--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I act as a translator, I am really…" description: "\"When I act as a translator, I am really doing a performance for my fellow Anglophone readers in the West.\" — Ken Liu" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/ken-liu-4222_act_when-i-act-as-a-translator-i-am-really-d_2208873.jpg" --- # When I act as a translator, I am really doing a… ![“When I act as a translator, I am really doing a performance for my fellow Anglophone readers in the West.” quote by Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/ken-liu-4222_act_when-i-act-as-a-translator-i-am-really-d_2208873.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/ken-liu-4222_act_when-i-act-as-a-translator-i-am-really-d_2208873.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/ken-liu-4222_act_when-i-act-as-a-translator-i-am-really-d_2208873.jpg) > “When I act as a translator, I am really doing a performance for my fellow Anglophone readers in the West.” [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Translating is a performance aimed at Western readers, shaping their experience. **In simple terms:** Translation is an act of performance for a specific audience. Key Takeaway Treat translation as a crafted performance. Themes translation performance culture audience Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary cultural When to use this quote - publishing - academic work - literary translation Key Concepts literary theory cross‑cultural communication Questions to Reflect On - How does performance affect fidelity? - What responsibilities do translators have? A Different Perspective May overlook original cultural nuances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act/) [Act Translator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-translator-4882626/) [Anglophone Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anglophone-readers-4882624/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Fellow Anglophone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellow-anglophone-4882625/) [I am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-am/) [Performance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performance/) [Translator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translator/) [Translator Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translator-really-4882623/) [West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west/) ## Related quotes > [“My goal is to act as a faithful interpreter, preserving as much of the original's nuances of meaning as possible without embellishment or omission.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/my-goal-is-to-act-as-a-faithful-interpreter-preserving-as-much-of-the/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [I see my role as a translator, telling the story that's in the book using the more visual language of film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/i-see-my-role-as-a-translator-telling-the-story-that-s-in-the-book/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [Please, never despise the translator. 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I think the task depends on the book and on the translator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idra-novey/what-is-the-task-of-the-translator-i-think-the-task-depends-on-the/) [Idra Novey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idra-novey/) > [I'm a good communicator, and I'm a good translator. I can talk to engineers; I can talk to people for whom technology is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/i-m-a-good-communicator-and-i-m-a-good-translator-i-can-talk-to/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [A translator is essentially a reader and we all read differently, except that a translator's reading remains in unchanging print](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-rabassa/a-translator-is-essentially-a-reader-and-we-all-read-differently/) [Gregory Rabassa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-rabassa/) > [I think that if you are sticking to the text, essentially, you're not trying to write your own version of it. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hunter/the-only-problem-was-that-i-couldn-t-communicate-with-dario-he-speaks/) [Kim Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hunter/) > [“Some poems survive it to become poems in another language,” he argued, “but others refuse to live in any language but their own, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/some-poems-survive-it-to-become-poems-in-another-language-he-argued/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [If a translation doesn't have obvious writing problems, it may seem quite all right at first glance. We readers, after all, quickly adapt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/if-a-translation-doesn-t-have-obvious-writing-problems-it-may-seem/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [The novelist's intuition for the sacred differs from the translator's interrogation of the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-novelist-s-intuition-for-the-sacred-differs-from-the-translator-s/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [the translator, a lonely sort of acrobat, becomes confused in a labyrinth of paradox, or climbs a pyramid of dependent clauses and has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/the-translator-a-lonely-sort-of-acrobat-becomes-confused-in-a/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## More by Ken Liu > [I don't believe in reducing a style and a voice down to a set of descriptions, so I've never done that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/i-don-t-believe-in-reducing-a-style-and-a-voice-down-to-a-set-of/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [People who are ambitious - politicians who crave power - think that they're in control of it, but at some point, the movement that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/people-who-are-ambitious-politicians-who-crave-power-think-that-they/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“My goal is to act as a faithful interpreter, preserving as much of the original's nuances of meaning as possible without embellishment or omission.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/my-goal-is-to-act-as-a-faithful-interpreter-preserving-as-much-of-the/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“It’s hard to hear the music behind the words when their meanings get in the way,” she told me once.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/it-s-hard-to-hear-the-music-behind-the-words-when-their-meanings-get/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [The 'silk' in silkpunk refers not to a source of power, but to an entirely different, expressive technology language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/the-silk-in-silkpunk-refers-not-to-a-source-of-power-but-to-an/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“A memory is a re-creation, precious because it is both more and less than the original.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/a-memory-is-a-re-creation-precious-because-it-is-both-more-and-less/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [Almost all of my stories can be understood to be elaborations on our drive to remake the world and our adjustments to the result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/almost-all-of-my-stories-can-be-understood-to-be-elaborations-on-our/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“Dad and I went on walking, our shadows touching.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/dad-and-i-went-on-walking-our-shadows-touching/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“I can only wish that someday you’ll also be pestered by a student as persistent to learn what you do not wish to teach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/i-can-only-wish-that-someday-you-ll-also-be-pestered-by-a-student-as/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [I think male authors who want to try to tackle these issues of representation of women can generally do a better job if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/i-think-male-authors-who-want-to-try-to-tackle-these-issues-of/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“Surveillance is surveillance. I can never understand why some people think it matters whether it's the government doing it to you or a company.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/surveillance-is-surveillance-i-can-never-understand-why-some-people/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [Whenever you talk about Chinese dragons, emperors, palaces, concubines - they conjure up a whole colonial argle-bargle that has nothing to do with historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/whenever-you-talk-about-chinese-dragons-emperors-palaces-concubines/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [We have never had a society that was truly just. Some groups have always benefited at the expense of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/we-have-never-had-a-society-that-was-truly-just-some-groups-have/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“By custom, we wield the sword and wear the armor, but who among you does not know a mother, sister, daughter, friend, who exceeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/by-custom-we-wield-the-sword-and-wear-the-armor-but-who-among-you/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [My wife, Lisa, and I both grew up on wuxia - Chinese historical romances. They're kind of analogous to Western epics. They're based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/my-wife-lisa-and-i-both-grew-up-on-wuxia-chinese-historical-romances/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) [Explore all 114 Ken Liu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) ## More Act quotes > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [Teachers' unions don't act in the interest of most teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sal-khan/teachers-unions-don-t-act-in-the-interest-of-most-teachers/) [Sal Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sal-khan/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [People take years learning how to act; it's a skill, not just a job. If I tried it out and thought I'd be OK,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-fimmel/people-take-years-learning-how-to-act-it-s-a-skill-not-just-a-job-if/) [Travis Fimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-fimmel/) > [Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It require you to connect today's actions to tomorrow's results. There's a season for sowing a season for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ryan-blair/self-discipline-is-an-act-of-cultivation-it-require-you-to-connect/) [Gary Ryan Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ryan-blair/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) [Vashti Quiroz-Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vashti-quiroz-vega/) > [I always advise people not to act upon the advice that I give them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/i-always-advise-people-not-to-act-upon-the-advice-that-i-give-them/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [I have no interest in watching myself act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wesley/i-have-no-interest-in-watching-myself-act/) [Paul Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wesley/) > [“Don't wait, just sweat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/don-t-wait-just-sweat/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I do believe some people can naturally act and don't know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-arnold/i-do-believe-some-people-can-naturally-act-and-don-t-know-it/) [Andrea Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-arnold/) > [Regardless of what I do, whether I write a book or whether I act or whether I host, I'll always do stand-up comedy because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howie-mandel/regardless-of-what-i-do-whether-i-write-a-book-or-whether-i-act-or/) [Howie Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howie-mandel/) > [On 'Workaholics,' I feel like I'm just hanging out with my buddies being filmed, but on 'Mindy,' I'm around professional funny people who act.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-holm/on-workaholics-i-feel-like-i-m-just-hanging-out-with-my-buddies-being/) [Anders Holm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-holm/) > [I'm not an artist, and I want to take risks, and when the possibility of failure occurs, it's because the idea is all exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/i-m-not-an-artist-and-i-want-to-take-risks-and-when-the-possibility/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) 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