From Lost in Translation by Eva Hoffman

 4/17

335

From Lost in Translation by Eva Hoffman

The words Eva Hoffman used in Poland were not just spoken, they were felt (388). She describes the word “river” in Polish sounding like a literal river and that meaning resonating deep within her (388). Now, in Canada, language feels empty and less meaningful. She doesn’t just wish to translate words, but feel all of them and experience what she says. “When my friend Penny tells me that she’s envious, or happy or disappointed, I try laboriously to translate not from English to Polish but from the word back to its source, to the feeling from which it springs” (388). Hoffman believes the English language is below her. English and the ways of the Canadians are empty, awkward, and unsophisticated (387). Polish is only used when Hoffman has deeper conversations with herself to add the life and color English has stripped away (388). 

It is easy to spot Hoffman’s intelligence while reading. Because of her hardships and burdens, Eva had to grow up very fast (392). She doesn’t try to be someone she isn’t and instead holds her head up high. Despite the barriers, she finds pride in language and to her it is a form of art (397). If she wishes to be taken seriously, then she will use serious language, and one day use her intelligence to escape the people who offend her by their misuse of the spoken word (397). 

One thing I like about Hoffman’s unique writing is the way she describes the movement of words. Words are not just spoken to her; they “float” and “slip off” or “hook on” and “stick” (389). The way that words move and feel to Eva makes them become almost living beings in the eyes of the reader. This almost unconsciously forces the reader to place a new significance on language, which is what Hoffman intends. The reader wishes to see and feel the words they hear now, and wonders if they are missing a whole new world of language waiting to be discovered.