Literary translation is often contrasted with technical translation, and, unlike the latter, literary translation has some peculiarities.

The first and the most obvious is the absence of literality – literary texts allow loose translation, where accuracy may often be neglected, unlike technical texts, which are all about the accuracy.

The second important characteristic is determined by the peculiarities of the text itself. Here a translator has to deal with phraseological units, which cannot be simply translated – they have to be replaced by the equivalents from the target language. Besides that, there is often a play on words, a specific kind of humor, which cannot be translated. In this case a translator has to play with words to deliver the comedy. Play on words is one of the most complicated problems while working with literary texts.

The third peculiarity of literary translation is directly linked to the personality of a linguist. Truthfully, mastering literary translation takes a specialist with literary talent. It's not the accurate details that count (sometimes they don't matter at all), but the feeling that the reader gets from the translated text, the images it provokes.

Today literary translation is not limited to literary works. It also includes translation of publicistic articles, newspaper materials, texts for magazines, media and Internet. There is continuous exchange of information in different languages, hence the need for such translation.

Some might say that the translation of fiction is not the same as translating a publicistic article.

True. But speaking of translation, there are similar goals and issues the translator is facing. And the result of such work in both cases depends not only on translator's expertise and knowledge, but also on their literary talent.

Literary translation rates

We offer attractive prices for literary translation. For instance, a standard page of translated from English text is only 230 rubles and 630 rubles for Chinese. For details on other languages please go to Our Prices.

Or, get a sample translation for —
free!