The Living and the Dead Word

A classic work by Nora Gal on translation and editing, on the beauty of language, its accuracy, and expressiveness.

First published in 1972, the book has become a reference for several generations of specialists working with texts. In it, the renowned Soviet translator Nora Gal demonstrates successful and unsuccessful examples of working with language, revealing the unjustified use of clichés, bureaucratic expressions, borrowings, and other typical mistakes made by translators and editors. Analyzing famous translations of works into separate fragments, she works with the flaws in the text with jeweler-like precision and outlines general principles of the “living” and expressive word. These principles are based on a careful attitude toward language and fidelity to the best examples of Russian speech.