No bad substitute: same-sex desire in 20th century English translations of The Tale of Genji

<i>The Oxford History of Literary Translation in English. Vol. 4: 1790–1900</i>. Edited by <i>Peter France</i> and <i> Kenneth Haynes</i>. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Pp. xvi+595.

As a universal language, English makes a better communication between China and the developed countries, English language teaching has become increasingly important in more and more Chinese Schools. At the beginning, when Chinese students start to learn a second language, they need to translate the second language such as English into Chinese in the first hand, and this procedure will help them to understand and learn English better. For English language translation teachers, they need to research and create the suitable、effective method of learning English translation for most students constantly in order to improve the English translation learning efficiency of the Chinese students. The local culture of China is quite different from the culture of other English speaking countries. When our Chinese students study English language translation, at the same time, they need to learn the different culture in different countries and learn how to accept and face up the cultural background difference between our country and the other English speaking countries. In the meantime, during the time of teaching English translation, the English translation subject teachers need to guide the students to learn and understand the difference in practice, and help them to establish a comprehensive and correct idea of learning English translation (through teaching right and different translation skills.

The Age of Translation

On 12 February 2020, while on an international tour promoting Behrouz Boochani’s No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison, the translator of the book, Omid Tofighian, participated in a seminar at Utrecht University, organised by Australian academic, Anna Poletti (associate professor of English language and culture, Utrecht University). Poletti is also co-editor of the journal Biography: an interdisciplinary quarterly, which published a special issue on No Friend but the Mountains in 2020 (Vol. 43, No. 4). The seminar involved Poletti, Tofighian and translation scholar, Onno Kosters (assistant professor of English literature and translation studies, Utrecht University) in conversation. Iranian–Dutch filmmaker, Arash Kamali Sarvestani, co-director with Boochani of the film Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time (2017), was in attendance, as well as the Dutch publisher, Jurgen Maas (Uitgeverij Jurgen Maas, Dutch translation based on the English translation). The event was titled ‘No Friend but the Mountains: Translation in Digital Times’. The following dialogue, ‘Translation in Digital Times: Omid Tofighian on Translating the Manus Prison Narratives’, is derived from this seminar and focuses on Tofighian’s translation of the book from Persian/Farsi into English. The topics covered also include the Dutch translation from Tofighian’s English translation, genre and anti-genre, horrific surrealism, Kurdish elements and influences, the Kurdish translation (from Tofighian’s English translation), publication of the Persian/Farsi original, translation as activism, process and technology.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the current curriculum for M.A. English translation in Iranian universities regarding the students’ perspectives to find its deficiencies and to propose some recommendations to make the curriculum compatible with students’ needs. The study was done based on a quantitative research design using a researcher-made questionnaire. The questionnaire was administrated to 341 M.A. and Ph.D. translation students in Iran. The data from the questionnaire were analyzed in descriptive statistics and an independent samples t-test. The results revealed that the current curriculum was moderately effective in providing the students with the necessary translation competencies. The results indicated some courses including Translation Workshop, and Theories of Translation were effective. Whereas, some courses such as Literary Criticism, and Philosophy of Education were not effective enough to improve students’ theoretical knowledge and practical translation competencies. Hence, modifications of the contents or curriculum are needed. To improve the curriculum, the top three practical courses should be added to the curriculum, and they include Translation of Technical Texts, Interpretation Workshop, and Bilingual Editing Skills. Additionally, the results of the independent samples t-test showed that M.A students agreed more than Ph.D. students that courses such as Persian Writing, English Writing, and Sight Translation should be added to the M.A. translation curriculum. Overall, the findings provide insights to the curriculum reform which is needed in the area of English translation.

Reviewed by: Man to Man: Desire, Homosociality, and Authority in Late Roman Manhood by Mark Masterson Chris L. de Wet Mark Masterson Man to Man: Desire, Homosociality, and Authority in Late Roman Manhood Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 2014 Pp. xi + 222. $62.95. Man to Man presents us with a wonderfully subtle and sensibly nuanced reading of the dynamics between desire, homosociality (a term from Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick), and authority in late ancient Roman masculinities. The book specifically investigates the nature of male same-sex desire within the broader scheme of homosociality and how this contributed to the fashioning of masculine authority in late antiquity. Three important assumptions are delineated in the Introduction. First, homosociality played a central part in late Roman paideia—in fact, paideia is what enabled men to function successfully in the homosocial spaces of the late empire, whether it was by means of friendship or even rivalry. Second, “demonstration of knowledge of the physical realities of male same-sex desire and pleasure makes authority more credible . . . [it] has cognizance of these forbidden things” (19). Thus, the criminalization of same-sex passion is at the same time its epistemological confirmation. This assumption is related to Foucault’s point that the repression of certain sexual expressions also affirms their putting into discourse. The late Roman criminalization of same-sex passion (e.g. Collatio 5.3 and C.Th. 9.7.6), as Masterson proves, was all but the silencing thereof. Third, same-sex desire provided men with a language, a metaphor, for speaking about each other’s auctoritas/axiōma and admirability. Masterson states his case with three literary examples. The first case study looks at Julian’s depiction of Marcus Aurelius in his Caesares. Reading Julian alongside the Neoplatonists, specifically Iamblichus and Plotinus, Masterson carefully shows how Julian portrays Marcus Aurelius in terms of same-sex sexual attractiveness by means of Platonic, that is, transcendent, intertexts. Despite the taboo of same-sex passion, Julian successfully parades Marcus Aurelius’s masculine glamour through paradox: “celestialization and same-sex desire inflect and interact with one another, and the corporeal liveliness of the latter makes the former shine more brightly through the power of paradox” (88). Issues like earthbound honor and shame, activity and passivity, do not inform Julian’s portrait of Marcus Aurelius. Julian, whom Masterson views as a creative mythmaker, like the Neoplatonists, believed that there was a transcendent place that existed prior to and beyond earthly moral evaluations and structures. Thus, same-sex desire informs and structures, paradoxically, the empyreal auctoritas of Marcus Aurelius, without any fear of shame or moral contradiction. The second case study is curious and quite surprising—namely Athanasius’s Vita Antonii. While we have a positive application of same-sex desire in Julian, in Athanasius Masterson points out the opposite. Unlike Julian, Athanasius believes that the heavenly moral order projects itself (or must be projected) onto the earthly corporeal reality. Anthony’s sexuality is normalized, being tempted only by women and young boys. In so doing, the literature of the desert avoids the metaphorization of auctoritas by the grammars of same-sex desire. But [End Page 617] despite Athanasius’s abhorrence for anything resembling same-sex passion, his knowledge of the forbidden acquired through paideia may be manifest in a few homosocial slips, specifically in Anthony’s wrestling match with the devil in the Vita Antonii 5. So although Athanasius avoids using same-sex desire to order masculine grandeur, the knowledge and accompanying danger of homoeroticism still lurk between the lines of the Vita. Masterson does struggle in this chapter to figure same-sex passion in the Vita, but he successfully juxtaposes Athanasius with Julian and proves his point in the end. The final case study visits Ammianus Marcellinus’s Res Gestae. If Julian managed to apply same-sex desire to glorify Marcus Aurelius, and if Athanasius avoided it to the best of his abilities, Ammianus is more conflicted about same-sex admirability. Constantius II is portrayed as being perhaps too transcendent and glorious, while Julian is more approachable—but not spectacular enough. It is the conflict between transcendence and civility, and Ammianus wanted both. Constantius’s lack of civilitas...

Teatro e tradução de teatro é uma publicação multifacetada que reflete as preocupações do GTT. Assim como o grupo advoga por suas abordagens multidisciplinares, que envolve pesquisadores de Letras, História, Artes e profissionais das artes, Teatro e tradução de teatro oferece ao/à leitor(a) múltiplas abordagens de pesquisa em teatro e tradução teatral. No prefácio do livro, as organizadoras apresentam um histórico do grupo, que elenca suas produções teatrais, publicações, que vão desde reflexões teóricas e metodológicas, que priorizam o trabalho colaborativo, a traduções de peças teatrais, assim como sua ideologia como grupo. A prática tradutória é vista aqui como um “exercício crítico: crítico de si mesmo e crítico do outro” e, portanto, é um “ato poético e político” (p. 8). O livro resulta numa projeção internacional do grupo e traz capítulos escritos por pesquisadores de diversas partes do país e alguns pesquisadores internacionais. Com dezessete artigos, o livro reúne perspectivas diversas sobre tradução teatrais, desde reflexões aplicadas a estudos de caso específicos a abordagens metafóricas que não tratam do teatro em si, mas de aspectos da dramaticidade presentes em outros gêneros textuais.

Throughout history, translators have played a vital role as cultural agents in shaping the histories of different nations and cultures. Nevertheless, the translators’ role has been largely ignored in translation history research studies, which have often focused on the texts translated. Therefore, many scholars in translation history research (Adamo 2006; Munday 2014; Pym 2009) have argued for the importance of studying translators themselves. The present study draws on the method of microhistory and applies it to the Arabic translation tradition by analyzing the life, personal relationships, and statements of one of the leading translators of Modern Arabic Literature (MAL) into English, Denys Johnson-Davies (J-D). The paper explores and analyses J-D’s autobiography, interviews, and paratextual materials accompanying his translations in order to better understand how J-D’s experience as a translator and cultural agent can shed light on the bigger picture of MAL translation history. The data analysis reveals insights into the status of translation during the different periods of MAL translation history. This includes the publication of Arabic-translated literary works into English, the reception of MAL by the English readership, and the reception of translators and their work by Arab authors and governments during the different periods of the translation history of MAL. This study also confirms the argument that the study of translators is a valid, useful method for researching translation history. Keywords: Modern Arabic Literature, Translation Microhistory, Arabic Translation history, Denys Johnson-Davies, Humanizing translation history, Translator Studies

Describing the consideration of translation theory in various aspects, the issues of its consideration in the requirements for them are considered. Translation theory as an independent discipline, a developing branch of science is contrasted with translation practice. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that both are two sides, two scientific manifestations of the same phenomenon. From this point of view, we will consider the correspondence of “translation theory” to the concept of “ translation studies. Translation theory is, first, a logically based model of a bilingual participle, and second, a comparison of two language systems on a scientific basis. No science can develop without knowing the research of its history. There is a close connection between the history of science and its theory, when theory is a system, General structure of knowledge, and history is a transfer of the process of knowledge. Science and its history are constantly evolving. Like all science, translation theory is a system of theoretical accumulation of facts, the result of practice. Third, translation theory is a scientific field that studies the regularities of the relationship between the original and translation texts and develops methodological problems and translation techniques. In these studies, the scientific principles and conditions of terminology were defined, and the problem of word formation and industry terminology was specifically considered. However, at present, it is of great importance to study one component of scientific vocabulary, a separate terminological system – the terminology of linguistics.

An Insufficient Canon: The Popol Wuj, Book of Mormon, and Other Scriptures

ST THOMAS AQUINAS: SUMMA THEOLOGIA. Latin Text and English Translation. Introduction Text, Appendices and GlossariesCHRISTOLOGY (Collins. 18s); CREATION and TEMPTATION (S.C.M. Press, 10s 6d); I LOVED THIS PEOPLE (S.P.C.K., 5s). by Dietrich BonhoefferTHE VATICAN COUNCIL AND CHRISTIAN UNITY; a commentary on the Decree on Ecumenism of the Second Vatican Council, with a translation of the text, by Bernard Leeming S.J. DartonTHE COMMITTED CHURCH, ed. by Laurence Bright and Simon ClementsCHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD, by Joseph Ratzinger. Sheed &amp; Ward StagbooksBEGINNING LIFE IN CHRIST, by Rosemary HaughtonETHICS AND EDUCATION, by R. S. PetersTHE FORKED FLAME by H. M. Daleski. Faber &amp; Faber

تعادل زیباییشناختی در ترجمۀ رباعیات خیام با استفاده از نظریات زیباییشناسی دریافت و استعارۀ شناختی

Halliday's register theory mainly analyzes the relationship between situational context and language, which can be used to guide the translation of some texts to a certain extent. Nowadays, the research on the application of register theory in translation is rising, but the number of relevant studies on the guiding role of register theory in modern and contemporary prose translation in China is still small. Based on Mr. Zhang Peiji's English translation of the famous local prose "Peanuts", this paper aims to analyze the equivalence and error of the three elements in register theory, so as to explore the importance of realizing the equivalence of the three elements and the guiding role of register theory in prose translation, finally making contributions to the spread of Chinese culture.

The Maltese and the Mustard Fields:Oulipian Translation Alison James (bio) The notion that literary texts are inherently untranslatable is all too familiar. However, as Henri Meschonnic points out, untranslatability is not an absolute; the practical and theoretical specificity of translation varies according to each text's particular practice of language (313). This essay considers a set of writing practices that pose particular challenges for translators: those associated with the Ouvroir de littérature potentielle (Workshop for Potential Literature) or Oulipo. Founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais, the Oulipo is a group of mathematicians and writers who explore the use of rules and restrictions (generally referred to as "constraints") in writing. For the purposes of this paper, I will limit my discussion to two Oulipians: the French writer Georges Perec (1936-1982) and the American writer Harry Mathews (b. 1930). This essay argues that Oulipian texts can help illuminate the theory and practice of translation, and that a reflection on translation, in turn, offers a justification for the Oulipian project. I consider three interconnected topics: the translation of Oulipian texts; the Oulipian nature of all translation; and finally, Oulipian writing as a form of translation. First, I compare some examples from English translations of Perec's La Disparition. This 300-page novel, published in 1969, is the most frequently cited (if less frequently read) Oulipian work; it is a lipogram, a text that does not contain a particular letter of the alphabet—in this case the letter e. La Disparition highlights general problems of literary translation, while also making specific demands on the translator. My analysis leads to the idea of translation in general as a type of constrained writing. The third part of my argument focuses on Harry Mathews's persuasive account of the relationship between writing and translation. Mathews suggests that Oulipian writing methods can themselves be understood as peculiar forms of translation—dislocations of language that draw the writer's attention to new creative possibilities. [End Page 134] Translating Constraints As the Oulipo's fame spreads beyond France, its members' works are increasingly being translated.1 So strong is the temptation to label Oulipian texts as untranslatable, however, that actual translations are often greeted as either miracles or monstrosities. Reviewing Gilbert Adair's English translation of Perec's La Disparition, one critic states, "It needed a madman or a genius to want to translate this accursed book into English" (Martin 11). Yet Adair is hardly alone in his ambition to tackle Perec's most formally difficult works. While his translation, A Void, published in 1994, was the winner of the 1995 Scott Moncrieff Translation Prize, other complete (although unpublished) versions of La Disparition in English include John Lee's Vanish'd and Ian Monk's A Vanishing. There is also a German version, Anton Voyls Fortgang, translated by Eugen Helmle, and a Spanish translation, El Secuestro, by a group of translators who chose to eliminate not the letter e but the letter a. Perec's later text Les Revenentes (1972), in which e is the only vowel, has been translated by Ian Monk under the title The Exeter Text (published in Three by Perec), while the author's masterpiece La Vie mode d'emploi (1978) has appeared in several languages (David Bellos's English translation Life A User's Manual was published in 1987). Each of Perec's texts presents its own particular difficulties, but La Disparition is exemplary in the challenge it presents to translation. The very nature of the work demands that a translator obey the same or a similar formal rule, thus working under a double constraint, semantic and formal. As Jacques Roubaud notes, this text's lipogrammatic constraint is at once a principle of writing and the source of the text's meaning ("La Mathématique" 55). Therein lies the translator's predicament. A few examples from two of the English translations, Adair's A Void and Lee's Vanish'd, will allow me to present this dilemma in more concrete terms. My goal here is less to join the debate over the best, most faithful translation,2 than to consider the compensatory mechanisms and the types of...

The methods of teaching translation are an important part of the pedagogical basis for the formation of a special component of the translation competence of scientists. There is still no generally accepted classification of methodical principles of teaching the translation of special texts. The main goal of the article is to develop methodical recommendations for learning the translation of foreign texts for the purpose of writing scientific articles (annotations, etc.) on the material of stereotyped grammatical constructions of the English language. This is explained by the fact that, at the first stage of their professional scientific activity, searchers face the difficulties of translating the specified constructions into Ukrainian due to the lack of skills and abilities to analyse translation difficulties and find ways to solve them. This situation indicates a low level of formation of translation skills among non-linguistic (graduate) students in higher educational institutions. The article investigates the problems of studying modern changes in the paradigm of functioning and translation of typical grammatical structures of the English language, represented by impersonal forms of the verb (infinitive and participial constructions). The authors analyse the above-mentioned constructions to determine their grammatical meaning when translating original English texts and teaching translation. It is proved that the incorrect transformation of the grammatical meanings of these constructions leads to distortion of the meaning of the original literary and scientific texts. The article draws attention of the readers to the fact that during translation it is necessary to maintain an inseparable connection between the lexical meanings of words and grammatical forms. Moreover, the translation of an English text consists not only in adequate reproduction the meaning of each word included in the grammatical structure of the syntactic construction, but in many cases it is essential to change the structure of the sentence, the order of words, to break one sentence into two or, on the contrary, to combine two sentences in one. The authors state that the reason for such changes is the lack of appropriate grammatical phenomena in the foreign language, as well as the mismatch of features of grammatical constructions and semantic structures in English and corresponding word combinations. Scientific interest in methods of teaching text translation and the problem of functioning and translation of lexical-grammatical constructions is due to its relevance and the need to find new ways of forming the creative qualities of students in writing formal words, reports, articles, annotations, summaries in foreign languages. The models considered in the article can be used in the theory and practice of text translation, which will contribute to the creation of scientifically based teaching methods for the translation of literary and scientific texts. For instance, it would be useful for graduate students, scientists and those seeking scientific degrees.