tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jan 02 17:44:06 1996

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Re: newbie comments for Jarno and everyone

"[email protected]"vo':

>I've learned that one, so I never try to translate anything.  ;-)

I'm disappointed. You must realize that the path of least resistence is only
taken by the rejmorghpu' of the world. I think that Will and I had the
discussion in which we arrived at a disagreement in the effectiveness of
translation in the learning process. As far as I'm concerned, translation is
really a spectacularly effective learning tool for langs, mainly for this
reason: Original writing can be made as simple as you want, and if you go on
writing simply stuff, your skill sits idly by; translation forces you to
attempt to express things that you may otherwise have qualms about, and
that's where you really get good at *recasting*. NB: Recasting does not mean
simplifying the meaning so it can be more easily expressed in the target
language, it means taking an entirely different approach to a problematic
phrase without created or destroying any nuance of the original piece. That's
translation: a magnificence learning device. With one big concession:
Translation should follow repetitive drilling and fortification of knowledge
of grammar and vocab. It is not a beginner's friend. Of course, there are
those who have gone thru the whole ordeal with other previously learned
langs, and already understand the whole philosophy of translation quite well,
and more power to them. But what is disturbing is when someone introduces
himself saying, "I bought TKD two days ago, and have started translating
Beowulf; here's the first couple lines>> GVHetio jnEqwc Jpo jndEcB SgfIJUgjOJ
DwCGHi kogcG JHTgHW GH IKgFV..." That's the wrong way.

A better way is this. "Hi, I bought TKD two days ago and have attempted a few
simple sentences. How about this: nagh legh Qa'. qettaH SajwIj. SajwIj
tlha'taH Qa'vetlh. tInqu' Qa'vetlh..." We are all much more receptive to
this.

And now that I've re-reiterated a favorite point to make on this list. I'm
going to go back to doing what I was intended to do..............

Macht Rache den erlittenen Schmerz vergessen? ("Die Rache", Hermann Kesten)
--Guido

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