Candide, a book of satire of which the author, Voltaire, criticizes the thoughts of people and the ways of life in the world during the early 1700’s, has been translated by different people. Since the original book was written in French, this work of art needed to be translated so the people of other languages could understand the composition. Translators Lowell Bair and Donald M. Frame put a significant amount of effort in interpreting the humorous woven tapestry of Candide. But, because translations can never be exactly the same depending on how the interpreter wants to rewrite the piece, translations seem to have slightly different meanings. Through differences in diction, syntax, and position of emphasis, the use of Irony is more effective in Frame’s translation than Bair’s translation causing Frame’s translation to be more humorous.

The two translations of a quote in Candide are as written:

Candide, having served in a Bulgar regiment, went through the Bulgar drills in front of the general of the little army with such grace, speed,

skill, pride and agility that he was placed in command of a company of infantry. (Bair 40)

After reviewing the evidence, Frame’s translation of a quote in Candide is seen as more humorous than Bair’s translation due to the effectiveness of irony. This concluding remark is true because Frame uses concision and a position of emphasis, which naturally makes the translation very humorous. In the world today, there are many statements that people have feelings about. When giving a statement or opinion, one needs to be aware that people may interpret the meaning differently and if the statement is meant to be humorous, people may not deduce the statement to be humorous. Different elements change the perceptions of such statements making the comments either humorous or not humorous.

To begin with, there are differences in diction or word use between both translations. In Bair’s translation, Bair uses “went through” in describing the Candide’s demonstration of the Bulgarian drills. Frame, on the other hand, uses “performed.” “Performed,” which is only one word, is more

Some topics in this essay:
Donald Frame, Candide Candide, frame’s translation, bair’s translation, position emphasis, translation humorous, quote candide, irony effective, infantry company, effective frame’s translation, syntax position emphasis, frame’s translation humorous, skill pride agility, little army grace, pride agility, army grace, placed command,