Day 1
Tue. Aug. 22
Intro to the course, self-introductions
Translating sentences out of context
Homework:
➤ Read Syllabus and Course Handbook
The syllabus describes what this course is about; the course handbook explains how class works. I suggest you skim through the syllabus to get an idea of what we’ll be doing, and read the course handbook more carefully to understand my class policies in detail.
➤ Translate out-of-context sentences multiple ways
On the handout that we used in class today, pick three sentences that you find interesting or difficult from a translation perspective. For each sentence, think of at least two different ways the sentence could be translated, depending on context. For each translation, add a note explaining what context that would result in that meaning. Here is an example for one sentence (so you’ll do something like this three times):
“It’s so much work.”
(complaining about homework assigned by a teacher) 工作太多了 or 工作量太大了
(complaining about the difficulty of raising a child) 太辛苦了
(complaining about all the paperwork involved in applying for a visa) 太麻烦了
Type up your three sentences and their translations in a Word document (.docx) and upload it to our SharePoint folder, to the subfolder titled “1-Sentences out of context.” Try not to duplicate others’ work — when possible pick different sentences than your classmates have already done, or offer different possible translations for sentences that your classmates have already done.
➤ Share an interesting passage
Find a text, either English or Chinese, that you’ve translated, or that you think ought to be translated, into the other language.
Choose a short passage in that text (~100-200 words / 150-300字 or so) that you think is particularly interesting or difficult to translate. Copy it into a Word document (.docx) and add a note explaining:
Context: What larger text or work did this passage come from?
Reason for translating: If you translated the text yourself, why did you translate it? If you think it ought to be translated, why do you think so, and who might want to read it?
Why is it interesting or difficult? Explain why the passage is interesting from a translation perspective.
Upload your document to our SharePoint folder, to the subfolder titled “2-Share sample passages.”
➤ Send me a screenshot of your course schedule
Since you may need (or want) to meet with classmates outside of class time to work on assignments together, please send me a screenshot of your course schedule so that I can find a few times that work for many or all students.
➤ Supplementary reading
A chapter very relevant to the issues we’re discussing now is Chapter 7 of Is That a Fish in Your Ear?, “Meaning is No Simple Thing.” Read it for some other interesting examples of the slippery ways in which context affects meaning, and for a discussion of all the things “meaning” can mean.
