Found in Translation 5: influenced

English is an influential language. One of the first English lessons teaches that every sentence must have a noun, especially a personal pronoun. This is not so in other languages. For example in Bulgarian, or in Italian, a personal pronoun is not needed if the person or thing in question is known. So phrases as “went away,” or “is all that remains” make perfect sense in those languages.

Unfortunately, non-native English speakers, in a face-to-face situation often forget the “one of the first English lessons.” That happened many times to me too. In those situations, I would notice that my interlocutor would concentrate his or her sight on my face or lips, with the wondering expression, “say what?”. Good, I’d think. I got their attention. Now let me put that personal pronoun, which will make you understand your own language for my own benefit.

English is influential. Last year, when I went back to my country for the winter break, I read some new to the Bulgarian market books translated for the reader’s convenience from English. The passages were full of “He”s, “We”s, “You”s, which made the readings pretty bumpy (actually unpretty but bumpy.) The translators definitely must have been influenced. I did not have the chance to stare at their faces or lips with the “say what?” expression. But I started to wonder if they were just overdoing it, or the language was changing due to historical accidents. And I don’t justify a historical accident because of a cheap translator. Or maybe the editors have used a chip translator?

The real mess happens when foreigners start experimenting with the positions of the various prepositions. You should have seen the face of the little old lady, who is a friend of mine and a proud owner of a portable poodle named Bouclé, when I told her what I meant as a compliment “Oh, Bouclé seems grown.” “She is not supposed to grow anymore. How I can carry her otherwise? Oh, you mean ‘grown up”, right?” Up or down, who cares? That influence confuses me. I learned that one can grow up, but cannot grow down -- that’s unnatural. On the other hand, one can get up, get down, and get off—these are natural but illogic. Or, it is a different kind of logic that non-natives must learn.