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by genjipress 2924 days ago
Agreed. There are multiple translations of de Assis's major works into English, and they are remarkably dissimilar, so that is a hint right there as to how the translation process is itself an art form. (My tastes guide me to the earlier translations, which are slightly less forensically precise but far more readable and musical to the ear.)
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"The translation process is itself an art form."

Without question. I have also read books in several different translations and it is remarkable how different they can be from each other. In his notes, one translator said there is no such thing as "translating" a book from one language to another, what you are really doing is rewriting the book in another language.