Contribuții/Mesaje: 24
Limbă: English
sudanglo (Arată profil) 13 septembrie 2010, 22:12:46
It strikes me as most curious that the Esperanto translation followed only three years later in 1937 - which means probably that the translation was undertaken very soon after the original appeared.
Given the likely market for the Esperanto version at the time, it seems most implausible that any great sum was paid for the translation rights.
So Agatha Christie must either have been favourably disposed towards Esperanto, or must have wildly imagined massive sales if she agreed to a royalty only deal.
Anybody know the history here?
ceigered (Arată profil) 13 septembrie 2010, 23:12:30
But it does strike me as interesting how there was only a 3 year gap there, perhaps she was indeed a closet Esperantist, or maybe just someone with a minor interest in EO (so not so much that she was "in the closet" but more "loosely" interested).
LyzTyphone (Arată profil) 14 septembrie 2010, 01:30:07
erinja (Arată profil) 14 septembrie 2010, 02:29:36
Alciona (Arată profil) 14 septembrie 2010, 04:46:31
So she may not have been a fan of Esperanto. She may have just been a fan of money.
sudanglo (Arată profil) 14 septembrie 2010, 09:43:31
Lernolibroj have always had a greater market than romanoj, and I doubt the print run for 'Murdo en la Orienta Ekspreso' was very high.
I find it very difficult to imagine, given English mentality, that EPC just went ahead without some formal deal with Agatha Christie. It would be fascinating to know what that deal was.
Anyway, the whole thing sets one wondering as to how many really popular authors there are around today who would happpily grant, for a pittance, translations rights for an Esperanto version of one of their works.
It would be lovely to be able to read a bestseller in Esperanto, a few years after its appearance in English.
Incidentally, it is an interesting exercise to pick up the English original, imagine how some passage might be translated into Esperanto, and then consult the Esperanto version.
The Esperanto version is on the net as a pdf file. I found it easily by Googling and downloaded it - it takes up less than half a megabyte.
By and large the Esperanto translation is very smooth - more readable than the original English, which sometimes has a rather stilted spikey quality even when she (Agatha Christie) is not trying to reflect the peculiar English spoken by a French speaker.
3rdblade (Arată profil) 14 septembrie 2010, 10:09:34
Miland (Arată profil) 14 septembrie 2010, 10:47:58
sudanglo:It would be lovely to be able to read a bestseller in Esperanto, a few years after its appearance in English...That may be fine if the Esperanto translation is of good literary quality, and you enjoy the book. In general, however, in my view reading a whole book in Esperanto translation that is available in English is a waste of time, although selected passages may be useful for practice in translation, or learning useful patterns of expression. Reading original works in Esperanto is another matter, of course.
LyzTyphone (Arată profil) 14 septembrie 2010, 11:42:57
Miland:Hellosudanglo:It would be lovely to be able to read a bestseller in Esperanto, a few years after its appearance in English...That may be fine if the Esperanto translation is of good literary quality, and you enjoy the book. In general, however, in my view reading a whole book in Esperanto translation that is available in English is a waste of time, although selected passages may be useful for practice in translation, or learning useful patterns of expression. Reading original works in Esperanto is another matter, of course.
Non-English speaker here~
Miland (Arată profil) 14 septembrie 2010, 13:13:19
LyzTyphone:Helloyourself!
Non-English speaker here~
Indeed, your case is different. Esperanto translations may make available to you works which have not yet been translated from English into your first language.