Great Works Fall 2013

Hi all!

I have chosen the Translation option because I am very interested in what can be lost in translation. Cultural differences and similarities strongly intrigue me and I believe that different customs, traditions, mentalities, and ways of life can be conveyed through literary work. When literature is translated, it is important that this cultural essence is not lost in translation and remains present despite using different words. I know that in my career, I will need the skill of translation a lot, as I hope to work with a South American population. I learned Spanish from my mom’s side of the family which is from Argentina, however, Argentinian Spanish is very unique and a different dialect than the more commonly heard Spanish. Therefore, I have chosen the option of translation for three main reasons, I love cultures, I hope to sharpen my translation skills, and I am interested in preserving the essence of work so that nothing is lost in translation.

I remember having read Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a Colombian author, in High School and was very captivated by his strong use of imagery to color his scenes and make them come alive. In particular, I enjoyed his short stories. One that I have never forgotten is called “El Avion de La Bella Durmiente” or “The Airplane of Sleeping Beauty,” from his collection of short stories called “Doce Cuentos Peregrinos.” The text is regarding a man who falls in love with a woman at first sight and sits next to her on the plane as she sleeps the whole journey until they land in New York. The heavy imagery and descriptions used regarding this women are from a different perspective than the sexualized work we have read in class such as “Goblin Market” or “A Carcass.” I hope to contrast his descriptions of women with the different perspective of women expressed through the works analyzed in class. I first will translate the text in English on my own without reading any other English versions of this text. I will do this in the first week of November. After I have translated this text, in mid-November I will analyze it for literary elements I aimed to preserve so that expressions would not get lost in translation. I will then compare my translation to other English translations of this text before Thanksgiving break. My final step would be to  compare and contrast this text with other texts read in class with the theme of views of women in the first week. I hope to finish this all in the first week of December and leave the last week to revise and review my work comprehensively.

This project is a challenge in and of itself and I anticipate the difficulty of not being able to find adequate expressions and words to translate what Marquez is saying in the same tone he intends for it to be read. However, I am excited to take on this challenge and hope to produce a work that is close to the beauty depicted in his stories.  I wish you all the best as you tackle your own final project proposal!