{"id":3465,"date":"2016-12-04T21:43:01","date_gmt":"2016-12-04T13:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/2016\/12\/04\/fan_yi_shou_20161204\/"},"modified":"2016-12-04T21:43:01","modified_gmt":"2016-12-04T13:43:01","slug":"fan_yi_shou_20161204","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2016\/12\/04\/fan_yi_shou_20161204\/","title":{"rendered":"Trans\u00adla\u00adtion notes: Why is \u201cGunash Bun\u00adny\u201d trans\u00adlat\u00aded into \u201cGunash Bun\u00adny\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u7ffb\u8bd1\u624b\u8bb0\uff1a\u300a\u53e4\u7eb3\u4ec0\u5c0f\u5154\u300b\u4e3a\u4ec0\u4e48\u4f1a\u8bd1\u6210\u201c\u53e4\u7eb3\u4ec0\u5c0f\u5154\u201d\uff1f\"<\/a>
\n   
\nThe \u201cGunash Bun\u00adny\u201d pic\u00adture book tril\u00ado\u00adgy has recent\u00adly been reprint\u00aded. This series is one of my favorite trans\u00adlat\u00aded books, per\u00adhaps because the sto\u00adries of a father and daugh\u00adter grow\u00ading up togeth\u00ader remind me of myself and my daugh\u00adter. The final let\u00adter from the father, an old pen pal, to his daugh\u00adter was par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly mov\u00ading. I found an oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adty to write an email to the author, Mo Willems, to pay trib\u00adute to him and express my grat\u00adi\u00adtude.
\n   
\nThis series of books is also the one I\u2019ve dis\u00adcussed the most with edi\u00adtors of all my trans\u00adla\u00adtions. Through\u00adout the pub\u00adli\u00adca\u00adtion of the tril\u00ado\u00adgy and sub\u00adse\u00adquent reprints, I went through three dif\u00adfer\u00adent edi\u00adtors, each of whom repeat\u00aded\u00adly asked me, \u201cWhy is \u2018Gunash Bun\u00adny\u2019 trans\u00adlat\u00aded as \u2018Gunash Bun\u00adny\u2019?\u201d Or, more sub\u00adtly, \u201cCan \u2018Gunash Bun\u00adny\u2019 be renamed? Per\u00adhaps some\u00adthing more child-friend\u00adly?\u201d Each time, I had to explain the title from the begin\u00adning (of course, I also hope the pre\u00advi\u00adous edi\u00adtor has left behind some edi\u00adto\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal notes as a reminder). But I\u2019ve always been reluc\u00adtant to write a direct expla\u00adna\u00adtion (per\u00adhaps this explains Mo Willem\u00ads\u2019s deci\u00adsion not to explain the orig\u00adi\u00adnal title, \u2018Knuf\u00adfle\u2019). I believe read\u00aders would be hap\u00adpi\u00ader if they could find a sat\u00adis\u00adfac\u00adto\u00adry expla\u00adna\u00adtion them\u00adselves. And indeed, some read\u00aders have writ\u00adten to tell me about their chil\u00addren\u2019s amus\u00ading reac\u00adtions to read\u00ading.
\n   
\nBut it\u2019s almost been ten years since I trans\u00adlat\u00aded the first book, \u201cGunash Bun\u00adny.\u201d Per\u00adhaps it\u2019s worth giv\u00ading a few spoil\u00aders, which would be a dif\u00adfer\u00adent kind of fun.
\n
\n   
\nIn fact, when this book was first sub\u00admit\u00adted to the edi\u00adtor, there were two ver\u00adsions: \u201cGunash Rab\u00adbit\u201d and \u201cGnar\u00adfo Rab\u00adbit\u201d.
\n    Let\u2019s talk about the orig\u00adi\u00adnal Eng\u00adlish name first: Knuf\u00adfle
\nBun\u00adny. Knuf\u00adfle is a word that does not exist in Eng\u00adlish. It is like\u00adly derived from Dutch because the author Mo Willems\u2019 par\u00adents were Dutch immi\u00adgrants. They gave birth to Mo Willems in Chica\u00adgo short\u00adly after they immi\u00adgrat\u00aded to the Unit\u00aded States. When he was four years old, his fam\u00adi\u00adly moved to New Orleans, where he grew up. In the third book of this series, we see Tra\u00adcy go to the Nether\u00adlands to vis\u00adit her grand\u00adpar\u00adents. So is Knuf\u00adfle a word?It must be<\/b>What about Dutch? I\u2019ll talk about that lat\u00ader. But accord\u00ading to Dutch pro\u00adnun\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion, it should be pro\u00adnounced \u201cK\u2011nu-ffle,\u201d with a slight\u00adly stronger first \u201cK.\u201d That\u2019s about it. But if you think of it as Eng\u00adlish, the \u201cK\u201d is usu\u00adal\u00adly silent, like \u201cknife.\u201d
\n   
\nSo when decid\u00ading on the trans\u00adlat\u00aded title, we con\u00adsid\u00adered imi\u00adtat\u00ading the Dutch pro\u00adnun\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion. Ini\u00adtial\u00adly, we con\u00adsid\u00adered the trans\u00adla\u00adtion of \u201cGul\u00adliv\u00ader the Bun\u00adny\u201d, which obvi\u00adous\u00adly has a bit of the shad\u00adow of \u201cGul\u00adliv\u00ader\u201d, hop\u00ading to have such an asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion. But why were we not so keen on this trans\u00adla\u00adtion lat\u00ader? One of the rea\u00adsons is that this book (at least the first one) is aimed at chil\u00addren who are just learn\u00ading to speak (of course it can be com\u00adpat\u00adi\u00adble with upwards), and the asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion of \u201cGul\u00adliv\u00ader\u201d has no mean\u00ading to them. The more impor\u00adtant rea\u00adson is that we need to grasp where the focus of the sto\u00adry lies. After read\u00ading it over and over again, I am con\u00advinced that the focus of the sto\u00adry is on pro\u00adnun\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion \u2014 of course, this is super\u00adfi\u00adcial, and the deep\u00ader lev\u00adel is the leap in the child\u2019s growth, which is man\u00adi\u00adfest\u00aded by over\u00adcom\u00ading cer\u00adtain pro\u00adnun\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adties. This is how I explained it in an email many years ago:
\n
\n   
\nThe word \u201cknuf\u00adfle\u201d does\u00adn\u2019t exist in Eng\u00adlish. The author uses it pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly to point out that Eng\u00adlish chil\u00addren have dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty pro\u00adnounc\u00ading it, con\u00adfus\u00ading \u201cn\u201d with \u201cl,\u201d \u201cffle\u201d with \u201cgle,\u201d and \u201cpple.\u201d In Chi\u00adnese, how\u00adev\u00ader, the most com\u00admon mis\u00adpro\u00adnun\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtions for chil\u00addren learn\u00ading to speak are \u201ck\u201d and \u201cg,\u201d often pro\u00adnounced as \u201cd.\u201d They also have trou\u00adble dis\u00adtin\u00adguish\u00ading \u201cn\u201d from \u201cl,\u201d and, most ridicu\u00adlous\u00adly, \u201csh\u201d as \u201cj\u201d or \u201cx.\u201d There\u00adfore, \u201cknuf\u00adfle\u201d might have been pro\u00adnounced \u201cdulaji\u201d\u2014that\u2019s how the trans\u00adla\u00adtion came about.<\/b>
\n
\n   
\nLook\u00ading back today, I can under\u00adstand it bet\u00adter. Knuf\u00adfle is a \u201cweird for\u00adeign word\u201d in Amer\u00adi\u00adcan Eng\u00adlish, and there is a very impor\u00adtant prin\u00adci\u00adple in trans\u00adla\u00adtion: the \u201cequiv\u00ada\u00adlence\u201d prin\u00adci\u00adple.When a word is strange or dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to pro\u00adnounce in the source lan\u00adguage (espe\u00adcial\u00adly for small chil\u00addren), the word we trans\u00adlate into the tar\u00adget lan\u00adguage should also be as strange and dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to pro\u00adnounce as pos\u00adsi\u00adble.<\/b>\u2014\u2014Espe\u00adcial\u00adly when the effect of this pro\u00adnun\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion is an impor\u00adtant clue to the sto\u00adry.
\n 
\n  This word plays a cru\u00adcial role in the devel\u00adop\u00adment of the whole sto\u00adry. When Tra\u00adcy was anx\u00adious and could\u00adn\u2019t find the lit\u00adtle rab\u00adbit, she could\u00adn\u2019t pro\u00adnounce the sound of Knuf\u00adfle accu\u00adrate\u00adly. Look at the Eng\u00adlish, what sound did she make?
\n
\n 
\n  \u201cAggle flag\u00adgle Klab\u00adble!\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 
\n  \u201cBlag\u00adgle plab\u00adble!\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 
\n  \u201cWum\u00adby flap\u00adpy?!\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 
\n  \u201cSnurp.\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

    In Chi\u00adnese, the cor\u00adre\u00adspond\u00ading trans\u00adla\u00adtion is\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

 
\nArasi, Bale\u00adsi, bel\u00adly machine!<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n


\n  Brasi<\/span>
\nPalasi!<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n


\n  Dudu<\/span>
\nBal\u00adala\u00adji? !<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 
\nDu Na.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\u7ffb\u8bd1\u624b\u8bb0\uff1a\u300a\u53e4\u7eb3\u4ec0\u5c0f\u5154\u300b\u4e3a\u4ec0\u4e48\u4f1a\u8bd1\u6210\u201c\u53e4\u7eb3\u4ec0\u5c0f\u5154\u201d\uff1f\"<\/a>
\n    These trans\u00adla\u00adtions all cor\u00adre\u00adspond to \u201cGunash\u201d -
\n  The word \u201cgu\u201d could not be pro\u00adnounced, so it became \u201ca\u201d, \u201cba\u201d, \u201cbu\u201d, \u201cdu\u201d, \u201cpa\u201d, and \u201cdu\u201d;
\n  The \u201cna\u201d sound could not be pro\u00adnounced, so it became \u201cla\u201d, \u201cle\u201d, \u201cla\u201d, and \u201cna\u201d;
\n  Since the pro\u00adnun\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion of \u201cshi\u201d can\u00adnot be made, it becomes \u201cxi\u201d, \u201cji\u201d and \u201cji\u201d.
\n<\/p>\n

   
\nAt the end of the sto\u00adry, the child final\u00adly found it and sud\u00adden\u00adly relaxed com\u00adplete\u00adly, and then he could send out the words that he had found par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly dif\u00adfi\u00adcult.\u201cGunash Bun\u00adny\u201d!<\/b>\u2014\u2014At this moment, the child feels so accom\u00adplished! \u2014\u2014\u201cThis is the first word Tra\u00adcy learned to say.\u201d
\n   
\nJust imag\u00adine, if the name of the lit\u00adtle rab\u00adbit was just \u201cHug Bun\u00adny\u201d or \u201cFluffy Bun\u00adny\u201d, which is eas\u00adi\u00ader for young read\u00aders to pro\u00adnounce, where would this sense of accom\u00adplish\u00adment come from?<\/p>\n

\n   
\nOf course, the biggest draw\u00adback of the name Gun\u00adnash Bun\u00adny is that \u201cKnuf\u00adfle\u201d itself has no mean\u00ading. How\u00adev\u00ader, Knuf\u00adfle may have mean\u00ading in Dutch (though it\u2019s pret\u00adty cer\u00adtain it does\u00adn\u2019t in Eng\u00adlish either). Last year, I attend\u00aded an event in New York City and met a British trans\u00adla\u00adtor who has lived in the Nether\u00adlands for many years and pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly trans\u00adlates chil\u00addren\u2019s lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture from Dutch into Eng\u00adlish. I asked her if \u201cknuf\u00adfle\u201d was a Dutch word. She said there\u2019s no such word in Dutch, but there\u2019s a very sim\u00adi\u00adlar word, per\u00adhaps its ori\u00adgin: the Dutch word knuffel, which means hug\/cuddle. The Dutch pro\u00adnun\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion is slight\u00adly dif\u00adfer\u00adent, sim\u00adi\u00adlar to \u201cknuck\u00adle.\u201d So, while the mean\u00ading\u00adless\u00adness of \u201cKnuf\u00adfle\u201d itself isn\u2019t nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly inap\u00adpro\u00adpri\u00adate, it\u2019s not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly flawed. While trans\u00adlat\u00ading from Dutch to Chi\u00adnese might be flawed, trans\u00adlat\u00ading from Eng\u00adlish to Chi\u00adnese, if both are mean\u00ading\u00adless, why not?
\n
\n   
\nWhy did Mo Willems insist on cre\u00adat\u00ading a mean\u00ading\u00adless Eng\u00adlish word to embar\u00adrass Amer\u00adi\u00adcan chil\u00addren? I asked Leonard Mar\u00adcus about this, but he did\u00adn\u2019t have a defin\u00adi\u00adtive answer. He sug\u00adgest\u00aded it was more of a joke, some\u00adthing Williams was known for. I think that\u2019s a pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty. Amer\u00adi\u00adcan cul\u00adture appears to be very inclu\u00adsive, but chil\u00addren liv\u00ading there (espe\u00adcial\u00adly those from minor\u00adi\u00adty groups or for\u00adeign back\u00adgrounds) strive to look like every\u00adone else. Willems expe\u00adri\u00adenced sim\u00adi\u00adlar hard\u00adships as a child. Born to Dutch par\u00adents, his moth\u00ader \u201csur\u00adpris\u00ading\u00adly\u201d worked as a lawyer, mak\u00ading her some\u00adwhat of an out\u00adsider among her class\u00admates. So, I sus\u00adpect his cre\u00adation of the word \u201cknuf\u00adfle\u201d was also a form of revenge, though cer\u00adtain\u00adly a joke. This \u201crevenge\u201d is sim\u00adi\u00adlar to his pigeon, which pro\u00advokes end\u00adless \u201cnos\u201d because he grew up sur\u00adround\u00aded by them.
\n
\n   
\nOf course, I chose \u201cGunash Bun\u00adny\u201d with no inten\u00adtion of \u201crevenge\u201d. I just treat it as a pure joke on the lit\u00adtle guys.
\n
\n\"\u7ffb\u8bd1\u624b\u8bb0\uff1a\u300a\u53e4\u7eb3\u4ec0\u5c0f\u5154\u300b\u4e3a\u4ec0\u4e48\u4f1a\u8bd1\u6210\u201c\u53e4\u7eb3\u4ec0\u5c0f\u5154\u201d\uff1f\"<\/a>
\n    Final\u00adly, here is the \u201ctest feed\u00adback\u201d sent by a moth\u00ader:
\n<\/p>\n

   
\nTeacher Ajia, this is how my 1\u2011year-10-month-old son named this lit\u00adtle rab\u00adbit:
\n   
\nThe first retelling (not after I said it, but after I guid\u00aded him to remem\u00adber it): called \u201cGuna\u201d rab\u00adbit
\n   
\nSec\u00adond retelling: \u201cGunash\u201d Bun\u00adny
\n   
\nThe third retelling (a day lat\u00ader): \u201cPinoc\u00adchio\u201d Rab\u00adbit (per\u00adhaps influ\u00adenced by Pinoc\u00adchio) looked very proud of him\u00adself after he fin\u00adished telling the sto\u00adry.
\n   
\nI told him that this lit\u00adtle rab\u00adbit also has an Eng\u00adlish name, Knuf\u00adfle. You can call him Knuf\u00adfle Rab\u00adbit or Gunash Rab\u00adbit. What do you like to call him?
\n   
\n\u201cGunash Bun\u00adny!\u201d came the loud and cheer\u00adful reply.
\n<\/p>\n

Writ\u00adten in Bei\u00adjing on Decem\u00adber 4, 2016
\n    
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