Found in Translation

The One Who Catche s He arts
J. D. Salinger’s famous novel The Catcher in the Rye sold sixty-five million copies worldwide.
Like any popular book, it was translated into multiple languages, but its title was adapted in some
cases. In Sweden, it was called Savior in a Crisis (Raddaren i noden), while in Iceland, it was
Savior in the Grass (Bjargvætturinn í grasinu). The Danes went in another direction, translating it
as Damned Youth (Forbandede Ungdom), and in Hungarian it became a Sharpener of Oats
(Zabhegyezõ). In Spanish, it was rendered as The Hidden Hunter (El Cazador Oculto). In Dutch
there are three translations: Adolescent (Puber), The Catcher in the Grain (De vanger in het
graan), and New York’s Child Savior (De kinderedder van New York). And the most romantic
rendition? The Heart Catcher (L’attrape-coeurs). Leave it to the French.
Green Eggs and Ham Con Salsa
I do not like them,
Sam-I-am.
I do not like
green eggs and ham.
Achieving rave reviews is no easy feat for any book. This difficulty is
magnified for a translated book, and it’s even more dicey for a book that many
presumed to be one of the hardest-to-translate books of all. No, we’re not
talking about a religious manuscript or political treatise, a groundbreaking
scientific tome or avant-garde experimental poetry. We’re talking about the

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classic children’s books by Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss.
What makes these books so hard to translate? Any of the millions of fans
who grew up with them can tell you: Their succinct, peculiar, and unique poetic
rhythms; the many invented words and even letters; and the plays on words that
twist and turn until a new meaning simply pops out from the page.
Dr. Seuss’s sparkling and exciting language makes the story almost
secondary. The words themselves fizzle and sizzle, capturing our imagination.
Is that translatable? This became an essential question for Aida Marcuse, an
experienced children’s author and translator with more than fifty children’s
books under her belt.
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She was handpicked by an American publisher to
translate Green Eggs and Ham into Spanish for the U.S. market.
Aida plunged into the translation but became stuck almost immediately,
poring over the book, desperately trying to find a key to the rhythm of the text.
In her despair, she called her adult daughter, who had listened to her mother
read the book aloud to her as a child and who had gone on to become a poet
and a published children’s book author.
After a bit of reflection, Aida’s daughter shared a revelation: “Mom, the
keyword is Sam, because it rhymes with ham. In Spanish we need a name that
rhymes with jamón. How about Ramón?” Thus Sam I am became Juan Ramón.
With this cornerstone in place, it took Aida all of four hours to translate the
rest of the book. As sometimes happens, the translation simply flowed from
there with everything falling naturally into place, even Dr. Seuss’s quirky
words and odd rhythms. “With the keywords in my hand,” Aida said, “it all felt
natural.” And she knew she could make it work for Spanish-speaking readers.
Her readers agree. Up to the present day, they have bought more than
150,000 copies of Huevos verdes con jamón. The reviews are ecstatic, raving
overwhelmingly about the success of Aida’s translation rather than about the
book itself.
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Building on this initial success, Aida went on to translate other
Dr. Seuss books. However, two of these—Oh, the Places You’ll Go! and The
Lorax—proved to be far less magical labors. In fact, they took her more than a
year to translate.
The difference? Unlike Green Eggs and Ham, these two books, written by an
aging, perhaps less inventive Dr. Seuss, didn’t send Aida off on a rhythm- and
language-based whirlwind. They lacked a key that would unlock the secret.
Instead, the translations required intense mental effort to coin new terms and
create new language, all with a young audience in mind that is no less critical
than their adult counterparts. One test reader, the six-year-old bilingual
granddaughter of Aida’s friend in the United States, read one of the translations
aloud to Aida. Aida noticed that the girl hesitated as she read two terms, so she

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asked whether she actually knew the terms—the terms were tientan (tempt) and
ni por asomo (no way), both common terms but not familiar enough for
bilingual Hispanic kids growing up in the States. “Well,” was the answer, “I do,
but I don’t really know what they mean.” So Aida went back to the text again,
rewriting for clarity as well as cadence.
According to Aida, successful children’s book translation is having children
“read it to you and look at their eyes and look at their response. This is how
you can know whether you’re successful or not.” And whether it’s produced by
one afternoon’s inspired creative flow or months and months of intense
intellectual effort, Aida has found a successful formula, indeed.
¡Me gustan mucho,
mucho, mucho,
los huevos verdes con jamón!
¡Gracias, gracias,
Juan Ramón!