南向き翻訳事務所 岩渕デボラ ブログ

Here in the hinterlands, we do get US and British shows on cable TV although there is no telling when they were made. We enjoy sorting out the time lines of actors who seemingly star in a number of series all at once. Which came first, “LA Law” or “Law and Order?” At the worst, we just sit and try to figure out what program we’re actually watching.

Back to the topic at hand, the episode of Bones we personally watched last night made a teeny tiny step in my territory. The whole Jeffersonian crew was at a funeral when Temperance Brennan (who has an Asperger-ish knack for speaking her mind without regard for the situation) announces that the deceased did not have a heart attack, but has indeed been murdered. Booth encourages her not to use the word “murder” at a funeral because it would upset everyone. He suggests using a code word–”translation” in its place.

Then, of course, the conversation takes off with emotional expressions of, “We’ve got to do something!  This is definitely a translation!”  and “How are we going to tell the widow that her husband has been translated?”  And so on.

It gave me time to think about my occupation. In this episode, is “translation” a synonym for “murder,” or perhaps an antonym? Previous to writing the script, had there been a discussion of a book that had been murdered in translation? Or was it the most benign verb they could think of to take the place and thus make the script funny?  These are questions I want answers to.

Probably questions only a translator would have.