Dancing on ropes : translators and the balance of history / Anna Aslanyan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Aslanyan, Anna, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Translating and interpreting--Social aspects.

Translating and interpreting.

Translating and interpreting--Political aspects.

Physical Description:

263 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

London : Profile Books, 2021.

Summary:

Horizon-expanding tales of how translators altered the course of world events. Would Hiroshima have been bombed if Japanese contained a phrase meaning 'no comment'? Is it alright for missionaries to replace the Bible's 'white as snow' with 'white as fungus' in places where snow never falls? Who, or what, is Kuzma's mother, and why was Nikita Khrushchev so threateningly obsessed with her (or it)? The course of diplomacy rarely runs smooth; without an invisible army of translators and interpreters, it's hard to see how it could run at all. But though such go-betweens tend to be overlooked, even despised, the subtlest of them have achieved a remarkable degree of influence. Join veteran translator Anna Aslanyan to explore hidden histories of cunning and ambition, heroism and incompetence. Meet the figures behind the notable events of history, from the Great Game to Brexit, and discover just how far a simple misunderstanding can go.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Shaking the World

2. Comic Effects

3. The Arts of Flattery

4. Observation and Analysis

5. Treasures of the Tongue

6. The Sublime Porte

7. Infidelities

8. Precision Was Not a Strong Point of Hitler's

9. Little Nothing

10. The Last Two Dragomans

11. As Oriental as Possible

12. Fifty Per Cent of Borges

13. Word-worship

14. Journalation

15. Dealing with the Natives

16. Rectify the Names

17. The Obligation of the Competent Authorities

18. Alogical Elements.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781788162630

1788162633

OCLC:

1262179829