Seminar : Theory and Practice of Literary Translation (applied to Ancient Languages) [ LGLOR2204 ]

Prerequisite : knowledge of Latin and Greek.

- Survey of the main extant theories on literary translation. - Practical tools to support the translation work.

At the end of this seminar, the students will be able to think critically about the translation of literary texts, especially Latin and Greek texts ; they will also be able to produce by themselves French translations that exceed the literal transfer of Latin or Greek words, as well as to put their practice within a theoretical frame and to justify their choices.

Evaluation : one third of the mark will depend on the participation to the sessions in the course of the year, and two thirds on an individual assignment, offering an original literary translation from Latin or Greek (one or two pages) and justifying the translation choices (accuracy in style, content, literary genre..., expected readership...), by making reference to the relevant theories.

Theoretical and practical sessions will alternate.
The theoretical sessions will deal with the main translation theories, underlining their basic oppositions (source/target constraints, for example). Emphasis will be put on the aspects that are more relevant to classics students. Theoretical reflection will therefore be applied to the specific problems aroused by Greek and Latin texts, as well as to the typical contexts of student-made translations.
The practical sessions will be devoted to group exercises and to the analysis of actual translation samples, either made by the students themselves, either produced by professional translators in present and past centuries, and illustrating different ways of translating classical texts. The active participation of the students will be promoted, for example through the presentation of a personal work to the group

Course materials : some documents and a basic bibliography will be given.