How to Translate Thomas Manns Works

Thomas Manns three stories Tonio Krِger, Tristan and Der Tod in Venedig are compared with the translations by Helen Lowe-Porter and David Luke respectively. From the comparison, it emerges that Lowe-Porters translations are so deeply flawed that her oeuvre can be regarded as a scandal in the translation world. Even today, her botched versions of Thomas Manns works are still being widely published and used as texts in institutes of higher education. Lukes translations are generally reliable, but they still fail to capture the literary aspects of Thomas Manns prose. Alternative literary strategies are discussed with examples illustrated by the authors own samples. The discussion about how to approach the translation of dense literary passages, humour, philosophical arguments and dialect has led to the development of a new theory of translation: the Strategic Approach.The traditional concept of fidelity is redefined, based on Wittgensteins language game theory. This book should be of interest to linguists, translators, students and teachers of translation as well as to any one who wishes to increase their knowledge and appreciation of one of Europes greatest prose stylists.