On Translating Hebel

Abstract

The 250th anniversary of Hebel's birth has been marked by this volume and other scholarly publications, and also in popular lectures and events, several of which were organized in Lörrach, the town where he spent some of the happiest years (1783–91) of his life. As part of this 'Hebeljahr' I was invited to talk in March 2010 in the Lörrach 'Hebelgymnasium' about my translation of his stories. What follows here is based on that talk which I called 'Wie der Hausfreund eine andere Sprache spricht'. There I recalled some of the challenges I encountered almost twenty years ago when I began the translation and the joys it has brought since then. I also sought to indicate what Hebel lost and gained in translation.