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By Riya Kalra
Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834): A known German philosopher of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He was not only a philosopher but also an eminent classical scholar and theologian. Much of his philosophical work was in the philosophy of religion, but from a modern philosophical point of view, it is his hermeneutics (i.e., theory of interpretation) and his theory of translation that deserve the most attention.
SOURCE TEXT
Man nehme dieses Schauspiel für nichts anders als eine dramatische Geschichte, die die Vorteile der dramatischen Methode, die Seele gleichsam bei ihren geheimsten Operationen zu ertappen, benutzt,
ohne sich übrigens in die Schranken eines Theaterstücks einzuzäunen, oder nach dem so zweifelhaften .Gewinn bei theatralischer Verkörperung zu geizen. Man wird mir einräumen, daß es eine widersinnige Zumutung ist, binnen drei Stunden drei außerordentliche Menschen zu erschöpfen, deren Tätigkeit von vielleicht tausend Räderchen abhänget, so wie es in der Natur der Dinge unmöglich kann gegründet sein, daß sich drei außerordentliche Menschen auch dem durchdringendsten
Geisterkenner innerhalb vierundzwanzig Stunden entblößen. Hier war Fülle ineinandergedrungener Realitäten vorhanden, die ich unmöglich in die allzu engen Palisaden des Aristoteles und Batteux einkeilen konnte
TRANSLATED TEXT
This play is to be regarded merely as a dramatic narrative in which, for the purpose of tracing out the innermost workings of the soul, advantage has been taken of the dramatic method, without otherwise conforming to the stringent rules of theatrical composition, or seeking the dubious advantage of the stage adaptation. It must be admitted as somewhat inconsistent that three very remarkable people, whose acts are dependent on perhaps a thousand contingencies, should be completely developed within three hours, considering that it would scarcely be possible, in the ordinary course of events, that three such remarkable people should, even in twenty-four hours, fully reveal their characters to the most penetrating inquirer. A greater amount of incident is here crowded together than it was possible for me to confine within the narrow limits prescribed by Aristotle and Batteux.
Here, I used the technique of domestication and foreignization because the sentence structure of the German language is totally different than a literal translation that can make no sense of the text. And the most important language contains abundant cultural connotations and meanings, and meanwhile, it plays an important role in cross-cultural communication.
According to a translator Schleiermacher, there are two directions of translation-- the translator tries not to mess with the writers, letting readers get closer to them or on the other hand, tries not to interrupt the readers, letting writers closer. When using domestication and foreignization, the translator is trying to convey a foreign culture and concept by using a language that the target text readers are familiar with. The rendered version may tend to be more clear, smooth, as well as understandable. It minimizes the differences in cultures and languages between two kinds of readers.
