Talk:Time Within Time: The Diaries 1970–1986

Martyrology

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Hi there. If you open up 'Time Within Time' you will find that Martyrolog is translated in English as Martyrology. Bear in mind that this translation was by Tarkovsky's official English translator Kitty Hunter-Blair. The translation of Martyrology was also taken up by Tarkovsky scholar Natasha Synessios. However, even though it is incorrect of you to say that my translation is 'original research' I actually think you have an important point. There are sound grounds to argue that instead of Martyrology, Martyrolog might be better translated as 'The Log (ie diary) of a Martyr'. kind regards. 82.27.90.157 (talk) 18:10, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

I'm more concerned about presentation of this to the reader than to the exact "translation": the formulation Tarkovsky called his diaries Martyrolog (English: Martyrology; alternative translation: The Logbook of a Martyr) implies that "martyrolog" is a valid word in an (unspecified) language, which is then somehow "translated" to English. Now, when I open the book, it is clear that Tarkovsky intended it as a nonce word: I don't like The Bright Day as a title. It's limp. Martyrology is better, only nobody knows what it means; and when they find out they won't allow it. It's useless to "translate" an ad-hoc coined word, where any educated reader can infer the morphology by themselves (I hate treating readers like idiots; see WP:OVERLINK), and Tarkovsky has purposefully left it open to interpretation anyway.
And, by the way, martyrology is indeed an (obscure) thing in English and we even have an article about it, which makes it doubly confusing. No such user (talk) 08:45, 16 March 2018 (UTC)

You say that nobody knows what Martyrolog (or Martyrology) means and yet Tarkovsky says that he has used the title as a reminder of his own 'ineradicable worthlessness'. What he means here is that his self-definition as an artist of noble intentions may turn out to be nothing more than a vain martyr complex. Wisely, Tarkovsky makes these self-doubts fully transparent. Thankfully, Tarkovsky's humility and self-doubt turned out to be unfounded - although a sign of his sanity. Tarkovsky turned out to be one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. As for the title The Bright Day (also known as A White, White, Day) this was an early title for Tarkovsky's masterpiece Mirror and has nothing to do with his diaries. In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti. 82.27.90.157 (talk) 16:49, 16 March 2018 (UTC)

No, I didn't say that – Tarkovsky did; that's a quote from the book. My point is that you cannot say that "Martyrology" is English while "Martyrolog" is not: both are equally (in)valid English words. The former was just a choice of one translator to translate a difficult word with lots of subtle undertones. No such user (talk) 16:57, 16 March 2018 (UTC)

It's just a question of copy-editing style. I would personally not bother to mention martyolog or martyrology in the lead section. It lacks sufficient importance to warrant mention. But that's just my personal opinion. best wishes. 82.27.90.157 (talk) 13:10, 17 March 2018 (UTC)