Literary Translations Services – 6 Common Challenges Faced By Companies

Translation is one of the most common needs for brands in any field. Translating documents is a first step toward global endeavor of brands. Literary translation is one of the most popular types of service. With Literary Translations Services, brands translate their literary content into different languages. 

Unlike other translation solutions, this one requires specialized translators. Literary translators should have adequate experience translating prose, poems, dramas, etc. They should be competent in multiple languages through words and literary knowledge. When they translate literary content, they become the writers of it in the target languages. That is why their knowledge and skills should be optimum.

However, it isn’t an easy job for literary translators. And only the best professionals can deliver the most accurate and source-oriented translation. Besides that, there are various challenges these literary translators face in their projects. 

Nevertheless, professional translators ensure that their copy has zero faults. So, we will discuss the challenges they face in this blog. Keep reading to understand why it is essential to hire trained translation companies only.

Common Challenges Faced by Literary Translations Companies

Also known as book localization, literary translation is an essential service for publishing houses and writers. Undoubtedly, it is one of the most challenging translation services ever. Even the most skilled translators face difficulties while working on the translation. 

So, here are the top six challenges that we have listed:

Being Extremely Careful with the Tone of the Original Text

Business document translations need the highest levels of accuracy and localization. There can be a need for a change of layouts, formats, or designs. But nothing is as complex as in the case of Literary Translations Services.

Literary translators must have a proper understanding of the original writer’s works. The translators should make every single point and reference clear to themselves before translating. Ensuring that the actual tone of the content does not change is the priority of translators. Not just a priority; it is a part of their responsibility to adhere to the original text. 

Their work should also be creative in the target language. Reading the translated version, readers should get the same emotions as they would get from the source content. Literary translators should also be able to resemble the unique writing style of the author in their version.

Sometimes managing all these things becomes difficult for them. However, professional translators handle these difficulties with their skills.

Playing with Words, Proverbs, and Tongue Twisters

Literary works are creative pieces of text. They have a remarkable impact on a particular segment of the audience. In literary texts, writers present a variety of wordplays, expressions, and tongue twisters. Quite naturally, they bring life and a unique pattern to the content. However, that works in a reverse way for literary translators. 

While translating wordplays, unique expressions, tongue twisters, or proverbs, translators face a big challenge. It is difficult to find the same expression or word that perfectly defines them in another language. Especially for proverbs and tongue twisters, the difficulty is more. 

However, Literary Translations companies manage to get interpretive words that intend to mean equivalent. While translating, translators need to be very careful in sequencing the flow of thoughts. These sequences should be presented in the same way as the original writer had envisioned. 

Being Aware While Translating Cultural Expressions

We know how cultural traits differ from one language to another, and maintaining the cultural identity of content is a must for translators. As the content reaches different countries, it must ensure that it has the originality intact.

In the case of famous characters of a particular culture, what should translators do while translating? 

Should they keep referring to the character as it is by keeping his or her character story intact? Or, should they search for equivalent characters of the target country to match the cultures?

Well, this is where the complications start for companies providing Literary Translation Services. Getting the answer to the questions depends on the client they are serving. Some clients want an exact translation of the original story into the target language. Some other client might ask to find an equivalent or relevant story to portray. 

Definitely, it is a challenging task for translators. Amateur translation companies mostly give up in these cases. However, that is not the case for professional companies as they come up with solutions.

Handling Different Dialects and Slangs Properly

Uses of slang and dialects in different types of content can be quite challenging for literary translators. Their use in prose, poems, dramas, and other texts make it hard to translate in the target language. It is because these words have a unique expression in every language. Finding an equivalent term to retain the character’s unique talking style sometimes is troublesome.

This is one of the biggest challenges translators face while translating such expressions. To ensure that they provide an accurate translation, they must have a strong vocabulary in both languages.

Word-to-word translation is not something that goes well here. Therefore, the writer must have a great sense of interpretation as well. Literary translators are always mindful for researching the target language but also of the audience’s culture. 

Making Sure That Rhyming Poetries Stay Unique

Poetries and poems are unique pieces of literature that need the sophistication to translate. Their language and throw of words have a special essence in their original language. 

Companies providing Literary Translations Services face difficulties while achieving an identical rhythmic expression. Their translators need to wear the writer's boots to translate a poem in the target language. 

Besides rhymes, there is another literary technique called an “alliteration.” Undoubtedly, alliterations need a lot of time to translate into multiple languages. Translating alliterations is almost like a test for literary translators. Therefore, if they can translate those, they can almost everything else.

Metaphorical Expressions Are like Monsters for Literary Translations Services

Representative content is like a monster for translation agencies. They are even worse than rhymes, poems, or alliterations. 

What makes metaphors so hard to translate is their deep-rooted connection with the local culture. Metaphors are the closest to a culture’s unique practices, thoughts, and beliefs. 

Here’s an example to understand:

• The term “as wise as an owl” refers to the belief that owls are wise creatures. 

• The line itself signifies that the reader already knows how an owl should be. 

• However, it will only be understandable if the reader is familiar with owls or knows their nature.

While this is the beauty of metaphors, this also is a dreading challenge for translators. They need to dive into the cultural ocean of the target language. Only after that will they be able to translate them into the target language.

The Conclusion: Hire Professional Companies for Literary Translations

Translation is not the most challenging job out there, but Literary Translations Services surely is. The process of translating literary content requires a different type of approach. Reading the blog so far, your brand can realize the complexities and challenges of literary translation services. 

Literary translation requires subject-matter experts (SMEs) and literary translators to translate content. It needs a sheer amount of creativity from the translator’s end. Because the reader only gets to read the translated version so, uniqueness and authenticity should be maintained adequately. 

However, your brand should understand the importance of hiring professional translation companies. It is crucial because these companies have years of industry experience. 

Besides that, they have trained translators who possess definite qualifications. Talking about such a company, we can refer to Acadestudio. They are a top translation and localization organization in the United States, with some of the best literary translators. Their translation team handles tricky literary content, like alliterations, metaphors, dialects, etc., with ease. Choosing them as a localization partner is going to be beneficial for brands.