Some remarks on fidelity under the pretext of translations of a Chinese poem

Abstract

In this article, we show, based on a comparative analysis of Hungarian and English translations of a four-line ancient Chinese poem, that a translation can be inaccurate even if it is linguistically correct, i. e. the lexical content of the two poems is identical, or at least largely similar. The obstacles to translation are primarily cultural rather than linguistic, and this is particularly the case when the translator is trying to mediate between two cultures that are different in every respect. The radically different mentalities, world views, traditions, religious and cultural connotations of Western (European) and Eastern (Chinese) cultures are almost impossible to eliminate or compensate for by linguistic means alone.