I was moved by the original story of Emily and this episode has made me think about what senses in my life overlap with others. I am a carpenter and cabinet maker who is very near sighted. My sense of touch has replaced my vision in much of my work and I can quite literally see what I'm touching in my mind. This is not to say I'm exceptional, many, if not most, carpenters rely more upon their hands than their eyes to guide their way through space. I wonder what other trades and professions have this sort of sense-crossover. Bakers kneading dough? Potters making...pots. A musician translating the feel of a trumpet valve from the fingertips to the brain. Is this mild form of synesthesia perhaps something that makes us human?

The Translation podcast is one of your best! It was captivating. I was impressed how many different ways you were able to address the concept of translation. Thanks.

Good job.

Love this episode!!! but I don't really appreciate the last part where everybody was insulting in many languages! you should have said something before trowing the bomb! Some of the insults I didn't understand, but the ones in Spanish and Portuguese I did clearly. Just think about listeners of other countries who listen to the podcast with their little ones around, like me for example!.

Translation is for written materials going from one language to another, and for live, oral language it's interpretation. There are translators and interpreters and they are different positions for different skill sets.

Loved this episode (despite the Satie-for-Chopin substitution others have mentioned, too). I thought that the song translations were fascinating, not so much for the language but for the "translation" of many of them from major to minor. From a musical standpoint, that's actually a mis-translation, but fun to hear what it does to the mood of the songs.

Also, a quick note to the person who translated "I've Been Working on the Railroad" into German: Well done, though "Seilbahn" means "gondola" (as in "aerial tramway"), not "railway".

Can I just say Id like a download of all the songs sung in this piece? They were beautiful!!!!

Wait a minute! Thats not Chopin

Great language! One quick question: What language was Robert speaking during the spaces between segments? (Or was it just gibberish?)

A great episode but please break out the stories into the 8 distinct chunks w annotation. I have a science writer friend with synesthesia who would be particularly interested in that one segment and I would love to find out more about the "tongue eye"!

Here is a good article on the glasses used to help the mouth to help the brain see

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/device-lets-blind-see-with-tongues/

Only half-way through the episode, but the first segment bothered me. It seems at a certain point, he was interpreting the poem, and no longer translating it. Anyone else feel that way?

Any chance you have a list of titles for the 8 features that you could post?

This was a great podcast, up there with the Beethoven accelerated podcast, and I'd like to share it with a little structure.

Especially appreciated the inclusion of Hofstadter (his wife's and his mother's translations reminded me of Dr. Suess) and George Carlin's euphemism translations and, in that segment, that you brought in a counterintuitive argument instead of settling for easy agreement with George (much as I love him, RIP).

This link has the poem and a couple of variants, incl. Hofstadter's bad attempts.
http://www.clementmarot.com/MaMignonne.htm

Are the translated songs availablle somewhere, or where they made for the show? Awesome, tho. Great show. tnx

"Translation" could be the best episode ever of Radiolab. Each segment was meaningfully related to the theme and was profound and interesting in its own context.

You get an A for effort on that last song sung in Korean!
Your Korean listener loved it ;)

This was a fascinating podcast! And it was refreshing to hear some new stories about translation. As someone who works in the field, I must say, I loved it. Thanks so much for covering a profession that many people don't know about. One thing I did want to specify though, is that translators work with the written word, and interpreters work with the spoken word. An interpreter isn't necessarily a translators and vice-versa. They are actually very different professions, requiring very different skill-sets. There were some instances in the podcast when there seemed to be some confusion between the two. Here's an article that explains the differences:

http://theatacompass.org/2013/06/20/what-is-the-difference-between-translation-and-interpreting/

I really appreciated how clearly the first segment showed that in translation, particularly of literature such as poems, there is no correct answer and the product can take on many different forms depending on the translator.

Regarding the segment about the sign language interpreter, I was surprised that you kept referring to her as a "translator" and that she was "translating" the performance. Perhaps you were simply unaware of the distinction? Translation refers to written language and interpretation refers to spoken language. I feel it is important to recognize that distinction, because they are two very, very different professions and it is more respectful to the professionals involved to acknowledge that.

I found it intriguing, the search for an adequate translation of a French poem. I have a book of sonnets by Albert Mérat called L'Idole, in which he dedicates each writing to a specific portion of his lover's body. I imagine it's quite beautiful, but I have had the darnedest time getting it translated properly for the same reasons.
(fun tidbit side note: Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine spoofed this work with another sonnet about a specific body part that was left out of L'ldole)

When David Eagelman speaks about "the vest" his possible uses are soul-drainingly banal. Stock prices? The weather? Please tell me that if science invents a sixth sense it will be something we couldn't do on Prodigy in 1994.

How about sonar, IR vision, air quality, proximity to points of interest, or more realistically, celebrities or potential Tinder hookups?

Although it was a small comment I feel that something is lost when Rosalind Franklin is omitted from the discussion of DNA's discovery and understanding. Her stolen research is what Watson and Crick based all of their discoveries on. Rosalind Franklin lost her life for science and deserves at least some mention.

Thanks for reading!

Really enjoyed the musical translations in this episode, particularly the Arabic translation of "Amazing Grace".

The role of an interpreter, whether it be sign language or spoken language, is to convey the information without judgement or your own ideas of what is best for the client. If the sign language interpreter would have toned it down (therefore not matching the comedian's intention or tone), she would have been making a decision for the client based on what she thought was best for her. Then the client would have not been given the same experience as the other 14,000 people. It would ave been patronizing to the deaf person had the interpreter decided what the client could or could not handle instead of the client being able to make that decision for herself.

The role of an interpreter, whether it be sign language or spoken language, is to convey the information without judgement or your own ideas of what is best for the client. If the sign language interpreter would have toned it down (therefore not matching the comedian's intention or tone), she would have been making a decision for the client based on what she thought was best for her. Then the client would have not been given the same experience as the other 14,000 people. It would ave been patronizing to the deaf person had the interpreter decided what the client could or could not handle instead of the client being able to make that decision for herself.

Can you credit some of the translated american folk songs you played? Loved "You are my Sunshine" best! Thanks.

Please give us info on the website. I wanted to see that video that her mom made of her walking with the device.

keep up the good work.

Great episode!

(Quick note: when you introduce the part about "Chopin" at 13:38, that's Satie's Gymnopèdie no. 3 playing in the background...)

Wouldn't an episode on translation be the most difficult to translate?

Talk about first step is always the hardest.

Well I really like these guys.