FIT FIT Literary & Creative Translation

Question 1

What is the primary challenge in literary translation compared to technical translation?

Accepted Answer

Preserving the author's voice, style, and aesthetic intent alongside meaning

Answer

Converting measurement units accurately across languages

Answer

Maintaining consistent use of standardized terminology

Answer

Ensuring numerical data is reproduced without error

Question 2

What does 'foreignization' mean as a strategy in literary translation?

Accepted Answer

Retaining elements of the source culture to expose the target reader to the foreign text

Answer

Replacing all foreign references with domestic equivalents for easier reading

Answer

Translating only words with direct dictionary equivalents

Answer

Avoiding any cultural references to keep the text neutral

Question 3

In poetry translation, what is the concept of 'semantic equivalence' often balanced against?

Accepted Answer

Formal equivalence in meter, rhyme, and sound

Answer

Word-for-word literal accuracy in every line

Answer

Omitting all figures of speech from the target text

Answer

Translating only the title and first stanza

Question 4

What is a 'cultural untranslatability' problem in literary translation?

Accepted Answer

A source-language concept with no direct equivalent in the target language or culture

Answer

A passage that is too long to translate within a deadline

Answer

A sentence where grammar rules differ between source and target languages

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A text that has already been translated by another translator

Question 5

How does a translator typically handle dialect or regional speech in literary works?

Accepted Answer

By finding a target-language dialect or register that conveys a similar social or geographic identity

Answer

By standardizing all dialect to formal language in the translation

Answer

By leaving all dialect passages in the original language untranslated

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By replacing dialect with technical jargon to signal difference

Question 6

What is the translator's 'invisibility' concept as discussed by Lawrence Venuti in literary translation?

Accepted Answer

The tendency for fluent, domesticated translations to make readers forget the text was translated

Answer

The practice of not crediting the translator on the book cover

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A method of hiding cultural references inside footnotes

Answer

The elimination of the author's original voice in the target text