Galadriel's death

[HerenIstarion]

Now I'm taking the thread 'far over misty mountains old' from where it began, but I just had to compare 'eavesdropping' passage with my Russian translation (Muraviev, Kistakovsky) and found that it is very finely handled:

Sam tells Gandalf that he was being trimming the grass. Gandalf inquires if Sam was eavesdropping, with the verb 'podslushivat' (literally - 'to listen under'), and Sam answers that the grass need not be specially dried, but will dry out by itself, with the verb 'podsushivat' (literally 'to make dry bit by bit').

Так, так, клянусь бородой! - сказал Гэндальф. - Сэм Скромби, он самый! Под окном, значит?
- Да что вы, сударь, что вы, господин Гэндальф! - горячо возразил Сэм. - Под каким окном! Я тут просто полол и подстригал траву: видите? - Он показал в свое оправдание садовые ножницы.
- Вижу, - мрачно отозвался Гэндальф. - А вот щелкать твои ножницы давно что-то перестали. Подслушивал?
- Подсушивал, сударь? Да нет, зачем же, все и так подсохло.
- Ты дурака-то не валяй! Что ты слышал и зачем подслушивал? - глаза Гэндальфа сверкнули и брови ощетинились.

Now thread started with an example of erring translation, and I provided you with neatly done one. To retain the balance, let me tell you that same translation contains many other blunders which one day I may bother my and your selves with listing of

[Aiwendil]

Translation is a difficult art, to be sure. There is always a conflict between a literal rendering and an idiomatic rendering. HerenIstarion gives a great example of an idiomatic rendering. Beleg gives an example of a very poor one. I think that a lot of translators (not just of LotR, but in general) err on that side, feeling the need to 'interpret' when a literal translation would be preferable.

[Angry Hill Troll]

I think what may have led to the confusion is that in English terms such as "to depart", "to pass away", "to pass" are often used as euphemisms (polite synonyms) for "to die". Perhaps the translator was confused by Tolkien's tendency to use poetic language and assumed he really meant that Elrond and Galadriel had died...only in this case they did literally depart--on a ship!

This reminds me of a joke from a movie, in which a character mentions "my dear departed wife"

"Oh, is she dead?"

"No, just departed."

Did the translator do the translation of the book from beginning to end? If he had looked back at this passage after translating the end of the story it should have been obvious that the translation was not correct.

[Legolas]

Or is it an interpretation: when Cirdan, Gandalf, Galadriel and the hobbits leave Middle-Earth, this departure is considered as a "terrestrial" (arghh) death?

Just a sidenote...Elrond goes with them, not Cirdan. Elrond has one of the three Elven rings. Cirdan no longer has his - he gave it to Gandalf upon Gandalf's arrival. Cirdan stayed there longer - he eventually takes the "last ship" to leave Middle-earth for Aman.