6. Machine Translation Rises Again

Naomi S. Baron

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6. Machine Translation Rises Again

Naomi S. Baron
Naomi S. Baron

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81SI X Machine Translation Rises AgainThe book’s English title was The Bell in the Lake. Why did my Norwegian friend who recommended the book—and speaks impeccable English—keep re-ferring to it as The Bells (plural) in the Lake?Lars Mytting’s lyrical tale is set in the small southern Norwegian town of Butangen, in the late nineteenth century. The plot revolves around the town’s stave church, two bells hanging in its tower, and the people whose lives are shaped at the intersection. The church had been constructed in the 1100s, when Norway was starting its slow transition from belief in Odin and Thor to Christianity. To honor twin sisters who died sometime in the next few centu-ries, their father had commissioned construction of those two bells—made of bronze but with some silver, plus Norse magic blended in. Through turns in the nineteenth-century parts of the story, both bells ended up in a nearby lake. One bell was salvaged, while the other sank to the bottom.The pair was known as the Sister Bells, and the original Norwegian book title was Søsterklokkene. Plural.Anyone who reads books in translation knows that original titles often get changed. For the English rendering of Mytting’s earlier novel Svøm Med Dem Som Drunker (Swim with Those Who Drown), the name became The Sixteen Trees of the Somme, each version reflecting a different aspect of the story.What about the choice of bell or bells? “Bell” focuses on the point after which only one remained in the water. “Bells” (my Norwegian friend’s highly

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81SI X Machine Translation Rises AgainThe book’s English title was The Bell in the Lake. Why did my Norwegian friend who recommended the book—and speaks impeccable English—keep re-ferring to it as The Bells (plural) in the Lake?Lars Mytting’s lyrical tale is set in the small southern Norwegian town of Butangen, in the late nineteenth century. The plot revolves around the town’s stave church, two bells hanging in its tower, and the people whose lives are shaped at the intersection. The church had been constructed in the 1100s, when Norway was starting its slow transition from belief in Odin and Thor to Christianity. To honor twin sisters who died sometime in the next few centu-ries, their father had commissioned construction of those two bells—made of bronze but with some silver, plus Norse magic blended in. Through turns in the nineteenth-century parts of the story, both bells ended up in a nearby lake. One bell was salvaged, while the other sank to the bottom.The pair was known as the Sister Bells, and the original Norwegian book title was Søsterklokkene. Plural.Anyone who reads books in translation knows that original titles often get changed. For the English rendering of Mytting’s earlier novel Svøm Med Dem Som Drunker (Swim with Those Who Drown), the name became The Sixteen Trees of the Somme, each version reflecting a different aspect of the story.What about the choice of bell or bells? “Bell” focuses on the point after which only one remained in the water. “Bells” (my Norwegian friend’s highly

You are currently not able to access this content.

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Purchase Chapter PDF

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