There are too many versions of Franklin's autobiography. At present, these two versions are different from the earliest version I have seen, and even the contents of chapter sorting are different. I took time to read the first chapter at work, but when I came back to read the second chapter of Zhonghua Book Company, I couldn't connect. Looking at foreign languages, the most troublesome thing is to find a translator. Even the well-translated meaning can be reversed from the poorly translated meaning, and the language is not used to writing in China, so it is often difficult to understand. I really can't chew, I can't read the original English, and I dare not comment on the quality of translation. I just look at the translation by feeling. Poetry, in particular, feels completely different when translated, and sometimes it is self-preference. But big books really test translation skills.
But translation is actually a chore, and it is the hero who persists. A good translation breaks the platform for the translator and builds a bridge for the reader, as if it were crushing and reorganizing itself. Now, when I was in middle school, the Chinese teacher mentioned reading foreign languages. We read good books that we can't bear to put away. The translator's contribution is the greatest. He is actually a kind of re-creation, but readers only remember the original author, and few people remember who the translator is. If we read such a good book in the future, we must write down the name of the translator. I read a lot of books, but I also read the names of translators when I read them. Most of them are unknown or unknown in the translation circle, but in my opinion, the names are also very common and I have never remembered them. Today, I suddenly remembered what the teacher said, and I was a little ashamed.
In this translation at home, I think the translation of Franklin's inscription to his parents in the first chapter is catchy. In the field of translation, it seems impossible to be superstitious about authority. I think when writing reading notes, the translator should be written next to the author of the title.
Many times, we will say that if we learn English well, we don't need to translate, which is the best. These words are just self-deception. How many people really read the original English by themselves? In this era, it is admirable if there are still people like scholars who calm down and seriously translate foreign books that are not bestsellers. In China, most of the time, we criticize translation more than reading boring books. In fact, we can't read the original English, so we should criticize ourselves.