The Energy Of Mistakes

Not all translation mistakes are equal

Translators are commonly humiliated by critics for their apparently endless “mistakes”. 

Interestingly, there are some mistakes which do not harm, but on the contrary, can develop myths which render the text more successful in a target language.

One of the most famous examples can be found in the story of Cinderella. Surely, her shoes would not have gone down in history if they were made of common skins. In the original story of Cinderella the material of her shoes was described as something like “precious skins” (“vair”) which had been translated into “verre” (“glass”) and again into “crystal”. This is, perhaps because glass shoes would not have been safe or precious enough.
This effect of this is twofold: our entire idea of Cinderella came from a mistake, and secondly, this shows the strong effect a mistake can have. Certainly the translator or the people who elaborated the story could not have imagined how successful the image of a crystal shoe could be. However, this mistake in translation led greater gains. If the shoes were made of common skins, the symbol of richness, sophistication, luck, which the crystal represents, would not have been the same.

Mistakes during translation are the result of a mental process which expresses creation and in this case nothing but energy. The energy of this mistake still exists today. It was the writer, Viktor Šklovskij, who brought about the concept: “The energy of delusion” published in 2007, which was translated into Italian as “L’energia dell’errore”, meaning literally “The energy of the mistake”. This concept is rooted in my mind because of its positive connotation, compared to the monotony of perfection, which does not exist.
Not every mistake should be legitimated but some mistakes should at least be considered. We should ask ourselves why this mistake occurred. Not every error is due to distraction; it could be caused by a complicated mental process. It is seen as wrong only because of a prior belief or a mere presumption.
There are translators and interpreters who had been sued because of their mistakes. This shows they are not considered as human being, but as machines instead. We will never know if the original creator of Cinderella’s shoes was distracted, if he misread or simply made up a new kind of fashion shoes.
Our main problem as translators is to stick to the text and maintain its tone, register and style, but the price paid is high, as we are never happy and always frustrated. However, there are some moments in which we find a perfect solution, we have a sort of a fleeting enlightenment which makes us proud. That is the moment of creation, of energy originating from difficulties, from mistakes. A metaphor of life somehow. Since our childhood we are taught that you learn from your mistakes, so it is important to remember this example of energy coming out of a mistake and try to make the most of the mistake in terms of creativity. This is because there are errors that are worth it and maybe offer a greater success (with due caution and humility of course).

This article has been written by Veronica Menis, a young and talented translator and writer.