Diction: Gigantic insect feels very far from human. Uneasy dreams does not have a very strong connotation
Syntax: seems like someone from the outside is narrating and does not feel very connected to Gregor
Imagery: Gigantic insect makes me think of a huge cockroach sleeping under a blanket
Structure: Sentence feels like a run-on
Other Notes: Gregor does not seem very afraid
#2:Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.
Diction: Giant bug doesnt sound quite as bad as the other translations. He sounds less ugly
Syntax: Makes it look like bad drams caused Gregory to wake up and then he noticed he was a bug
Imagery: The insect that I see in this translation is not nearly as menacing as the others. I think of a slightly larger than normal bug
Structure: straight to the point and descriptive
#3:When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.
Diction: Troubled and enormous have a very negative connotation. Almost feels dark.
Syntax: The syntax used makes the bed seem like a place where a horrific atrocity occured
Imagery: I think of someone waking up from a bad nightmare and see a huge ugly bug in the bed.
Structure: Makes this excerpt look like a moment of realization for Gregor.
Other Notes: Reminds me of a night terror or something of the sort
#4:One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.
Diction: Agitated dreams give me a feeling of stress/anger. Monstrous vermin sounds like a disgusting rat
Syntax: The pauses add dramatic effect and contribute to the horrific tone
Imagery: I see a person waking up very annoyed and then realizing that they are a giant dirty sewer rat
Structure: lots of pauses that make the reader stop and think about the sentence more in depth
Other Notes: I think this translation has the strongest effect out of all of them
The word choice in each one of these different translations affects the overall meaning of the sentence. The first translation seems to be more oriented towards making the reader picture the situation. By making it in present tense, the reader sees the situation playing out while they read the sentence. This serves to strengthen the bond between the novel and the reader and leaves less room for interpretation.
The second translation seems to have the purpose of just retelling a story. There are no dramatic effects or connotations, the author just presents the information directly. I believe that the author is trying to make the reader interpret ideas more so than just stating them. By giving the bare minimum description, it is up for interpretation by the reader to fill in the gaps.
The third translation is where we start to see a different meaning among the translations. By changing the phrase "uneasy dreams" to "troubled dreams" the reader now knows more about Gregor. When I was reading this translation, I had the feeling that Gregor did something wrong which is why he was troubled. When reading the first two translations, it seemed that Gregor had turned into a bug out of coincidence but when reading the third one, I got the feeling that he was being punished for something he did. I think the meaning of the third translation is that Gregor did something wrong.
The final translation has the strongest connotation out of all of them. It uses words like agitated and monstrous which paint a vivid picture in the reader's head. The author even goes as far as changing out the term "insect" or "bug" for "vermin".This change has a drastic effect on the sentence, because instead of seeing a creepy crawler insect, I saw a dirty rat. I think the meaning of this translation is to portray what Gregor had become in a more negative way. This translation almost makes Gregor's new form seem gross and unappetizing. Perhaps the author does this because Gregor has done something that he shouldnt have.
I believe that the most effective translation would be the third one. The reason I think this is because it uses the most powerful imagery, and yet it still sticks to the idea that Gregor has become an insect. It fills in some of the gaps that the reader has but it still leaves some places open for interpretation. The way that it is written makes it seem mysterious and I believe that this translation engages the reader the most.
Translating texts will never be 100% perfect. Due to language barriers, you will always be losing some of the meaning of the text when you translate it. Some languages do not have the same ways of expressing emotions, and this can be lost in the translation. Although different translations can make the sentence seem more or less extreme, I do not believe that it is necessary to dwell over one word in a translation. As long as the main ideas are able to be translated and loss of meaning is minimized, I think translation can still be effective. If a sentence is completely changed when translated, I believe that too much has been lost to be able to analyze the translated version.
