The Art of Translating the Art of Medicine

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The Art of Translating the Art of Medicine
Where the Two Cultures Converge Medicine
Humanities A Symposium in Honor of Dr. Howard
Spiro The Program for Humanities in
Medicine Yale University April 26, 2008 Richard
M. Ratzan, MD Emergency Physician Hartford
Hospital Hartford, CT
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Robert Fagles
1933 - 2008
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Robert Fitzgerald
1910 - 1985
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Translation An Aside Slide
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Translation
translate c.1300, "to remove from one place to
another," also "to turn from one language to
another," from L. translatus "carried over,"
serving as pp. of transferre "to bring over,
carry over" (see transfer), from trans- latus
"borne, carried," from tlatos, from PIE base
tel-, tol- "to bear, carry" (see extol). A
similar notion is behind the O.E. word it
replaced, awendan, from wendan "to turn, direct"
(see wend). Translation "work turned from one
language to another" is attested from
c.1340. http//www.etymonline.com/
fero ferre tuli latum (1) to
bear , bring, carry 'prae se ferre', to
display, make public often, to endure, submit
to esp. with adv., 'ferre aegre', to take ill,
be vexed at. (2) to bring forth, produce. (3)
to bring to a place or a person, fetch, offer
'suffragium, sententiam', to vote 'legem', to
propose a law 'ferre ut', to propose that
commercial, 'expensum ferre', to set down in an
account-book as paid to cause, bring about to
report to others, spread abroad, speak of 'fama
fert', the story goes esp. to publish a
person's praises (4) to bear away, carry off
'ferre et agere', to plunder. Transf., to win,
get 'centuriam, tribus', to gain the votes
of. CONTINUED fero ferre tuli latum 2 of 2
(5) to bear along , move forward, put in
motion milit., 'signa ferre', to march.
Transf., to move, impel, carry away without
object, to lead, tend. http//archives
.nd.edu/latgramm.htm
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Homer in Various Flavors
Homer Iliad Book I stanza 1
?Anger be now your song, immortal
one, Akhilleusanger, doomed and ruinous, that
caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss and
crowded brave souls into the undergloom, leaving
so many dead men - carrion for dogs and birds
and the will of Zeus was done. Begin it when the
two men first contending broke with one another
- the Lord Marshal Agamémnon, Atreus son,
and Prince Akhilleus. Robert Fitzgerald, Anchor
Press, Doubleday, 1974
?O Goddess! Sing the wrath of Peleus'
son, Achilles sing the deadly wrath that
brought Woes numberless upon the Greeks, and
swept To Hades many a valiant soul, and
gave Their limbs of prey to dogs and birds of
air, - For so had Jove appointed, - from the
time When the two chiefs, Atrides, king of
men, And great Achilles, parted first as foes.
William Cullen Bryant, Houghton Mifflin, 1870
?Rage -- Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son
Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the
Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the
House of Death so many sturdy souls, great
fighters souls, but made their bodies
carrion, feasts for the dogs and birds, and the
will of Zeus was moving toward its end. Begin,
Muse, when the two first broke and
clashed, Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant
Achilles. Robert Fagles, Viking, 1990
?Achilles' wrath, to Greece the direful spring Of
woes unnumber'd, heavenly goddess, sing! That
wrath which hurl'd to Pluto's gloomy reign The
souls of mighty chiefs untimely slain Whose
limbs unburied on the naked shore, Devouring dogs
and hungry vultures tore.(41)? Since great
Achilles and Atrides strove, Such was the
sovereign doom, and such the will of
Jove!(42)? Alexander Pope 1715 (Buckley, 1899)?
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How do you translate this?
Patrick Winstanley
http//www.funny-poems.co.uk/kids/odes-ends/m07-am
persand.asp
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How to translate this??
JABBERWOCKY
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe
All mimsy were the borogoves, And
the mome raths outgrabe. 'Beware the
Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that
bite, the claws that catch! Beware
the Jubjub bird, and shun The
frumious Bandersnatch!' He took his
vorpal sword in hand Long time the
manxome foe he sought-- So rested he
by the Tumtum tree, And stood
awhile in thought. And as in uffish
thought he stood, The Jabberwock,
with eyes of flame, Came whiffling
through the tulgey wood, And
burbled as it came! One, two! One,
two! And through and through The
vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He
left it dead, and with its head He
went galumphing back. 'And hast thou
slain the Jabberwock? Come to my
arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day!
Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in
his joy. 'Twas brillig, and the
slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in
the wabe All mimsy were the
borogoves, And the mome raths
outgrabe.
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Here's how!
GALIMATAZO Brillaba, brumeando negro,
el sol agiliscosos giroscaban los
limazones banerrando por las vparas
lejanas mimosos se fruncÌan los
borogobios mientras el momio rantas
murgiflaba. Cuidate del Galimatazo, hijo
mÌo! Gurdate de los dientes que trituran Y de
las zarpas gue desgarran! Cuidate del pjaro
Jubo-Jubo y que no te agarre el frumioso
Zamarrajo! Valiente empuÒÛ el gladio vorpal a
la hueste manzona acometiÛ sin descanso luego,
reposÛse bajo el rbol del Tntamo y quedÛse
sesudo contemplando... Y asi, mientras cabilaba
firsuto. Hete al Galimatazo, fuego en los
ojos, que surge hedoroso del bosque turgal y se
acerca raudo y borguejeando!! Zis, zas y zas!
Una y otra vez zarandeÛ tijereteando el gladio
vorpal! Bien muerto dejÛ al monstruo, y con su
testa volviÛse triunfante galompando! øY haslo
muerto?! øAl Galimatazo?! Ven a mis brazos,
mancebo sonrisor! QuÈ fragarante dÌa!
Jujuruj?u! Jay, jay! CarcajeÛ, anegado de
alegria. Pero brumeaba ya negro el
sol agiliscosos giroscaban los limazones banerrand
o por las vparas lejanas, mimosos se fruncian
los borogobios mientras el momio rantas
necrofaba...
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How to translate these?
nakhur, Persian a camel that won't give milk
until her nostrils are tickled areodjarekput,
Inuit to exchange wives for a few days
only marilopotes, ancient Greek a gulper of
coaldust ilunga, Tshiluba, Congo someone who is
ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to
tolerate it a second time, but never a third
time cigerci, Turkish a seller of liver and
lungs seigneur-terrasse, French a person who
spends much time but little money in a cafe
(literally a terrace lord)? Torschlusspanik,
German the fear of diminishing opportunities as
one gets older (literally gate-closing panic
often applied to women worried about being too
old to have children.)? pana po'o, Hawaiian to
scratch your head in order to remember
something from The Meaning of Tingo by
Adam Jacot de Boinod, Penguin 2005
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Palindromes
a man a plan a canal panama
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Palindromes
Palindromas La ruta nos aportó otro paso
natural Salta Lenin el atlas damas, oid a Dios,
amad Ana lleva nenes al abad, al reconocerla,
dábala Senén avellana somos laicos, Adán, nada
social somos http//swobodin.fedora-tn.org/archi
ves/39 accessed 080423 1132pm
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One of the Few Linguas Francas in the World
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel_problem
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Variorum Texts
?A Synoptic Hamlet A Critical-Synoptic Edition
of the Second Quarto and First Folio Texts of
Hamlet. Jesús Tronch-Pérez. Valencia Sederi,
2002.
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Intrepret
interpret 1382, from L. interpretari "explain,
expound, understand," from interpres "agent,
translator," from inter- second element of
uncertain origin, perhaps related to Skt. prath-
"to spread abroad." Interpretation is attested
from 1292 in Anglo-Fr. Interpreter "one who
translates spoken languages" is from 1382.
Interpretative is from 1569, properly formed from
the L. pp. stem interpretive, which means the
same thing but is less correct, is from
1680. http//www.etymonline.com/
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Prognosis Ancient Roman Style
The bronze sheep's liver of Piacenza, with
Etruscan inscriptions http//en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/ImageHaruspex.png