Translation: Substance and Flow in the Workshop Last Week

Source: Literature Translation Institute of Korea
Korea Herald

I was somewhat surprised -- but more delighted -- to see an article on translation summarizing the insights of various speakers in last week's translation workshop held in conjunction with the Seoul International Book Fair. The article, by Kim Hoo-ran, was titled "Lost in translation?" (Korea Herald, June 26, 2014) and quoted or paraphrased many speakers, including me:

Horace Jeffery Hodges of Ewha Womans University, who translates as a team with his wife, shed light on the aim of translation: To ensure that the telling of the story flows well in English even as it preserves the meaning of the Korean original.

This paraphrase on my remark comes remarkably close to a quote, for I said this:

Important is that the story flow well enough in English even as it preserves the meaning of the Korean original.

Anyway, that's probably the most sensible thing I said in my keynote address, and I'm proud to have my near words reflected in the article.

For far better advice from other speakers, read the entire article!