Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0026886, Thu, 25 Feb 2016 14:54:44 -0800

Subject
QUERY -- VN and checking translations
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I'd appreciate help on any of these questions about VN and translation.

1. Is there an anecdote about VN checking a sample translation
done by a translator, finding it poor and firing the translator?
I have not found such an episode in
[Vladimir Nabokov : The American Years] by Brian Boyd.

2. Are there similar anecdotes involving other authors?
I just read one about Alexander Pope, but it is not
quite what I've been looking for
(because the translator Pope hired was cheating).

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translation
>>> Comparison of a back-translation with the original text is
sometimes used as a check on the accuracy
of the original translation <<<

This makes sense in theory, but a translation would have to be
really poor for a back-translation check to be useful.
Was back-translation actually used by VN or someone else?

Thank you. HH

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