68 ways to say ‘plain’: translating Jane Eyre

This post was originally published on the Creative Multilingualism blog. Creative Multilingualism is a four-year AHRC-funded programme investigating the interconnection between linguistic diversity and creativity.  The programme is split into seven research strands, one of which is ‘Prismatic Translation’. In this post, Prof. Matthew Reynolds, Co-Investigator on the strand, explains how they have been looking at translations of Jane Eyre through a multilingual prism…

I spent March mainly in Pisa, working on fifteen Italian translations [of Jane Eyre] with a group of graduate students and early career researchers co-ordinated by our collaborator in the project there, Professor Alessandro Grilli.

It was an exhilarating experience, eight or ten of us grouped around a table in an airy room high up in an eighteenth-century palazzo overlooking the oldest botanical garden in Europe (even older than Oxford’s!) sharing our findings with the help of a projector pointed at the uneven wall.

Various discoveries emerged which will make their way into the webpages that are being created and book that is being written. The earliest Italian translation, done anonymously and published in Milan in 1904, mainly follows the 1854 French translation by Noémi Lesbazeilles (née Souvestre): for instance, Bertha Mason’s ‘red eyes’ become ‘yeux injectés’ and, in turn, ‘occhi iniettati’ (injected/blood-shot eyes’). Here we can see translation, not jumping from one language to another as though they were separate boxes, but moving through the continuum of language difference, following pathways in which Italian and French are joined.

Just occasionally, however, when the French was puzzling, the anonymous Italian translator turned to the English for help. When Jane hears Rochester’s voice telepathically calling across the moors, Charlotte Bronte wrote: ‘’O God! what is it?’ I gasped.’ Lesbazeilles-Souvestres takes this in a surprising direction: ‘J’aspirai l’air avec force’ (‘I breathed in forcefully / took a deep breath’). This must have struck the Italian translator as peculiar; the English must have been checked; and a simpler equivalent was found: ‘mormorai’ (‘I murmured’ – ‘gasped’, in its sense here, is a tricky word to match). Usually in translation – or at least in people’s ideas of translation – the translator works from the original and occasionally looks at other versions for help. But here we have the opposite: the French becomes the source text and the English serves as a guide to its interpretation.

One of the researchers, Caterina Cappelli, is someone I first met when she translated my novel The World Was All Before Them for her Masters thesis some years ago. Now, she has done an extraordinary piece of research, tracking the word ‘plain’ (also ‘plainly’ and ‘plainness’) through all its 49 appearances in the novel, in 13 different translations. That is, 637 occurrences of the word. As its frequency suggests, ‘plain’ is a crucial term for Brontë. Jane is plain (not beautiful), she speaks plainly (frankly), and she likes plain (simple) things; in the story, things are heard plainly (clearly) and become plain (are understood); and the novel itself is described as ‘a plain tale’ (a realist novel, that shows the world as it is).

One of Brontë’s ambitions in her writing was to re-assess this word, creating a woman character who can be admired for her mind and principles rather than her looks, and writing a story that can be valued for its truth-telling as much or more than for its excitements. For Brontë, ‘plain’ is what the literary critic William Empson called a ‘complex word’: a bundle of culturally-charged different meanings that need a whole play or novel to open up their synergies and contradictions.

In the Italian translations, the explosion of meanings hidden in the word becomes, well, plain. This one English word is translated in – wait for it – sixty-eight quite different ways, in terms that correspond to: simple, ugly, clear, insignificant, sincere, well, open, modest, frank, easy, distinct, dull, common, smooth, white, and so on, and on. Here is a table constructed by Caterina:

And here is a visualisation:

For more on Prismatic Translation, see their pages here.

Spanish Flash Fiction – the runners up

Two weeks ago we announced the hotly anticipated results of our Spanish Flash Fiction Competition. Congratulations to both winners and the four runners up, and well done to everyone who entered what turned out to be a fiercely competitive contest.

We featured the winning entry from the older category on our blog earlier this month. Now, it’s our pleasure to showcase the two runners up from the younger category, Years 7-11: Kasia and Fakyha. You will find their stories below – we hope you enjoy them.

¡ Felicidades, Kasia y Fakyha!

más allá
Nunca olvidaré junio de 1988, la forma en que me observaron cuando mi mandíbula cayó al suelo. Sus ojos tan negros como la noche oscura, se veían rectos, no a mis ojos no del todo, sin a ellos. Era una forma de vida terriblemente, totalmente extraña… pero tenían intelligencia… la cosa y sus compañeros. Vi mi reflejo en ellos, una cara sorprendida con la piel tan pálida como la nieve. Mi mente se puso en blanco: todo lo que sabíam todo lo que sé, todo lo que sabré, ha explotado. Nunca olvidaré junio de 1988.

— Kasia, Year 7, Westcliff High School For Girls

Photo by Robert Wiedemann on Unsplash

“Abuelito, no puedo dormir,” dijo el niño.
“Ay muchacho, deja te cuenta una historia. Una vez, un fragmento de la luna se cayó a la tierra. Ese día el cielo estaba encendido en fuscia y oro. El fragmento aterrizó en un campo de rosas. ¿Qué pasó depués? Bueno, una palabra: avaricia. Mucha gente trataron de robar el fragmento pero fallaron. ¿Por qué? El fragmento conocía sus intenciones; desapareció de los captores y cada vez volvió al campo.
“¿Abuelito, dondé está el fragmento ahora?”
Le mostro un collar y allí está el fragmento. “Vino a mí.” yo dije.
“¡Qué chulo, abuelito!”

— Fakyha, Year 10, Nonsuch High School for Girls

FRENCH FLASH FICTION: THE STORIES

Here are some of our highly commended entries from the Year 7-11 category of the French Flash Fiction contest (other highly commended entries will be posted in the next few weeks.) As you’ll see, they have a huge variety of styles, moods and subjects, showing how much thought and imagination has gone into their creation. There has also clearly been a lot of care and effort from the writers in expressing themselves in good, clear French. The French is not always perfect – although it is always of an impressive standard for the level of study the writer has reached! – but in every case you can see the enthusiasm for language as the writer tries to tell an ambitious story in a foreign language. Congratulations to all the writers featured here, and we hope you enjoy the stories.

Image by Anke Sundermeier from Pixabay

Monsieur Mystère est le meilleur détective français, toutes les énigmes qu’ on lui donne il sait les résoudre en un éclair. Alerte ! Le trophé de la coupe du monde de football a disparu; Didier Deschamps le capitaine est inconsolable… Trois joueurs sont suspectés de l’avoir volé pour son or: Mbappé, Pogba et Griezman. Monsieur Mystère les interviewe, il remarque Mbappe a une nouvelle Lamborghini ayant des roues en or, Pogba a des nouvelles dents en or et Griezman a un nouveau ballon d’or. Lequel suspectes- tu…?

Aucun ! C’est Gareth Southgate qui la subtilisé pour 2022 !

Sean, Year 7, Trinity Catholic High School

 

Un jour, un chat, une souris et un chien vivent dans une maison. Le chat a très faim. La souris a mangé du fromage. Le chat a mangé la souris. Le chien a poursuivi le chat. Le chat est très gros car il a mangé la souris. De plus, le chat est très lent. Il était très facile pour le chien de manger le chat. Et ensuite? Ensuite, la maison a mangé le chien et tout ce qui se trouvait à l’intérieur.

Ansh, Year 8, Hill House School

 

Amabel s’est réveillée pendant la nuit. Après être descendue les escaliers, elle est sortie de la maison. Elle ne voulait pas partir longtemps, et elle savait certainement qu’elle reviendrait avant que ses frères ne se lèvent.

Elle a commencé à suivre un vieux sentier. Amabel a marché jusqu’à la rivière. Comme elle venait de se réveiller, elle était encore fatiguée et s’est assise près de l’eau. La fille regardait le ciel, qui passait d’un noir à un rose orange.

À son avis, le lever de soleil était la plus belle chose de sa vie.

Jeong, Year 8, Milbourne Lodge School

 

Diables

Ils viennent. Comme ils sont venus des centaines de fois. Sculptés en mes heures de veille, me hantant en mes heures de sommeil. Je tourne un coin et sprinte loin de les soucis que me consomment: mes devoirs, mes examens, la pression et mes relations; dans le monde vrai. Je vérifie ma montre. 3:00 du matin. Mes problèmes intérieurs me sont réveillé encore. Je sais que je devrait dire à quelqu’un, mes parents peut-être. Mais je dois le regarder en face seul. Ma tête tourne et je m’endors encore, dans mon monde imaginaire, où mes diables attendent pour moi.

Jack, Year 9, The Judd School

 

Le rêve
Je me suis assise sur mon lit. Je pense et pense, encore et encore. Ce jour-là, qui marque l’histoire avec un sourire malicieux. Les cicatrices qui restent peintes sur mon corps. Je me souviens de son visage, pâle mais doux. Comme une rose blanche pure émergeant du sol pour la première fois dans le temps. La pensée qui me hante et se moque de ma douleur. Les mains tremblantes, je prends mon visage et je pleure, les larmes de l’océan. J’imagine un monde vide, sans tristesse et sans haine, mais je sais dans mon cœur que je rêve.

Jasmine, Year 9, Cheltenham Ladies College

 

La lumière passait à travers les stores de mes fenêtres; un lever du soleil jaune terne éclairait les murs lavandes.  Je me suis faite tremper dans la chaleur de mon lit avant de marcher vers ma salle de bain.  Alors que mon pied a touché le sol frais, des sensations glaciales ont été envoyées en haut de mes jambes et je me suis regardée dans le miroir.  Les poches sous les yeux étaient intensifiées, ressemblant aux contusions plutôt qu’à un manque de sommeil.  C’étais confuse. Je ne pourrais que me souvenir d’une chose; combien mon coeur me fait mal.

Tilly, Year 10, Colston’s Girls’ School

 

C’était le jour où les étoiles ont commencé de tomber. Ils sont tombés tranquillement. Brûlants, brillants, comme les larmes coulant d’un visage seul. Je les ai regardés avec un émerveillement féroce, bouche bée. Le sol soi-même sous mes pieds, qui avait été fiable jusqu’à maintenant, était en train de vibrer, même de trembler. Je ne pouvais ni souffler ni sentir l’air frais, mais plûtot, il y avait une odeur trenchante et tordue, le sang brulé. Ca m’a fait piqué, ça m’a attaqué. Alors, tout est devenu un noir affreux, pendant que le monde tel que je le connais était terminé.

Jessica, Year 11, Wycombe Abbey

 

La Chose
La nuit est tombée ; le couloir est plongé dans l’obscurité. J’éclaire la pancarte à l’aide de ma torche, mais l’écriture est effacée, et ma main tremble trop. J’entre, la porte se plaignant bruyamment. Une odeur âcre me frappe aussitôt. En face de l’entrée se tient une armoire ancestrale ornée d’un miroir. Un vieux lit longe le côté droit de la pièce et – un grincement résonne soudainement. Je me fige. Puis un autre. Les escaliers, je réalise. Mais personne n’habite ici depuis des siècles. Un souffle caresse mon cou. Je regarde mon reflet dans le miroir, et j’hurle.

Lucas, Year 11, The Judd School

 

Le vieux sorcier habitait dans une maison qui n’existait pas, à Londres, qui existait. Chaque matin à sept heures, il montait au quatre-vingt-dix-neuvième étage et il s’asseyait sur son fauteuil à bascule, en fumant une pipe et lisant un livre. Quand il finissait une page de son livre, il la déchirait et il la pliait pour en faire un oiseau, qui s’envolait. De temps en temps, l’un de ses oiseaux revenait, et il lui demandait où il avait été et où il allait aller ensuite. Un de ces jours, il se disait, il allait les rejoindre.

Nicole, Year 11, The Latymer School 

Spanish Flash Fiction Competition Results

Last week we shared the results of our French Flash Fiction Competition. This week, we bring you the results of our equivalent competition in Spanish. Students in Years 7-13 were invited to submit a short story in Spanish of no more than 100 words. There were two categories: Years 7-11 and Years 12-13. We were delighted to receive almost 600 eligible entries, which covered all sorts of topics, from butterflies to the apocalypse, from a love story between two monkeys, to a personification of war. We even received a memorable recipe for Sangria!

After much deliberation, the judges have selected a winner and two runners up in each age group. The winner of the Years 7-11 category is Catherine, in Year 8, from Churchers College, and the runners up are Kasia, Year 7, Westcliff High School For Girls and Fakyha, Year 10, Nonsuch High School for Girls. The winner of the Years 12-13 category is Freya, Year 12, Aylesbury High School, and the runners up are Salome, Year 12, The College of Richard Collyer, and Alexandra, Year 13, Bradfield College. Huge congratulations to all the winners and runners up!

We would like to say a massive well done to everyone who entered. The standard was extremely high, and we were thrilled to see a vast array of topics and narrative styles which demonstrated imagination and linguistic flair. Choosing the winners was no easy feat, and we would really like to thank all of the entrants for the time and careful thought they put into their stories. Writing a story in 100 words is a tall order, and to do so in a language that may not be your mother tongue is especially commendable. Please do keep using your Spanish creatively and think about entering the competition again next year.

We’ll leave you with one of the winning entries. This one’s by Freya, in the older category, and is a beautifully subtle and delicate meditation on loss.

Pareces tan hermosa cuando duermes. Una fractura en el paso del tiempo, un rincón encubierto del mundo bullicioso, entre los árboles ondulantes y los suaves trazos de la brisa de verano. El vacío me llenó, y el silencio era casi abrumador.
Entonces sus pasos pesados atravesaron ese refugio, cada paso fracturando la escena congelada, como rascarse en una pintura. Te seguí. En silencio, en silencio, hasta que no podía aguantarlo más. Es hora de convertir esa pintura roja. Aquel silencio sofocante se rompe cuando caes al suelo, y la hierba comienza a oscurecer.
Pareces tan hermosa cuando duermes.

— Freya, Year 12, Aylesbury High School

 

FRENCH FLASH FICTION COMPETITION RESULTS

We were delighted, and quite literally overwhelmed, to receive nearly eight hundred entries to our first Flash Fiction competition in French. We asked you for a story on any subject, written in your best French, and comprising one hundred words or fewer in total. What we got was an astounding variety of creations, showcasing some immensely impressive storytelling imagination. There were spine-chilling tales of the supernatural, surreal dream-narratives, delicate character studies, and little comic masterpieces. A number of themes kept returning, among them: colours, animals, flowers, war, romance and death. There were many credible attempts at creating a cryptic plot or ending with a twist.

Our three judges, Caroline Ridler, Matt Hines and Simon Kemp, enjoyed your endlessly inventive contributions, and had a real struggle to pick our favourites. Finally, we settled on Clementine, Year 10, The Grey Coat Hospital as our winner in the Years 7-11 category, and Alisa, Year 12, Surbiton High School, as the winner of the Year 12-13 category. Congratulations to both of you, and you’ll each be receiving £100 in prize money.

Runner-up among the Year 7-11s is Maddie, Year 9, from Longsands Academy and among the 12-13s is Ben, Year 12, The King’s (The Cathedral) School Peterborough. You’ll each receive the runner-up prize of £25.

We also selected the best of the rest for our Highly Commended category. For Years 7-11, congratulations to:

Matthew, Year 7, King Alfred’s Academy
Neelkantha, Year 7, The Perse School
Sean, Year 7, Trinity Catholic High School
Annoushka, Year 8, The Queen’s School, Chester
Ansh, Year 8, Hill House School
Jeong, Year 8, Milbourne Lodge School
Mairead, Year 8, Swavesey Village College
Jack, Year 9, The Judd School
Jasmine, Year 9, Cheltenham Ladies College
Tilly, Year 10, Colston’s Girls’ School
Giulia, Year 11, Channing School
Isabel, Year 11, Wycombe Abbey School
Jenna, Year 11, Skipton Girls’ High School
Jessica, Year 11, Wycombe Abbey School
Joshua, Year 11, City of London Freemen’s School
Lucas, Year 11, The Judd School
Nicole, Year 11, The Latymer School
Sulemaan, Year 11, St Albans School

And for Years 12-13:

Jemima, Year 12, The Henrietta Barnett School
Ella, Year 13, South Hampstead High School
Hannah, Year 12, Bryanston School
Juliette, Year 12, St Helen’s School
Eleanor, Year 12, Redland Green School
Camille, Year 12, The Latymer School
Katie, Year 12, Skipton Girls’ High School
Vikita, Year 12, St Olave’s and St Saviour’s Grammar School

We’d like to offer our congratulations to all our winners, and our thanks to everyone who entered for all the hard work and imagination you put into your stories. They were a pleasure to read, and we hope you’ll think about entering again next year. We’ll be posting the stories by some of the entrants listed here over the course of the summer, so look out for your entry in the coming weeks. First up, here are the winning stories and the runners up…

FRENCH FLASH FICTION: THE WINNING STORIES

 Here are some of the winners of our 2019 French Flash Fiction competition. The standard of entries was incredibly high, but the judges agreed that these stories were particularly outstanding in their imagination and creativity, as well as their enthusiastic engagement with the target language. Writing a complete story in under a hundred words is a tough assignment in any language. Here, in the Years 7-11 category, we have a perfectly formed narrative that will make you dream. Below, in the Years 12-13 category is a story that makes creative use of colloquial French to show a mind in turmoil, and in the winning tale, a story that takes apart the whole premise of the competition. Hope you enjoy them.

YEARS 7-11

Winner : Clementine , Year 10

Je suis le mur blanc propre d’un jeune couple chic qui veut montrer sa réussite au monde.
Enlevez ma peau: vous verrez le papier peint des années 70, orné de fleurs jaunes géantes.  Reniflez un peu: l’odeur de nicotine du papa, une cigarette toujours à la main depuis qu’il a perdu son travail.
Encore une couche; vous devriez voir le chintz de la famille qui a connu une peur constante.  Examinez de près – les tâches de brûlure de la bombe tombée en 41.
Enfin, le vert foncé d’une époque de paix; la dame toujours vêtue en noir, son visage abaissé.

Photo by Dmitry Bayer on Unsplash

YEARS 12-13

Winner: Alisa, Year 12

L’illusion littéraire

La seule acception est les simples traces noires sur le papier. J’avais toujours pensé. D’autres ont toujours essayé de construire quelque chose de plus importante de ce qu’ils étaient. En voyant ces lettres comme elles sont en réalité, nous aurions gagné plus de contentement d’elles que d’imaginer de ce qu’elles pourraient devenir. Eux, ils ne veulent pas me comprendre, comme c’est le cas avec la pipe. René Magritte m’a dit: ceci n’est pas une pipe. Je vous dirais: ceci n’est pas une conte. Ceci n’est que des mots. Vous n’êtes pas comme les autres? Vous me comprendrez?

Runner-Up: Ben, Year 12

Je pense plus que j’aie envie de vivre.

 En fait, à l’heure actuelle c’est la seule chose dont je peux être certain.
Des nuits blanches se passent sans cesse, voilées par les somnifères qui n’entraînent que la paralysie. J’y repose regardant le plafond et je hurle ton nom jusqu’à ce que ma gorge saigne.
Moi, chuis mort de trouille par l’idée de mourir, mais j’mourrais mille morts si ça signifiait que je pouvais te voir une dernière fois.

Je suppose que je ferais mieux de m’habituer à jouer le second rôle.

Tu repars.

Je bois.

Je veux pas me réveiller.

If you entered our Spanish competition you can expect to hear from us very soon!