaps surprising, factor is that the translator, Deborah Smith, will receive half the prize money, a welcome reward for the hard work that translators have to put in to bring unfamiliar authors into the spotlight.
The final surprising factor concerns the translator herself. Deborah Smith is just 28, and before anyone jumps to conclusions, that is not meant to be a slight. On the contrary, to have the knowledge and the experience to translate a novel from a very different culture is a huge achievement. Having completed her undergraduate degree at the age of 21, she saw that there was a total lack of Korean – English translators, so decided to go to the country to immerse herself in the language and culture. Subsequently, she set up Tilted Axis Press, a not-for-profit publisher specialising in fiction from Asia.
Why should her age be worthy of mention? At Anglia we have a huge panel of translators across the globe, each with a particular specialism – engineering for example, or medical, or legal and so on. It’s difficult to describe the typical CV of a typical translator, because there is no such thing as a typical CV or a typical translator for that matter. However some general observations can be made. Our translator will have studied languages at university level. They will only translate into their mother tongue. Often, after leaving university they will follow a career that makes use of their language skills. Often, they will be asked to translate material in the firm for which they are working. Gradually they will acquire the relevant knowledge and terminology related to their firm’s activities. At a certain point, our “typical” linguist will decide that the corporate life is no longer for them and branch out into freelance work. Their expertise will be grounded on the products and services of the company they used to work for. If all goes well they will expand their knowledge and range of expertise and hey presto, after a few years hard work, companies like Anglia Translations will take them on as part of their expert panel of linguists.
The “certain point” mentioned above is often the wish to start a family (a very large number of our translators are women). Freelance translation and bringing up a family work very well together. We are often surprised that this fact is so often ignored by politicians and policy makers who seem to ignore the contribution translators make to our economy, whilst at the same time supporting the work life balance.
But let’s return to our story. The Vegetarian has been described by the man Booker judges in glowing terms. “It’s almost an outlandish story – a story that could topple over into crude horror or melodrama, or just over-emphatic allegories, but it has extraordinary poise and tact and control,” was one verdict. “This amazing translation from Deborah Smith … The point about this prize is that it’s totally equal between the author and the translator, and we feel this strange and brilliant book has absolutely found the right voice in English.”
“Told in three voices, from three different perspectives, this concise, unsettling and beautifully composed story traces an ordinary woman’s rejection of all the conventions and assumptions that bind her to her home, family and society,” he said. “In a style both lyrical and lacerating, it reveals the impact of this great refusal both on the heroine herself and on those around her. This compact, exquisite and disturbing book will linger long in the minds, and maybe the dreams, of its readers. Deborah Smith’s perfectly judged translation matches its uncanny blend of beauty and horror at every turn.”
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