The Literature, the Candy and the Translation

Have you ever heard of Turkish Delight? If you do, I bet you learnt that from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis! What exactly is a Turkish Delight though?

 

It is probably hard to tell from the text and picture, but it is a VERY sweet piece of candy, as if it were a solid cube of sugar.

In Lewis's words, it becomes delicious for any young (or hungry) readers:

"It is dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating," said the Queen presently. "What would you like best to eat?"

"Turkish Delight, please, your Majesty," said Edmund.

The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious. He was quite warm now, and very comfortable.

If looking at English doesn't make you hungry, look at the Chinese translation:

「亞當的兒子，只飲不吃是傻瓜，」女王過了一會兒說，「你最喜歡吃什麼東西呀？」
「土耳其軟糖，陛下。」愛德蒙說。
於是，女王又從瓶子裡倒出一滴東西滴到雪地上，地上立即出現了一個圓盒子，用綠絲帶紮著，把它一打開，裡面裝著好幾磅最好的土耳其軟糖。每一塊又甜又軟，愛德蒙從沒有吃過比它還要好吃的東西。他現在感到非常暖和，非常舒適。 

The most interesting note to make from a translator's perspective, of course, is the translation of the candy itself. It is almost impossible to tell from the English name that Turkish Delight is edible, because "Delight", as a noun, only means pleasure or something that gives pleasure. Literally, "Turkish Delight" is best defined as something from Turkey that gives pleasure, which can be anything actually. To be honest, when I first read Edmund's request, I was not sure what he is asking for. For a term that sounds problematic enough in English, how can the Chinese translators handle it?

土耳其軟糖, literally Turkish Soft Candy/Sweet, is less confusing than its English counterpart, because we can at least tell that it is a piece of candy. However, it can still be criticized for omitting the "delight", because soft candy does not always give pleasure.

CLASS REVISION TIME: Is the Chinese translation of Turkish Delight an attempt in localization or foreignization? Feel free to let us know by commenting here!

In the piece of reading which might have brought nightmares to you, discourse studies is mentioned. If you do not study English Linguistics, it may be another term that you don't want to know about. For those who are still interested, here is a bit information on what critical discourse analysts would do to the extracts we have just read:

Notice the words Lewis used to describe the Turkish Delight summoned by the White Witch:
i) several pounds of the best Turkish Delight
ii) Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre
iii) never tasted anything more delicious

and the effects on Edmund - quite warm now, and very comfortable

Know that it is the discourse that is making you feel hungry as you read. Do you think you would be interested on the candy if those words are deleted or replaced by something else?

The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of Turkish Delight. Each piece was white and cubic and Edmund ate them. He was less cold now, and less uncomfortable.