Is Transcribing Translating? You decide – Day 7

For the final day of reading in translation, I thought I'd try a completely different twist and consider if transcribing is translating?

I'm going to say yes, because I took a course on editing in grad school and we definitely had to transcribe and often translate as well as identify and define terms. I guess that fits within the definition of translation.

To that end, I read a few modern books with a twist of translation, focusing on transcription of what’s heard rather than written. They are all mysteries and thrillers which are one of my favorite genre.

Kate Atkinson – Transcription" features a WWII era spy for MI5 who listens in on British Fascist sympathizers. When she finds the spy ring is still active in the 1950s, she's bound and determined to take action. Here she's translating her skills learned as a spy to those as a civilian. What a twist! 

Hannah Morrissey's "Hello, Transcriber"pushes the envelope of my definition of translation. The flyleaf blurb describes the book as "a captivating mystery suspense debut featuring a female police transcriber who goes beyond the limits to solve a harrowing case."

Finally, I must ask the question "Do the Robert Langdon books by Dan Brown, including “The Da Vinci Code” count?" After all, Langdon must translate signs and symbols in this book and several others. Once he translates the clues, he must solve the crime and find the bomb or secret cult. 

 

Thanks for following me as I read in translation this week. I'll be back in August with a new series of posts about books.