Day 8
Thurs. Apr. 13
Continue discussion of “voice”
Discuss Challenge 1D
Challenge 2 deadlines
Upcoming deadlines:
Saturday Apr 15 @ 8pm: translator’s note due for Zhixian and Ruoxian
Tuesday Apr. 18 before class: Challenge 2 translation due for Molly and Danqing
Homework due before class on TUES next week
➤ Go through worksheet for challenge 1C
Do your best to work through the questions on the Challenge 1C worksheet. (Obviously I’m not going to check these, but please at least think about the questions and trying writing down some answers, so that you have something to share when we go over this worksheet in class on Tuesday.)
➤ Look at Challenge 2 texts, think about “voice”
Look at the four texts for Challenge 2 (2F, 2E, 2J, 2A) and ask yourself the question, for each of these texts, how important is it going to be for the translation to convey a sense of the author’s voice? (And in each text, how many “voices” are there? Are there other voices embedded in the text besides the author’s voice?)
Come to next class ready to share your answers to these questions.
➤ Read my comments on Challenge 1a and 1B
For each translation challenge, if the translators agree I will share my comments on the translation manuscript (just my comments, not the grade). If you’re interested in how I responded your classmates’ translations, please read the comments! You’ll find them in the folder Austin’s comments on translation manuscripts on SharePoint.
Homework due before class on THURS next week
➤ rETRANSLATE PASSAGE FROM 1D
Please retranslate the passage from Challenge 1D that I’ve excerpted. When you’re translating, focus on the meaning of entire sentences or thoughts rather than the meaning of individual words. Imagine that you’re the author, and ask yourself: What are some different ways I could express this same thought or describe this same reality? Pick the way that makes most sense to you, the way feels most natural in the moment.
Also, think about voice. What kind of person is the author? As you’re writing each sentence, ask yourself what kind of sentence a person like Martha Gill would write if she were writing Chinese, and write that sentence. (What kinds of words would she choose? How would she “sound”? Given what what she’s just said, what would she say next?)
Upload your new translations to the folder “Retranslated passage from 1D” on SharePoint.
