Re: CHAT: Hello

On Mon, 30 Apr 2001, Andreas Johansson wrote:

> Irina Rempt wrote:
[the UN declaration of human rights]

> Culturally neutral? Well I guess I agree that the UN declaration
> isn't culturally neutral (which's as it should be IMHO - in order
> to be acceptable to all it would have to say nothing)
That's true.

> but where to found a text that's culturally neutral? It'd have to
> on something that can't possibly construed as having any bearing
> whatsoever on any kind of "values".
I don't mind that it expresses values, I just don't want to impose
those values on Valdyan (and, by transference, the culture it springs
from), for the same reason that I don't want to translate anything
from the Bible. It's not the *same* culture, and not even a
*compatible* culture.

> But how does a lack of "cultural neutrality" make something bad as
> an translation exercise?
Not bad as such, but bad to translate into languages of cultures that
clash with the values expressed in it. I was much better off
translating the play about the god who lived on the moon, or the text
about the people desecrating the temple of Vlami, because that's a
frame of mind that Valdyans can get their thinking around.

> Translating, for example, the UN declaration of human rights into
> some language surely doesn't mean you agree with its content.
No; but I'm afraid that, because Valdyan has no "counterweight"
speakers apart from me, it will be influenced too much by a culture
alien to it.

> PS I don't think "heavily biased" is the correct term. It's more of a
> mission statement for the democratic-liberal wing of western culture.
Isn't that a heavy bias?

   Irina

--
           Varsinen an laynynay, saraz no arlet rastynay.
irina@valdyas.org (myself)     http://www.valdyas.org/irina/valdyas