Metamorphosis. Metamorfóza. Metamorfosi. Ebomini. Metamorfozė.

In 1915 the German writer Franz Kafka published his novella: Metamorphosis. This novella tells the story of Gregor Samsa, who awakes one morning to find himself transformed into a large and grotesque insect. Though the cause of the transformation is never revealed, the novella focuses on Samsa's struggle to adjust to his new identity. Franz Kafka published Metamorphosis in German, and throughout the 1920s and 1930s his work was subject to many translations. The original text, Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer verwandelt, was translated in to four main English versions. I will attempt to dissect each of the English translations and examine their diction, syntax imagery, details, structure, and any other stylistic or figurative elements.



#1:As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

This translation seems to be more direct from German to English in that it does not account for English syntax or sentence structure. To make this sentence flow better, there should have been a semicolon or period in between 'dreams' and 'he'. There are three distinct diction choices in this translation, the words uneasy, transformed, and gigantic. Uneasy connotes a teetering between positive and negative, so they characterize Samsa's dream as partly negative rather than nightmares. Transformed implies a large and significant change, which seems to be more true the story than a choice such as changed. The word gigantic aptly describes the size of the bug Samsa has become, but does not provide much by way of imagery. These word choices help to create a matter-of-fact tone, but the syntax makes the sentence structure feel poorly constructed and awkward to an English speaking audience. 

#2:Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.


This translation is much shorter than the previous one, leading me to believe that it is more direct and does not concern itself with details such as where Samsa woke up. Something very interesting about this translation is the changing of the main character's name from Gregor to Gregory. Gregor is a more traditionally German name than Gregory, so this change may have been made to make the main character of Kafka's novel seem more relatable to an American audience. This translation also describes Samsa's dreams as uneasy to the same effect, but uses the word changed instead of transformed. Changed is an understatement for the kind of metamorphosis that Samsa has been through, and does not convey a feeling of real transformation to the audience. The phrase giant bug encounters a similar problem to the word changed in that it is an understatement of the brevity of the situation. Giant bug seems too casual, too colloquial, to be a terrifying change. #3:When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning, he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.

This translation is not perfect, but it seems to be the best overall. While not as succinct as the previous translation, it has a very coherent and pleasing sentence structure. The main diction choices in this translation are transformed, troubled, and bug. I agree that transformed is the best way to communicate the change Samsa has undergone, and I could see the argument for the word troubled to describe his dreams, I do not support the decision to use the word bug. A bug does not inspire fear nor does it aid in the translator's creation of a dramatic tone.

#4:One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.

This fourth translation seems to be the most different overall. It contains the most commas and clauses, and seems to be the longest translation. It would have been better for this translator to split his or her thoughts into two sentences as opposed to mashing all of this together. The most significant diction choices made by this translator are agitated, monstrous, and vermin. Agitated does not seem to aptly describe the nature of Gregor Samsa's dreams, because agitated implies angry and the dreams are more likely troubled or uneasy. I agree completely with the choice to use the word monstrous when describing what Samsa was transformed into, however the word vermin is not specific enough to specify that he is an insect (rats, raccoons, and opossums can be considered vermin as well).

Syntax, sentence structure, punctuation, and diction all have huge effects on how meaning is created in each of these sentences. Simple word choices such as adjectives to describe what Gregor Samsa was transformed into completely change how the premise of the entire novella is framed. When translating from another language into English, it is important to consider not only the direct translation but also what will resonate with the audience the most. It is because of cultural differences in the significance of specific words or phrases that a translator has to take some creative liberty with the translation to get the original authors message across the same way it would have been communicated to its original audience. Each translation has a different effect on how the reader understands it, so it is best to keep a translation concise. Good translations don't overcomplicate or oversimplify. The point of this exercise in evaluating translations is to show us that diction and stylistic choices have a huge impact on how a reader understands a text, and that translation requires a comprehensive understanding of both language's grammar and diction.