Claire
asked
Ann Leckie:
Hello. I wondered if you were aware of the fact that in the french translation of Ancillary, Breq is male ? The translator (a guy btw), made Breq speak using male pronouns and epithets about herself...himself... Were you consulted on that matter ? Did they (the french editor) made Breq male so as to sell more books ?
Ann Leckie
No, I was not aware of that.
Some translators will contact me to ask me what my intentions were about particular things, and sometimes tell me cool things about how their own language poses problems that English wouldn't (for instance, some languages gender verbs, so that sentences were I could totally avoid referring to a character's gender in English, that's not possible in some languages).
Some I never hear from, just sometimes a copy of the translation will eventually turn up in the mail--which I can't read, because I have only some badly-remembered high school Spanish and a bit of German, which I took in college, but neither is enough to do more than say "hello, thank you, where's the bathroom."
I have no idea why the translator would have made such an inexplicable choice.
EDITED TO ADD: Some folks have taken a look at a few pages of the French edition for me, and it appears that the translator has actually done something kind of interesting, though I might for various reasons quibble with it. He appears to use masculine forms for ships--because ship in French is masculine, apparently? I know not. But.
Breq refers to people in the feminine unless she's speaking a non-Radchaai language. But ships appear to be referred to in the masculine, and she refers to herself this way, which, if the translator is using the masculine to stand in for the English "it" would make a good deal of sense.
So if that's what was happening, I'm not to worried about it, it's an interesting choice. I would feel differently if Breq was gendering characters throughout the book, or if, say, Seivarden were referred to with masculine forms throughout the book, which doesn't appear to be what's going on.
EDITED AGAIN TO ADD Here's a really interesting comment by someone who has read the French translation. http://sigaloenta.tumblr.com/post/141...
I am even more convinced that the French translator did some really interesting things with pronouns and I'm perfectly happy with what he's done.
Some translators will contact me to ask me what my intentions were about particular things, and sometimes tell me cool things about how their own language poses problems that English wouldn't (for instance, some languages gender verbs, so that sentences were I could totally avoid referring to a character's gender in English, that's not possible in some languages).
Some I never hear from, just sometimes a copy of the translation will eventually turn up in the mail--which I can't read, because I have only some badly-remembered high school Spanish and a bit of German, which I took in college, but neither is enough to do more than say "hello, thank you, where's the bathroom."
I have no idea why the translator would have made such an inexplicable choice.
EDITED TO ADD: Some folks have taken a look at a few pages of the French edition for me, and it appears that the translator has actually done something kind of interesting, though I might for various reasons quibble with it. He appears to use masculine forms for ships--because ship in French is masculine, apparently? I know not. But.
Breq refers to people in the feminine unless she's speaking a non-Radchaai language. But ships appear to be referred to in the masculine, and she refers to herself this way, which, if the translator is using the masculine to stand in for the English "it" would make a good deal of sense.
So if that's what was happening, I'm not to worried about it, it's an interesting choice. I would feel differently if Breq was gendering characters throughout the book, or if, say, Seivarden were referred to with masculine forms throughout the book, which doesn't appear to be what's going on.
EDITED AGAIN TO ADD Here's a really interesting comment by someone who has read the French translation. http://sigaloenta.tumblr.com/post/141...
I am even more convinced that the French translator did some really interesting things with pronouns and I'm perfectly happy with what he's done.
More Answered Questions
heartmint
asked
Ann Leckie:
It's implied in Ancillary Sword that nuclear families and unrequited love (and therefore strict monogamy) are not really things that the Radchaii concern themselves with. Could you elaborate a bit on that? Are romantic/sexual relationships generally casual? Are there usually more than two adults raising children together?
Speeth
asked
Ann Leckie:
Hi Ann Leckie! Why is "Awn Elming" in the Roman script on the memorial pins? Can I take this to mean that the official script of the Radch is the Roman, and that Radchaai uses the same alphabet as English? Are the Radchaai names we've seen written in the book actually written as they would appear on Radchaai documents? ...or did you decide it was best to print "Awn Elming" on the pins as it appears in the books?
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