Emily Wilson's 'Odyssey' became a cultural flashpoint. Now, she’s retranslating the whole thing
- Emily Wilson is re-translating her 2017 translation of 'The Odyssey', stating it will be a complete retranslation, not a revision.
- Wilson's original translation was the first major English-language version of the epic by a woman and became a bestseller.
- She aims to address flaws in her previous work, such as the overuse of the term 'slave' for different categories of enslaved people in ancient Greek.
- The new edition will be longer and better reflect the differing social worlds of Homer's poem.
- Wilson's decision to retranslate has been described as controversial, and her publisher believes her new approach will be exciting.
Emily Wilson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is re-translating her 2017 translation of 'The Odyssey'. She emphasizes that this will be a complete retranslation rather than a revision of her earlier work, which was the first major English-language translation of the epic by a woman and gained significant popularity.
Wilson notes that her translation methods have evolved, and she has identified flaws in her previous work, such as the overuse of the term 'slave' when translating ancient Greek terms related to different categories of enslaved individuals. The new edition is expected to be longer and to better capture the diverse social contexts present in Homer's poem.
Her decision to undertake this retranslation has sparked controversy, particularly among educators who may find it challenging to have two recent editions by the same translator. However, her publisher has expressed enthusiasm for her new approach, suggesting it will be a thrilling development in her ongoing engagement with 'The Odyssey'.
艾米莉·威尔逊的《奥德赛》成为文化焦点。现在，她正在重新翻译整个作品
艾米莉·威尔逊是宾夕法尼亚大学的教授，她正在重新翻译她2017年的《奥德赛》。她强调这将是一次完整的重新翻译，而不是对早期作品的修订，早期作品是第一部由女性翻译的主要英语版本，并获得了显著的知名度。
威尔逊指出，她的翻译方法已经发展，她发现了之前作品中的缺陷，例如在翻译古希腊语中与不同类别奴隶相关的术语时过于使用“奴隶”一词。新版本预计将更长，并更好地捕捉荷马诗歌中存在的多样社会背景。
她重新翻译的决定引发了争议，特别是在教育工作者中，他们可能会发现拥有同一翻译者的两个最近版本具有挑战性。然而，她的出版商对她的新方法表示热情，认为这将是她与《奥德赛》持续互动中的一个令人兴奋的发展。