Day 2
Thurs. Jan. 12
Guess-the-genre exercise
Share questions about “Ad”
Share observations on English-language museum placards
“Plums in the Icebox” exercise
Homework:
➤ (Due sun. MIdnight) Translate “This is Just to Say”
Translate William Carlos Williams’ “This is Just to Say” into Chinese as a poem. Upload your translation on Sakai by midnight on Sunday (China time).
Also, think about this question: What makes this is a poem in English? What about it is “poetic”? Be ready to share your thoughts on this question next class.
➤ (After Sunday) Read and respond to Classmates’ “This is Just to Say” translations
Read your classmates’ translations of “This is Just to Say” (you can find them on SharePoint, in the folder called “6-This is Just to Say translations”) and fill out this Qualtrics survey about them:
https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0Ie8OQrZ6p4wz2e
➤ Rewrite your advertising slogans (if need be)
Check the SharePoint folder for my comments on your advertising slogans. Rewrite them to correct the grammar or more closely match the genre conventions of English-language advertising slogans. (Feel free to look at my comments on your classmates’ too — but do your best not to copy them! If one of them has already posted a slogan similar to yours, try translating it in a different way.)
➤ Ask an informant about “Ad” by Kenneth Fearing
Find an informant — somebody who you think would understand Kenneth Fearing’s “Ad” better than you do, i.e. probably a native or near-native English speaker — and ask them some questions about it. Take notes about their responses and come ready to share them next class.
➤ translate museum placard
First, read your classmates’ observations on the English museum placards on SharePoint. You might also want to reread the examples of museum placards to get the style of them “in your head.” (Try reading them out loud! That will help you internalize how they sound and feel.)
灯作卧羊形。羊首微扬，双角卷曲，身躯浑圆。羊尊背部与身躯分铸，于羊颈后置活纽，臀上安提纽，可将羊背向上翻开，平放于羊头上作为灯盘。羊尊腹腔中空，当灯放置不同时，可将灯盘内燃余灯油由小流嘴倾入腹腔。出土时腹腔内残留有白色沉淀物，经化验有油脂成分，当为燃料。汉代以羊为母题的文物很多，如羊头金饰、塑像画像、含“羊”字的铭文铜镜，主要取其和美吉祥之意。汉代诗歌中更有 “金羊载耀，作明以续” 的称颂。
Upload your translation to SharePoint, to the folder “Museum placard translations.”
➤ Supplementary reading
The chapter 《无用之用，其乐无穷》 in 《翻译之镜》by 王岫庐 contains some interesting insights about the “Plums in the Icebox” exercise we did in class. (Full disclosure: I got the idea from reading this chapter!)
I also recommend the Chapter 6, “Native Command: Is Your Language Really Yours?” in David Bellos’ book Is That a Fish in Your Ear?, which discusses what it means to be a “native speaker” of a language and the implications of that for translation. (Feel free to read the Chinese translation provided, but be warned! It is not always accurate. Bonus points to anyone who spots the error in the chapter title!)
