Lost in Translation

This past weekend I spent some time in my second home (a.k.a. a book store) and did the usual browsing up and down the aisles. I veered into the books in Spanish section and noticed a title by an author I had just read in English.

I wondered ‘What book is this?’ I didn’t recognize this title as one I had seen in English by this same author. So I looked at the plot summary in the back and realized that this was in fact the same book I had read by this author in English.

However, the translated title just wasn’t the same as the one I had known. Why did they do that??

The book in English is called ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’. As far as titles go, it’s provocative and interesting. However, the title in Spanish was ‘The Man who Hated Women’. Ok so I hated this translated title for a couple of reasons.

1) Why would anyone want to read a book with the name ‘The Man who Hated Women”? I certainly wouldn’t even touch it.
2) The translated title actually gave away part of what the book is about.
3) The English title made you want to read it. The Spanish title made me want to vomit.

So I wondered if the translated title would be more interesting to a Spanish speaking audience. I didn’t conduct my usual sociological surveys but knowing Spanish and some Spanish speakers…as off-putting as a dragon tattoo might be, I would think they’d be more likely to read that than the story of a man who disliked women. Plus, Spanish speaking women are usually pretty pro-feminism even if they won’t admit it.

I guess all I can say is that sometimes things are lost in translation. Occasionally the nuances just don’t get across. In this case, it completely stinks!