Death is a Woman

By Zetty Abbott

On my first day here I went right to registration like a good little newbie and was told  I was entitled to take two Discworld books.  They were in different languages and it got me thinking about translation and whether non-English speakers read in their native language or in English.

I spoke with people here from Germany, Denmark, Belgium and Spain and heard some interesting things.  In Spanish the concept of Death is feminine so in the early books Death was a woman, until Reaper Man, when that got changed.  Apparently the later translations are improving and this is because the Spanish publishers have hired the person who runs the Discworld fan website to assist or supervisor the new translations and the fans are able to put in their two bits as well.  It's a testament to the devotion of the fans and a smart move on the part of the publishers.

In German a trunk is called Truhe and is a feminine noun but I think we know our Discworld Luggage is male.  Nothing that destructive could be female, except maybe in Greek mythology.  So in the German versions of the book the definite article is avoided and the noun becomes a proper name.  Gee, that seems familiar.

I had heard that the Dutch translator has won awards for his work but the one Dutchman I met reads the books in English.

I myself  picked up a French version of The Light Fantastic and a Greek version of Wyrd Sisters.  The latter goes to my aunt who gave my Winnie-the-Pooh in Latin when I was ten years old.

It's clear that there are fans everywhere in Roundworld and even better that we all get to meet at conventions like this one.  I look forward to coming back to this magical world.