Video: “The Magic Mountain” and the “dissection of the soul”, a translator’s challenges
Shortly after its publication, Thomas Mann’s “The Magic Mountain” was translated into several languages. How does a translator approach the novel 100 years later? A short video provides answers.
Language changes with its historical, cultural, and technological background. Idiomatic expressions that were self-explanatory or commonplace 100 years ago may be misunderstood today.
Is “Domino” a game? Who is “external page Blue Henry”? And how to go about translating a term like “Seelenzergliederung” into English? “Der Zauberberg” was first published in English in 1927.
Simon Pare is currently working on a new translation in contemporary language. He visits Davos and Schatzalp: places that provided Thomas Mann with a wealth of real-world detail for his sanatorium novel.
The ETH Library accompanied Pare with a camera:
“The Magic Mountain” was published exactly one hundred years ago. We are celebrating this anniversary with a wealth of inspiring events and activities centred around Thomas Mann’s novel – at home and abroad, with films, readings and this year’s Thomas Mann Lecture with Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht. Learn more.