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

Language

French

Prerequisites

Knowledge of ancient languages, particularly Latin.
A basic knowledge of the scanning of the hexameter and the pentameter.

Main themes

A training in literary translation.
The seminar sketches a panorama of the principal theories in the domain of literary translation. It offers a series of concrete tools for undertaking a translation.

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	At the end of this seminar, the student will be capable of a critical reflection on the undertaking of, and the stakes involved in the translation of literary texts, in particular those in Greek and Latin. He will be able to carry out, on his own, translations that go further than the stage of a literal transfer, working within a theoretical framework and giving reasons for his choice.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Content

The seminar proposes a historical overview of the main tendencies in the translation of literary texts (from "elegant but not faithful" to "literary literal"). It presents a seris of texts by theorists of translation (Antoine Berman, Umberto Eco, François Ost, Georges Mounin, Danica Seleskovitch, Efim Etkind, Paul Ricoeur,...) or by literary translators (Marguerite Yourcenar, Philippe Brunet, Marcel Pagnol,...) whose proposals are pertinent for the translation of classical texts.
The practical exercises allow students to practise the literary translation of Latin texts, by testing various methods and approaches.
 

Teaching methods

The seminar offers a series of lecturers, in which the active participation of the students will be encouraged, as well as practical exercises.

Evaluation methods

The final mark includes the quality of personal work (literary translation exercises) and the evaluation skill (student peer review). It is based on :
- 10 little home works (about half a page) during the term, submitted to peer evaluation (20%)
- A written work (around twelve pages) consisting of a theoretical foreword and a literary translation of a Latin text. The evaluation is made by the teacher (70%)
- A written report (1 or 2 pages) of a translation made by someone else. The evaluation is made by the teacher (10%)
In case of failure in January, the mark for the home works remains valid; the other parts must be submitted again.

Other information

The seminar is accessible to LAFR students.

Online resources

On the iCampus server.

Bibliography

Les textes théoriques sur lesquels se base le séminaire sont fournis aux étudiants via le serveur iCampus.

Faculty or entity

GLOR