Posted on 08/17/2008 1:42:11 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
How many Americans know that when Obama had his bloviating screed "The Audacity of Hope" was translated into Indonesian - the title went from "The Audacity of Hope" to "Jihad: From Jakarta To The Whitehouse". The man is dishonest about his Islamic leanings. Check this our from An American expat Living in Indonesia:
When I first saw the recently released Indonesian translation of Barack Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming The American Dream", over here in Southeast Asia I was completely taken aback not only by the violent imagery in new title of the book, "Menerjang Harapan: Dari Jakarta Menuju Gedung Putih", but by the fact that it was not really a translation at all, but rather a completely different title than the original book.
A correct translation of the title of Obama's book would have been "Keberanian Harapan: Pemikiran Untuk Meraih Kembali Impian America" which translates into "Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming The American Dream". However, the title for the Indonesian translation of Barack Obama's book is "Menerjang Harapan: Dari Jakarta Menuju Gedung Putih" which translates into "Assault Hope: From Jakarta to the White House".
[...]
Why would the publishers drastically change the title of the book for the Indonesian translation and make use of such figurative language? Your guess is as good as mine, but it would seem that Barack Obama is quite interested with promoting himself in Southeast Asia as a crusader for the cause of Indonesia's Muslims.
Read it all .......most disturbing.
Yikes! And we knew he is dishonest.
Perhaps it’s just an innocent Engrish translation?
Didn’t read the whole thing, but wouldn’t the publisher be responsible for accurate translation?
They say the phrase "menerjang harapan" does not have a literal meaning in Indonesian, but implies something like "a massive storm of hope" or "a lunge of hope" or "tackling hope."
The Indonesian-speakers do agree with American Expat that "keberanian" would have been a better, more accurate, translation of "audacity."
(saw you posting at another thread)
The Indonesian language has far less words than the English language, considering this, who do you think would be better suited to give a more accurate translation? A native English speaker or a native Indonesian speaker?
Translation is a two-way task, not a one-way task. A native Indonesian speaker still needs to translate FROM Indonesian INTO English ~ ideally you would want someone with native proficiency in BOTH languages would you not? Given that, that is an impossibility, who do you feel makes the best translation?
Oh, I make no particular judgment regarding the Indonesian title. I think you are correct that there is, at the very least, grave cause for concern over the implications of the Indonesian title.
My critique was more against the liberties which the "Atlas Shrugs" website took:
... "The Audacity of Hope" was translated into Indonesian - the title went from "The Audacity of Hope" to "Jihad: From Jakarta To The Whitehouse".
That's a huge leap. Whatever "menerjang harapan" might mean, it's not the same as calling giving it the flat-out title "Jihad."
Because the phrase "audacity of hope" doesn't make a whole lot of sense in English in the first place, I can easily believe that "menerjang harapan" is a poor translation which conveys something different from the original.
What that something is would be better debated amongst persons who know Indonesian, starting with yourself.
A correct translation of the title of Obama's book would have been "Keberanian Harapan: Pemikiran Untuk Meraih Kembali Impian America" which translates into "Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming The American Dream". However, the title for the Indonesian translation of Barack Obama's book is "Menerjang Harapan: Dari Jakarta Menuju Gedung Putih" which translates into "Assault Hope: From Jakarta to the White House".
Americans in general have a propensity to think that a native speaker of a foreign language ultimately makes for a better translator. I don't agree... and these are the reasons why:
In this scenario, the Indonesian language has far less words than the English language, considering this, who do you think would be better suited to give a more accurate translation? A native English speaker or a native Indonesian speaker?
Translation is a two-way task, not a one-way task. A native Indonesian speaker still needs to translate FROM Indonesian INTO English ~ ideally you would want someone with native proficiency in BOTH languages would you not, which unfortunately is an impossibility.
Translation is not an exact science. There are many words in both English and Indonesian that have no counterparts.
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