- Don’t Ever Stop Reading:
You don’t only have to become fluent in multiple languages; you will also have to learn about different topics. Every book is diverse in its own way, which is why you should be able to understand it first before you can translate it. If you stop reading, you will stop learning. So, read as much as you can.
- Practice Writing:
You need to become good at writing if you wish to become a successful literary translator. You can begin writing a journal or maintain a blog. You can ask your friends to give you an honest opinion on your writing. This way, you will be able to improve yourself constantly and won’t have any problem working on books and poetry.
- Learn About the Style:
Every writer has a particular style. Their readers can see their personality in their work. If you decide to start working on a book without researching the author, you will end up creating a new style for them. You should read different books written by an author so you can pick up their style and then translate their content accordingly.
- Don’t Be Literal:
There is nothing about literature that requires you to be literal, unlike books. As long as you don’t change the meaning of the author, you can translate their work in whatever way you want. This is where you can put your writing skills to good use.
- Respect the Culture:
You must respect the culture of your target audience at all times. If there is a part of the text that will be offensive to the target audience, you can replace it with the culturally appropriate translation. You will have to make sure that the final text is not only understandable but also appealing to the target audience.
- Words with Phrases:
If you can’t find a suitable word in the target language, you don’t have to panic. You can replace words with phrases in literary translation. Since you have the freedom to decide what’s best for the project, you can take it forward in whichever direction you want.
- Borrowing:
A common technique in literary translation is borrowing. This technique involves taking a word from the source text and placing it as it is in the target text. It is important for linguistic experts to know their target audience fully so they can figure out which words they would be familiar with. If experts are familiar with the target audience, they will be able to make the right call when borrowing words from the source text. Latin phrases and letters often end up in texts this way.