Day 6
Thurs. Sept. 8
Share Challenge 1 translation drafts (cont’d)
Homework:
➤ Finish your translator’s note
Your translator’s note (mini reflection essay) is due Friday at midnight China time. For complete instructions, see Day 5.
Please submit your assignment directly to me via WeChat or email. (I will later put them in a folder accessible to all class members, but for the moment I’d like you to do this on your own, without seeing what your classmates have written.)
Clarification: If you are a CSL-track student, you may choose to write your reflection either in English or Chinese. (For you final challenge, though, I’ll require you to write in Chinese.) If you are an EAP-track student, you must write in English.
➤ exercise: improve a passage
Once you’ve finished your translator’s note, please do the following in advance of Tuesday’s class session.
Choose a short passage (100-200 English words / 150-300 字) from one of the translations into your L1 (for CSL-track students, pick a passage from Chiang Mai Mamas or Pipilu; for EAP-track students, pick a passage from Deresiewicz or Dandelion Wine) and attempt to improve it by either retranslating it entirely or editing the existing translation. What “improving” the translation will mean will vary depending on which text you choose:
Chiang Mai Mamas: In addition to correcting any errors of understanding that you notice, make the style of the text more closely match the style of an English-language magazine article. For examples of similar articles, see the “Deep Tones” section of Sixth Tone or browse the articles on ChinaFile.
Pipilu: Make the style of the text better match the genre. In particular, you may want to focus on dialogue—can you make the dialogue sound more realistic?
Deresiewicz: In the passage you choose, try to “domesticate” the language—make it less 欧化 and more 本地化. Try to make the text comprehensible to someone who doesn’t know English.
Dandelion Wine: In the passage you choose, try to make the style more beautiful—make the Chinese sound better.
Upload your new and improved passage, along with the original AND the previous translation, in a single Word document, to the SharePoint folder titled “8-Improve a passage.”
