This post is inspired by a comment I left on someone’s post in another community talking about modernized vs literal translation. I love talking about The Stranger by Albert Camus and using it as an example of how much of a difference the translation makes!
The two most well known translations of this book are the Stuart Gilbert translation and the Matthew Ward translation. A lot of the time, Gilbert’s is recognized as the British English translation while Ward’s is recognized as the American English translation. (I want to take a minute to note that I have only read the Ward translation in full, and only excerpts of the Gilbert translation.)
There are two really important differences between their translations that I’ve seen people recognize. The first, being the use of “Mother” vs. “Maman,” and the second being the order of words and word choice.
When it comes to using “Mother” vs. “Maman,” it shows a different style of relationship that Mersault has with his mother. “Mother” is much more formal, whereas “Maman” is not too formal, yet also not too casual. However, it’s hard to translate “Maman” into any English equivalent in the context of this book, because it is the perfect middle ground between “Mother” vs. something like “Mommy.” It also captures the essence of the original text and puts a specific emphasis on their detached relationship and the type of care he holds for his mother.
As for word choice and order of words, the Matthew Ward translation (as you’ll see below) is much more literal to the French text. He uses the exact translation of the text, whereas Stuart Gilbert puts a spin on it that makes it fit the English language more fluidly. However, I would make the argument that in this particular book, the writing isn’t about fluidity, but rather converying the concept of absurdism and how it applies to Mersault, in the detached way that absurdism can reflect on real life. (Not sure if that makes perfect sense, but I’m trying my best!)
The example I want to take a moment to share is the opening lines:
Original French: “Aujourd’hui Maman est morte. Ou peut-être hier, je ne sais pas.”
Stuart Gilbert: “Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure.”
Matthew Ward: “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.”
When it comes to word choice and order, Matthew Ward’s is much closer to the depiction that Camus was trying to make in the first place compared to Stuart Gilbert’s.
So, yeah. I’m very curious to see if anyone else (especially people who have read the original French text) have any input on this. I find it very interesting to talk about and would love to discuss! Please let me know if I got any information incorrect (although most of this is opinion based rather than fact based).
Thanks for reading!
by sbucksbarista