Day 4
Thurs. Mar. 30
Discuss En-Ch museum placard translations
Discuss Chinese translations of “Ad”
Review: translating reality rather than words
Homework:
➤ Read and vote on Seneb statue placard translations
If you were assigned to read the Seneb statue museum placard translations (Molly, Susie, Wenxin, Yun’en, Danqing) and haven’t done so yet, please read them and vote using this survey link: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3shqmqxS4biJSJM I want to share the responses with the class but can’t do this until everyone has voted!
➤ Reread “Ad” translations and think about purpose
When translating “Ad,” I never explained for you why you were translating it (except to practice mimicking the style of advertising language in Chinese). Now, please read the fictional scenario below, reread your classmates’ translations of “Ad,” and come ready to share your answers to the discussion questions.
Scenario: Imagine that you are an editor putting together a Chinese-language anthology (诗歌集) of poetry about war, written by poets all throughout history, from many different countries, time periods, and languages. You want to include a translation of Kenneth Fearing’s 1938 poem “Ad” in this anthology. (Note: the anthology will include both poems written originally in Chinese and poems written in other languages and translated into Chinese; however, for translated poems it will present only the translation, not the original.)
Discussion questions:
What do you think the purpose of including “Ad” in this hypothetical poetry anthology would be?
Should the translation include any footnotes or explanation of background information not evident in the translation itself? If so, what information is most important for the reader to know?
Should the translation attempt to capture the ironic effect of the use of advertising language in the original poem? Why or why not? If so, what are some specific examples of use of advertising language in your classmates’ Chinese translations that you think would be appropriate, or inappropriate, given the purpose of this translation?
Are there any other examples of sentences or phrases in your classmates’ translations that strike you as especially appropriate or inappropriate, given the purpose of this translation?
Which of your classmates’ translations would you pick to include in this anthology? (Would you pick any?) Are there any translations you would definitely not pick? Why?
➤ Read grading criteria and instructions for translator’s note
Please read the attached grading criteria and instructions for translator’s notes (the brief reflection essay you complete after having finished your challenge). Hopefully this should answer any questions you might have about how grading work in this class. If there’s anything you’re unclear about, please message me and ask!
Important: If you read the “Final course grade calculations” carefully, you’ll notice that it actually possible to achieve an A in this course even if your grades on the first two challenges aren’t ideal. This reflects the fact that to master a craft like translation it is necessary to make mistakes! So please don’t worry too much about the initial few grades, the grade you receive on these cannot negatively impact your final grade (though it can help it!).
Rubric for translations
Instructions and rubric for translator’s note
Final course grade calculations
➤ Begin working on Challenge 1!
Challenge 1A is due at 8pm China time this coming Monday
Challenge 1B is due before class this coming Tuesday
If I were you I’d get started working on your translation challenge! At the very least I’d suggest doing these things:
Read the text and identify things you don’t understand that you’ll need to learn about through online research or consulting informants
Do research and meet with informants (or at least make plans to meet with them)
Find some good parallel texts in the target language (the language you’re translating into) that can serve as models for the type of style you’d like to adopt in your translation. (Note that Challenges 1A and 1B can serve as parallel texts for each other!)
➤ Read translation of Challenge 1a
After 8pm Monday BJT when the students translating Challenge 1A submit their translation, please read the translation and prepare for class by considering these questions:
Does the style of the translation match the genre? (Is the style of the English appropriate for the genre of newspaper journalism?) Come ready to share a specific example of one phrase or sentence where the English translation “sounds” especially like a newspaper article, and be ready to explain why.
Does the translation do a good job helping the reader visualize the scenes being described? Come ready to share an example of a place where the English translation is particularly vivid in this way.
