NHEHS Modern Foreign Languages NEWSLETTER – JULY 2022
Le bulletin. Die Zeitschrift. El boletin. 通讯. Tōngxùn.
Creative Translations This term students have been focusing on creative translations, here is a selection from our workshops. Translated by Karma Asti- Khalili
Mon Premier Souvenir Michaël Vidon
I walk Along A street With my father’s, father My grandpa pepo
je marche le long d’une rue avec le père de mon papa Pepo il est le plus gentil de tout les hommes dans ma main gauche je tiens sa droite et dans la mienne une belle voiture rouge qu’il m’a offerte des années après, on m’a dit que Pepo était mort avant que je sache marcher
He is very kind kindest of All men In my left hand i’m holding His right In my right I am holding a Beautiful red car He gave Me Years later I was told that pepo died before I knew how to walk.
Congratulations to Caitlin McGowan for being highly commended by the judges of the Oxford Spanish Flash Fiction competition! El año pasado, mi familia fue de vacaciones y me dejó en casa. Me sentí sola. Decidí irme de vacaciones sola, fui a la casa de vecinos. Primero fui a casa de Diana, hice mucho ruido fuera de su puerta. Ella me dio de comer, era pescado. Cuando estaba llena, fui a pasear por mi casa. De repente me sentí cansada, comencé a pensar sobre cómo mi familia me había dejado fuera y no me llevó de vacaciones. No es justo, mis hermanos fueron a Barbados, Francia e Italia, nadaron y jugaron al voleibol. Después de todo, soy un gato.
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Hispanic Cinema Workshop: Review
El Cine Hispano
Rosie Hewitt
Mi reseña cinematográfica por Millie
On the 16th of June, my classmates and I attended an online, Hispanic Cinematic workshop, led by Dr Carmen Herrero. The workshop aimed to expand our knowledge on short films while also practising the Spanish language. By using examples of award-winning short films such as Irene, Dr. Carmen Herrero encouraged our interest beyond the front-page of films, and used the workshop as a medium of insight to the process of filmmaking.
El Viaje Este cortometraje se llama El viaje y está dirigido por Cole Webley que también dirigió Birdland, Con Amor y 10:17. Es del género drama y está ambientado en un país latinoamericano en desarrollo. Cuenta la historia de una madre y su hija que hacen un largo y trepidante viaje a Estados Unidos en un intento de escapar de la pobreza y comenzar una vida mejor. El cortometraje tenía muchos planos americanos y gran plano que pensé que eran muy efectivos, ya que enfatizaban la duración del viaje en el que estaban la madre y la hija. La banda sonora es efectiva ya que refleja el estado de ánimo y la desesperación y el miedo en los personajes.
This was particularly helpful, as we were taught cinematic terminology in Spanish, enabling us to give perspective of the different sides of cinema. We learnt all about the different shots of the camera and its visual effect on the audience whilst the concept of Film Review was also introduced. This was extremely helpful, as what we learnt could be reflected into what we were doing in lessons. Moreover, we revised using idiomatic expressions and practising the preterite tense, some of which we hadn’t visited for a long time.
Me pareció que el mensaje al final del cortometraje era importante, ya que debería decir que se trataba de aceptar inmigrantes y se mostró a millones de personas en un momento en el que el Presidente norteamericano era muy abierto acerca de sus sentimientos negativos sobre los refugiados. Realmente disfruté este cortometraje y lo recomendaría encarecidamente ya que comparte un mensaje y una historia muy importantes para los demás.
Through the passion for Spanish and film, the workshop acted as a bridge to connect the two worlds and I particularly enjoyed the interactive side of it. The element of interaction added to the excitement of the workshop and despite the workshop being conducted online, Carmen Herreo set a collaborative, informative presentation, incorporating all our points of interest. The 15 minutes of questions at the end also demonstrated a personal view, which helped grasp the concept of filmmaking a lot more. I felt that the workshop particularly highlighted the unique and imaginative nature of short films and it inspired me to explore and try to create a short film of my own. Cultivo una rosa blanca Ishani Aggarwal
José Martí Cultivo una rosa blanca, En julio como en enero, Para el amigo sincero Que me da su mano franca.
I will cultivate a white rose, Whatever month of the year, And give it to this true and honest friend of mine, Who always lends me his help.
Y para el cruel que me arranca El corazón con que vivo, Cardo ni ortiga cultivo: Cultivo la rosa blanca
But for the cruel friend who rips from me, The very heart that I need to survive, I will cultivate thistles and nettles, Instead of cultivating a white rose.
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One Day Eve Hamill
Julia Engelmann Eines Tages, Baby, werden wir alt sein, oh, Baby werden wir alt sein, und an all die Geschichten denken, die wir hätten erzählen können.
I would like to say so much, I stay mostly still, Because - when I would say everything It would be way too much. I would like to do so much My list is so long But i will never accomplish everything, I won’t bother to start at all
Ich? Ich bin der Meister der Streiche, wenn es um Selbstbetrug geht, bin ein Kleinkind vom Feinsten, wenn ich vor Aufgaben steh’. Bin ein entschleunigtes Teilchen, kann auf keinsten was reißen, lass mich begeistern für Leichtsinn, wenn ein anderer ihn lebt.
Instead? I aimlessly hang in front of my Smartphone I’m just waiting for the next Moment of freedom. Oh, I will do it later Is the motto of all my days I am so terribly lazy Like a pebble on the Seabed I am so terribly lazy My spirit animal is a pig My life is a waiting room No-one calls me. My highs are always saved In case I need them again
Und ich denke zu viel nach, ich warte zu viel ab, ich nehm’ mir zu viel vor, und ich mach’ davon zu wenig, ich halt' mich zu oft zurück, ich zweifle alles an, ich wäre gerne klug — allein das ist ziemlich dämlich. Ich würd' gern so vieles sagen, aber bleibe meistens still, weil — wenn ich das alles sagen würde, wär' das viel zu viel, Ich würd' gern so vieles tun, meine Liste ist so lang, aber ich werd' eh nie alles schaffen, also fang' ich gar nicht an.
And one day, baby, I will be old, Oh baby, I will be old And I wish to remember all the stories I could have told.
Stattdessen? häng' ich planlos vorm Smartphone, wart' bloß auf den nächsten Freitag. »Ach, das mach' ich später« ist die Baseline meines Alltags. Ich bin so furchtbar faul wie ein Kieselstein am Meeresgrund. Ich bin so furchtbar faul, mein Patronus ist ein Schweinehund. Mein Leben ist ein Wartezimmer, niemand ruft mich auf. Mein Dopamin — das spar' ich immer, falls ich es noch mal brauch’. Und eines Tages, Baby, werde ich alt sein, Oh, Baby, werde ich alt sein und an all die Geschichten denken, die ich hätte erzählen können.
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Congratulations to Nancy Sneath-Saville for coming first place in the ISMLA writing competition 2022!
Congratulations to Bea Cook for winning the Mandarin Anthea Bell Prize for London!
Write-up to the German Stephen Spender Prize Translation WorkshopJaan Walia, Julia Bevers and Juliette Blua Last week our German class took part in a fun and engaging German translation workshop where we were able to learn about our translation expert’s love for her languages, which inspired us to do our own translations. We especially enjoyed how she shared her love for German with us, and how she could converse and teach us new phrases from her own experience in Germany. Our expert was also kind and open-minded which was helpful in learning new skills when translating our poem “One Day”. During the translation workshop, we learnt how to change certain phrases and tweak different words to ensure the poem made sense in both languages while maintaining its meaning. For example, a line of our poem in German read, “Ich bin so furchtbar faul” which literally translates to, “I am so terribly lazy,” however in our rendition we altered the phrase to “My laziness consumes me”. This allowed us to preserve the significance and meaning of the poem while adding different English literary devices such as metaphors. Another interesting aspect of translation that we discovered was the change in phrases between two different languages, and how the differences in word order could affect the entire flow of the poem. In our opinions translating certain descriptive phrases and similes was the most enjoyable because we had to replace them so that they would convey the same idea in English: which was seen multiple times throughout the text.
Competition text: 《鞋》 我回家，把鞋脱下 姐姐回家，把鞋脱下 哥哥、爸爸回家 也都把鞋脱下
Our poem was also based on the effect of technology on humans and the writer's emotions. This is a very modern and prevalent topic which students our age could relate to, which made it less challenging to understand and made our translations personal to each of us. As we listened to everyone's interpretation of the poem, we realised that although we were all given the same starting point, our ending translations were completely different. It was extremely interesting to see how one piece of text could be transformed into many different versions while remaining true to the original. By the end of the workshop, we all gained a new understanding of poetry in different languages, a plethora of new vocabulary and an amazing experience.
大大小小的鞋 是一家人 依偎在一起 说着一天的见闻 大大小小的鞋 就像大大小小的船 回到安静的港湾 享受家的温暖
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