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TRANSLATION WORKSHOP
LIT 70R, Fall 2014
Friday 2:00-5:00
Kohlberg 328
Sibelan Forrester
Kohlberg 340
tel. 610-328-8162
E-mail sforres1@swarthmore.edu
Home Page: http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/sforres1/>
Office Hours, Fall 2014:
Monday, 11:00-12:00
Tuesday, 10:30-12:00
Friday, 11:00-12:00
Readings | Assignments | Syllabus
Translation is a fundamental human activity that occurs between languages, cultures, and forms of expression. Without translation, even the
most erudite readers would have limited acquaintance with other cultures. Translation practice offers rich data for psycholinguistics and
stimulating possibilities for creative writers, while the metaphor of translation has impacted many other kinds of intellectual and creative activity.
This course will combine theory and practice, approaching translation in its full complexity as art and science. Our reading, discussion and
practice will draw on points of view from creative writing, linguistics, and literary theory as well as the discipline of translation studies.
Course Goals:
To become familiar with the history of translation and theories of translation; to examine the most important of these theories and read
fundamental texts in the literature.
To practice translation, gaining a sense of what it requires, and making a satisfying body of our own translations.
To develop an individual sense of translation practice, enriched by theory and insights from translation studies.
To gain experience as a supportive reader and editor of other peoples work in progress (experience that may then be applied to our own
work in progress).
Note: The course can be taken for either Social Science (Linguistics) or Humanities (Literature; Russian) credit. Be aware of the requirements
your registration choice entails (see below), and adjust in time if necessary.
If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact Leslie Hempling in the Office of Student Disability Services
(Parrish 113) or email lhempli1@swarthmore.edu to arrange an appointment to discuss your needs. As appropriate, she will issue students
with documented disabilities a formal Accommodations Letter. Since accommodations require early planning and are not retroactive, please
contact her as soon as possible. For details about the accommodations process, visit the Student Disability Service Website. You are also
welcome to contact me [the faculty member] privately to discuss your academic needs. However, all disability-related accommodations must be
arranged through Leslie Hempling in the Office of Student Disability Services.

Required Texts (for sale in Bookstore or online; there are also copies in McCabe):
The Craft of Translation, eds. John Biguenet and Rainer Schulte (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989)
The Translation Studies Reader, 3rd edition, ed. Lawrence Venuti (New York and London: Routledge, 2012)
Highly Recommended: Exploring Translation Theories, 2nd edition, Anthony Pym (New York and Routledge: 2014).
Some of our course work can be done electronically, but well also generate lots of paper. Plan to store it in a convenient way. Always make
enough copies of your drafts for workshopping (the syllabus will specify: enough for the whole class, for a smaller group, etc.), so you can get
and keep written comments until youve finished the project concerned. If you can work out a way to gather comments by sending out
attachments of the document to me and your group, and thus saving paper, I will do all I can to support you.
NB: I prefer to get things handed in electronically, since my comments on them will be more legible.
Consider becoming a member of the American Literary Translators' Association (ALTA). The student rate is a very reasonable $20 per year.
Your membership will get you the ALTA Newsletter, the journal TR (Translation Review), the chance to join the often useful ALTAlk list, and a
great annual conference (this year's in Milwaukee in early November; let me know if you want more information). See the ALTA web site for
more information: at the moment it focuses on the annual conference.

Course requirements:
At each class session well discuss required readings, present and critique work in progress, do a focused exercise (on-the-spot translation;
editing a brief text, etc.). After a few weeks, youll begin to present your work and research topics. Your participation will determine the quality
of everyone's experience.

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Anyone who has problems with the timing of the course should let me know right away, so we can figure out ways to work with it.
REQUIRED SPECIAL THINGS:
For the last three weeks of the semester or so, you will organize and perform in bilingual readings, ideally using material from the fourth written
assignment (see below). If you have good ideas about this at any point, note them down and bring to class. Translators tend to be more
diffident than poets or fiction writers even if theyre also poets or fiction writers! so think in terms of excitement: how to present your work
and your author effectively.
Coursework and Grading:
Attendance and participation in class and readings accounts for 20% of your grade, plus an additional 10% for the final bilingual reading.
Two other Oral Assignments:
1) At some point during the semester, present and lead discussion of one book or article chosen from the Suggested list below (or found
elsewhere, with instructors approval). Study the list and choose ahead of time to get something youll care about and enjoy. Ask provocative
questions, help field questions from class members. Start with: what do you agree or disagree with, and why? What does this teach you about
translation, what is its point of view? What does it omit? What is useful; what merely interesting? How does it relate to the other readings we
have done, or to other important cultural opinions? You'll sign up for presentations in advance. Let me know if youd like suggestions based on
your interests, or if you would like guidance or suggestions about making an effective spoken presentation.
2) In the second part of the semester, youll present an outline of your work in progress your final paper topic, or the portfolio of annotated
translations that youre preparing. Sign up to do this early enough that comments or suggestions could still be helpful.
Each oral presentation will count for 5% of your grade (10% total).
Four Written Assignments:

Remember Forresters First and Only Rule of Translation:

It always takes longer than you think it will.

After the first bulldozing phase, you may not spend that much time polishing, but you have to let the days and
hours pass, approach the project in different moods, ask other people for feedback and process it.

Plan accordingly.
1. First translation: one poem or small piece of prose or drama. Find a native speaker or other expert (a professor would be fine, a family
member could be wonderful) in a language you dont know, have them help you choose something and then help you work on it. Well
workshop these during weeks 3 and 4. Final version due OCTOBER 3; 5% of your grade.
2. The second project: translate a set of 5-6 poems or songs (united by theme, author, literary movement, or the like), or a brief short story,
or a short play or scene from a play (aim for 6-10 pages), with a page or so of information about the author/works/tradition; due
OCTOBER 31. 10% of your grade.
3. The third project: Choice of two possibilities.
1) Create a comparisom of several translations, using the site I've demonstrated to you. Identify your original so that there are at least
five or six translations into English available for you to choose from.
2) Create an annotated, 2-3 page bibliography of translations by other people (unified by some theme or area), or else of literary, critical
or linguistic works (books, articles) on translation, unified by language group or theoretical approach. Annotated means that you
comment on or evaluate each source you list, so youll need to read them (or at least skim) as well as find the citations. (If a source looks
terribly relevant but you cant get your hands on it, go ahead and list it with THAT as the annotation.) If possible, use this to start up your
final project. Let me know if you dont know how to get started. Due NOVEMBER 21. 15% of your grade.
4. The fourth project, if youre taking this course for RUSSIAN or LITERATURE credit, may be a longer portfolio of translations or a paper
combined with a shorter body of translations. Consult with me and/or (if appropriate) another faculty member. Start choosing material and
working on this early in the semester; it may include parts of your second project. Put together a 20-25 page portfolio including a 1-2
page introduction; or else a 10-15 page paper analyzing the theory, history, or practice of some issue or school of translation,
supplemented with relevant translation(s) of your own (10-15 pages).
If youre taking this course for LINGUISTICS credit, a substantial part of the final project will be a 10-15 page paper dealing with an
appropriate issue in Linguistics related to your (10-15 page) translation portfolio. Please consult with a faculty member in Linguistics
before determining your paper topic.
Aim for 20-25 pages total. Due DECEMBER 20. 30% of your grade.
Any written project may be done in the form of a web page, if you prefer. In-class workshopping must be on paper (unless everyone has a
laptop to bring to class). A final project on the web (...or a blog about your struggles with The Book of Genji?) can give readers immediate
access to your work. (This may suit a research paper or translations of work now out of copyright more than translations of recent writing. You
don't need permission to make a translation, but getting permission to publish can be a big hairy issue.)
In brief:

Due:

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first translation
October 3 5%
second translation
October 31 10%
web project or bibliography
November 21 15%
portfolio or final paper
December 20 30%
presentation of reading
TBA
5%
presentation of final project
TBA
5%
presentation at final bilingual reading
TBA
10%
attendance, participation
always!
20%
On Reserve (in McCabe):
John Biguenet and Rainer Schulte, eds., The Craft of Translation
Robert Bly, The Eight Stages of Translation
Lawrence Venuti, ed., The Translation Studies Reader
Suggested Readings (most are available in Tripod):
Srinivas Aravamudan, Guru English: South Asian Religion in a Cosmopolitan Language
Flora Ross Amos, Early Theories of Translation
Matthew Arnold, On Translating Homer
Brian Baer, ed., Contexts, Subtexts and Pretexts: Literary Translation in Eastern Europe and Russia
Mona Baker, In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation
Mona Baker, Translation and Conflict: A Narrative Account
Willis Barnstone, The Poetics of Translation: History, Theory, Practice
Susan Bassnett, ed., Translating Literature
Susan Bassnett, Translation Studies
Hilaire Belloc, On Translation: The Taylorian Lecture, 1931
Michael Cronin, Across the Lines: Travel, Language, Translation
Anuradha Dingwaney and Carol Maier, eds, Between Languages and Cultures: Translation and Cross-Cultural Texts
Umberto Eco, Experiences in Translation
William Frawley, ed., Translation: Literary, Linguistic and Philosophical Perspectives
Edwin Gentzler, Contemporary Translation Theories
Theo Hermans, ed., The Manipulation of Literature: Studies in Literary Translation
Douglas Hofstadter, Le Ton Beau de Marot: In Praise of the Music of Language
Edward Honig, The Poet's Other Voice: Conversations on Literary Translation
David Johnston, ed., The Stages of Translation
Andre Lefevere, Translation, Rewriting and the Manipulation of Literary Fame
Lauren Leighton, Two Worlds, One Art: Literary Translation in Russia and America
Suzanne Jill Levine, The Subversive Scribe: Translating Latin American Fiction
Joseph Malone, The Science of Linguistics in the Art of Translation: Some Tools from Linguistics for the Analysis and Practice
of Translation
Rachel May, The Translator in the Text: On Reading Russian Literature in English
Joshua Mostow, Pictures of the Heart: The Hyakunin isshu in Word and Image
Kurt Mueller-Vollmer and Michael Irmscher, eds, Translating Literatures, Translating Cultures: New Vistas and Approaches in
Literary Studies
Jeremy Munday, Introducing Translation Studies
Tejaswini Niranjana, Siting Translation: History, Post-Structuralism and the Colonial Context
Perry Nodelman, Words about Pictures: The Narrative Art of Childrens Picture Books
Gregory Rabassa, If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents. A Memoir
Alessandra Riccardi, ed., Translation Studies: Perspectives on an Emerging Discipline
Henry Schogt, Linguistics, Literary Analysis and Literary Translation
Hans Schulte and Gerhard Teuscher, eds., The Art of Literary Translation
Rainer Schulte and John Biguenet, eds., Theories of Translation: An Anthology of Essays from Dryden to Derrida
Naomi Seidman, Faithful Renderings: Jewish-Christian Difference and the Politics of Translation
Sherry Simon, Gender in Translation: Cultural Identity and the Politics of Transmission
George Steiner, After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation
Lawrence Venuti, ed., Rethinking Translation: Discourse, Subjectivity, Ideology
Lawrence Venuti, The Translator's Invisibility: A History of Translation
V. N. Voloshinov, Marxism and the Philosophy of Language
Rosanna Warren, ed., The Art of Translation: Voices from the Field
Robert Wechsler, Performing Without a Stage: The Art of Literary Translation
Steven G. Yao, Translation and the Languages of Modernism: Gender, Politics, Language
Online (just a brief selection):
TWO LINES: a journal of translation www.catranslation.org/translation.html
Words Without Borders: the Online Magazine for International Literature www.wordswithoutborders.org
World Literature Today www.ou.worldlit
...(earn points by suggesting other online translation resources!)

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In McCabe reference section:

Peter France, ed., The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation
(PR131 .O94 2000) besides info on individual languages and literatures, theres a sizable section on History and Theory of translation into
English.

SYLLABUS
WEEK 1:
September 5: What makes you start translating?
Introduction to the course; overview of readings and assignments; establish small groups for the first assignment; Forresters Five Stages; Bly's
Eight Stages; identify language groups in the class; work on a sample translation draft

Readings for Week 2: "Introduction," The Craft of Translation, pp. vii-xvi; Gregory Rabassa, "No Two Snowflakes Are Alike: Translation as
Metaphor," Craft 1-12; "Introduction," The Translation Studies Reader, pp. 1-9; Foundational Statements, TSR 13-20; Jerome, Letter to
Pammachuis, TSR 21-30; Nicolas Perrot dAblancourt, Prefaces to Tacitus and Lucian, TSR 31-37; John Dryden, From the Preface to
Ovids Epistles, TSR 38-42.
By Sept. 12: find a native speaker, choose a poem in his or her language, bring that information to class
WEEK 2:
September 12: Which famous writers began as translators?
Introduce everyone again, esp. anyone who wasnt here last week; "false" translation; in small groups present and describe text chosen for first
project (or even share the first rough draft); Rabassa, Jerome, dAblancourt, Dryden; example of formulating a research paper project:
translation theory/practice/studies in Russia

Readings for Week 3: Margaret Sayers Peden, "Building a Translation, the Reconstruction Business: Poem 145 of Sor Juana Ins de la Cruz,"
Craft 13-27; Friedrich Schleiermacher, On the Different Methods of Translation, TSR 43-63; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Translations,
TSR 64-66; Friedrich Nietzsche, Translations, TSR 67-68.
For Sept. 19, bring enough paper copies of your first project in progress to workshop it.
WEEK 3:
September 19: Why don't translators (usually) use pseudonyms?
Work up poem draft from a trot; Peden, Schleiermacheer, Goethe; Nietzsche; talk briefly about the second project; small groups: workshop first
project poem

Readings for Week 4: Burton Raffel, "Translating Medieval European Poetry," Craft 28-53; 1900s-1930s, TSR 71-74; Walter Benjamin, The
Task of the Translator, TSR 75-83; Ezra Pound, Guidos Relations, TSR 84-91; Jorge Luis Borges, The Translators of The One Thousand
and One Nights, TSR 92-106; 1940s-1950s, TSR 109-12; Vladimir Nabokov, Problems of Translation: Onegin in English, TSR 113-25.
For Sept. 26, find someones translation you like (1-2 pages, or a 1-2 page excerpt of something longer), bring in enough copies for everyone
OR save scan pdfs so you can project in the classroom and be ready to explain what you like about it.
WEEK 4:
September 26: How is translating related to creative writing?
Raffel, Benjamin, Pound, Borges, Nabokov; present final versions of first project, discuss your experience and results. Form different small
groups (if you desire) for the second project.

Readings for Week 5: Edmund Keeley, Collaboration, Revision, and Other Less Forgivable Sins in Translation, Craft, 54-69; Roman
Jakobson, On Linguistic Aspects of Translation, TSR 126-31; 1960s-1970s, TSR 135-39; Eugene Nida, Principles of Correspondence,
TSR 141-55.
For Oct 3, start work on a piece or two of the second project. FIRST TRANSLATION IS DUE!
WEEK 5:
October 3: How have theories of translation evolved over the centuries?
Read first translation aloud; Keeley, Jakobson, Nida; describe your second project; in small groups: workshop part of second project (bring
enough copies for small group comments)

Readings for Week 6: Donald Frame, "Pleasures and Problems of Translation," Craft, 70-92; George Steiner, The Hermeneutic Motion, TSR

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156-61; Itamar Even-Zohar, The Position of Translated Literature within the Literary Polysystem, TSR 162-167; Gideon Toury, The Nature
and Role of Norms in Translation, TSR 168-81.
For Oct. 10, bring 4-5 copies of a draft/drafts of your second project for workshopping. Start thinking about your final project what does your
second project suggest you'd enjoy doing?
WEEK 6:
October 10: What if the text to be translated is religious?
Frame, Steiner, Even-Zohar, Toury; ; another false translation; bring in someone else's brief translation that you like, present and critique
them; small groups: present more drafts from your second project (bring 3 or 4 copies, for small groups) - I am happy to write comments on
drafts and/or type comments into Word documents if you e-mail them to me.

October 17 Fall break!

Readings for Week 7: John Felstiner, "'Ziv, that light': Translation and Tradition in Paul Celan," Craft, 93-116; 1980s, TSR 185-90; Hans J.
Vermeer, Skopos and Commission in Translational Action, TSR 191-202; Andr Lefevere, Mother Courages Cucumbers: Text, System and
Refraction in a Theory of Literature, TSR 203-219.
For Oct. 24, start annotated bibliography OR have consulted with professor about the web project.
WEEK 7:
October 24: What if the writer's so GREAT that the text might as well be religious?
Felstiner, Vermeer, Lefevere; compare 3-4 translations of a single work and discuss. Present whats ready from your second project, due next
week.

Readings for Week 8: William Weaver, "The Process of Translation," Craft, 117-24; Antoine Berman, Translation and the Trials of the
Foreign, TSR 240-253; Lori Chamberlain, Gender and the Metaphorics of Translation, TSR 306-21; 1990s, TSR, 271-80.
SECOND PROJECT IS DUE OCTOBER 31.
WEEK 8:
October 31: What is your relationship to past and future translators?
Present second project work by reading part of it (2nd project due today!); Weaver, Berman, Chamberlain; another false translation. Strategize
on final bilingual readings.

Readings for Week 9: Christopher Middleton, "On Translating Gnter Eich's Poem 'Ryoanji'," Craft, 125-41; Annie Brisset, The Search for a
Native Language: Translation and Cultural Identity, TSR 281-311; Gayatri Chakrovorty Spivak, The Politics of Translation, TSR 312-30.
For Nov. 7, find a translation you like or find problematic, make enough copies of 2-3 illustrative bits for everyone and bring to class.
WEEK 9:
November 7: What if your translation will most likely be "the last word"?
Present a translation you like or find problematic, with 2-3 pages of text or scanned pdfs to illustrate your points; Middleton, Brisset,
Chakrovorty Spivak; briefly describe final projects; in small groups: discuss final project shape in more detail, field questions and get
suggestions.
Presentations: Jamie, Peera, Sarah

Readings for Week 10: Edward Seidensticker, "On Trying to Translate Japanese," Craft, 142-53; Kwame Anthony Appiah, Thick Translation,
TSR 311-43; Keith Harvey, Translating Camp Talk: Gay Identities and Cultural Trasfer, TSR 344-64.
For Nov. 14: bring enough copies of part of final project to workshop. Continue working on annotated bibliography.
I WILL BE AWAY ON NOVEMBER 14 at the ALTA conference in Milwaukee: we'll have to figure out how to deal with the missed day.
WEEK 10:
November 14: What theories have sprung from translation practice or theory?
Seidensticker, Appiah, Harvey; present part of final project for workshopping in small groups; discussion of helpful theories; strategize,
schedule and plan student bilingual readings; briefly describe topic of annotated bibliographies or web presentations.

Readings for Week 11: Jacques Derrida, What Is a Relevant Translation? TSR 365-88; 2000s and beyond, TSR 391-97; Ian Mason, Text
Parameters in Translation: Transitivity and Institutional Cultures, TSR 399-410.
For Nov 21: complete the annotated bibliography or web presentation; bring enough copies of another part of final project to workshop.
THIRD PROJECT (BIBLIOGRAPHY) DUE NOVEMBER 21.

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WEEK 11:
November 21: What is the translators relationship to the writer?
Derrida, Mason; present another draft from final project in small groups; discuss shapes for large projects (including both papers and final
portfolios), comments and suggestions. Final plan for final bilingual readings.
Presentations: Anna, Kim, Sage

November 28 Thanksgiving!
Readings for Week 12: David Damrosch, Translation and World Literature: Love in the Necropolis, TSR 411-28; Sherry Simon, Translating
Montreal: The Crosstown Journey of the 1960a, TSR 429-50; Vincente L. Rafael, Translation, American English and the National Insecurities
of Empire, TSR 451-68.
WEEK 12:
December 5: How are (are?) translation theory and practice gendered?
Discuss/critique first student bilingual reading, if it already took placeindividual pieces and overall impressions; Damrosch, Simon, Rafael;
discuss the translation biz; creative exercise; further planning for any bilingual readings that havent yet taken place.
Presentations: Cara, Haruka, Tina

Readings for Week 13: Michael Cronin, The Translation Age: Translation, Technology, and the New Instrumentalism, TSR 469-82; Lawrence
Venuti, Geneologies of Translation Theory: Jerome, TSR 483-502.
Attend and participate in the final bilingual readings!
WEEK 13:
MONDAY, December 8 : Who is your favorite translator?
Cronin, Venuti; readings from final projects.
Presentations: Jacob, Paul
Again: attend and participate in the final bilingual readings!

Bilingual Readings!
TBA
***
Final project is due December 20 to my office, Kohlberg 340. E-mail submission is even better: send to sforres1@swarthmore.edu by 5 p.m. on
December 20.
***
What will you do now?

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