Translation Literary Translation 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary challenge of translating poetry?
- Converting long sentences
- Preserving meaning while maintaining rhythm, meter, and sound (Correct answer)
- Finding synonyms for uncommon words
- Matching the line count exactly
Correct answer: Preserving meaning while maintaining rhythm, meter, and sound
Poetic translation must balance semantic fidelity with aesthetic qualities like rhythm, meter, rhyme, and sound patterns.
Question 2: Who translated Miguel de Cervantes' 'Don Quixote' into an acclaimed modern English version in 2003?
- Gregory Rabassa
- Edith Grossman (Correct answer)
- Gregory Freidin
- Lydia Davis
Correct answer: Edith Grossman
Edith Grossman's 2003 English translation of Don Quixote is widely celebrated for its readability and faithfulness to Cervantes' voice.
Question 3: What is 'foreignization' in literary translation?
- Adding foreign-language footnotes to the text
- Deliberately preserving source-culture elements to give the target text a foreign feel (Correct answer)
- Removing all cultural references from the target text
- Translating only texts from foreign countries
Correct answer: Deliberately preserving source-culture elements to give the target text a foreign feel
Foreignization, associated with Lawrence Venuti, retains source-culture elements so the reader is aware of the text's foreign origins.
Question 4: What does 'domestication' mean in literary translation theory?
- Translating only texts about domestic life
- Adapting the text to feel natural and familiar to target-culture readers (Correct answer)
- Keeping all source-language idioms intact
- Publishing translations for a domestic audience only
Correct answer: Adapting the text to feel natural and familiar to target-culture readers
Domestication makes the translated text read fluently and naturally for target-culture readers by adapting cultural elements.
Question 5: In literary translation, what is a 'ghost translator'?
- A translator who works on horror fiction
- An uncredited translator whose work is published under another's name (Correct answer)
- A translator who handles posthumous works
- A freelancer who works anonymously online
Correct answer: An uncredited translator whose work is published under another's name
A ghost translator does the translation work but receives no public credit, with the named translator or author claiming the translation.
Question 6: Which award is the most prestigious prize specifically for literary translation into English in the US?
- PEN/Hemingway Award
- National Book Award for Translated Literature (Correct answer)
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Man Booker Prize
Correct answer: National Book Award for Translated Literature
The National Book Award for Translated Literature, established in 2018, is the most prominent US prize for English literary translation.
Translation Literary Translation 1
What is the primary challenge of translating poetry?