LÊ PHAM LÊ ĐƠN SƠ VIETNAM / USA (1950 ) LANGUAGE: VIETNAMESE. Lạc loài trên dất tạm dung. Dựng căn chòi nhỏ bên vùng biền êm.

Transcription

1 LÊ PHAM LÊ VIETNAM / USA (1950 ) LANGUAGE: VIETNAMESE ĐƠN SƠ Lạc loài trên dất tạm dung. Dựng căn chòi nhỏ bên vùng biền êm. Bàn tay chai cứng, đà mềm. Đêm trăng soi bóng bên thềm đọc thơ. Đong đưa chiếc võng chùng tơ. Điệu ru ngày cũ À ơ ví dầu Chòi sau lắc lẻo nhip cầu. Buồm xa thấp thoáng bóng tàu lắc lư. Bềnh bồng sóng nuóc vô tư. Gió ơi, đưa mối sầu dư sang bờ! Born in South Vietnam, Lê Pham Lê was introduced to poetry by her grandmother, who sang traditional lullabies to her as she went to bed. Lê Pham Lê went on to study Vietnamese literature and taught high school for five years before her country was taken over by North Vietnam, putting a violent end to the Vietnam War ( ). She and her husband and baby fled their homeland, spending a year at a refugee camp in Malaysia before immigrating to the United States. While at the refugee camp, Lê Pham Lê further immersed herself in poetry in order to escape from the tragic reality around her. Her lyrical style is inspired by the twothousand-year-old Vietnamese tradition of sung poetry, which originated among the illiterate peasants working in the rice paddies, who spontaneously composed and sang verses as they worked. Center for the Art of Translation!! Please do not copy without permission.

2 TRANSLATOR S GLOSSARY WORD DEFINITION POSSIBLE SYNONYMS A ơ ví dầu (phrase) bàn tay (n.) bên (prep.) bềnh bồng (adj.) bóng (n.) buồm (n.) căn chòi nhỏ (n.) lyrics from a song; literally means Well err for oil the end parts of a person s arms beyond the wrists situated within or close to someone or something carried slowly by a current of air or water a mark, object, or other indication of the existence or passing of something piece of material extended on a mast to catch the wind and propel a boat a small, crude shelter used by the poor or for temporary use Well err for oil (song lyrics) hands, palms nearby, along, on, inside floating, bobbing up and down, drifting, meandering shadow, hint, umbrage, image, trace, sign sail, canvas, sailcloth, tarp hut, tent, shelter, hovel, shanty, shack, shed chai cứng (adj.) having an area of hardened skin calloused, work-hardened, rough, coarse, rugged, crude, chapped chiếc võng (n.) a bed made of canvas or rope and suspended by chords at the end hammock chòi sau (prep.) at or to the further side of behind, beyond, after, past chùng (adj.) not held tightly in position loose, sagging, slack, limp, hanging đà (n.) a piece of hard, solid mineral matter stone, rock, boulder, pebble, gravel, granite dất (n.) đêm (n.) điệu ru (n.) an expanse of the earth s surface that is not covered by water the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise a quiet, gentle song sung to send a child to sleep land, country, area, region, territory, terrain, soil night, nighttime, after dark, nightfall, darkness, dusk to dawn lullaby, cradle song, nighttime song, hymn Center for the Art of Translation!! Please do not copy without permission.

3 WORD DEFINITION POSSIBLE SYNONYMS đọc (v.) to repeat aloud for an audience we read aloud, we recite, we deliver, we perform, we reel off, we repeat, we chant đong đưa (v.) đơn sơ (n. / adj.) dư (adj.) dựng (v.) đưa (v.) moves slowly or rhythmically backward and forward or from side to side the quality or condition of being easy to understand or do remaining after the greater part or quantity has gone to assemble parts or materials together in order to create something to move something or someone to a place sways, swings, rocks simplicity, simple, plainness, plain, ease, clarity, candor residual, surplus, extra, lingering, enduring, leftover we build, we construct, we erect, we put up, we fashion, we make bring, take, carry, fetch, bear, shepherd, haul, transport êm (adj.) free from disturbance quiet, tranquil, gentle, peaceful, restful, calm gió ơi (n.) lắc lẻo nhip cầu (n.) lạc loài (adj.) perceptible natural movement of the air raised platform on a ship that allows safe passage when the weather deck is washed by heavy seas having no home or having wandered away or forced from home wind, current, breeze, draft, gale, gust monkey bridge, flying bridge, flying gangway lost, stray, exiled, misplaced, wayward, banished, outcast lắc lư (adj.) moving unsteadily from side to side shaking, swaying, wobbling, rocking, teetering mềm (adj.) mối sầu (adj. + n.) easy to mold, cut, compress, break, or fold the speaker s feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune soft, brittle, tender, delicate, fragile my grief, my sorrow, my melancholy, my worries, my strife ngày cũ (adj.) from former times old, olden, past, ancient Center for the Art of Translation!! Please do not copy without permission.

4 WORD DEFINITION POSSIBLE SYNONYMS sang bờ (adv.) to or on land from the direction of the sea to shore, ashore, to dry land, shoreward, across the sea soi bóng (v.) gives out a bright light is reflected, is illuminated, shines, glows, glimmers, glistens sóng nuóc (n.) slow regular movements of the sea waves, ripples, swells, surges, tides, ebb and flow tạm dung (adj.) tàu (n.) not previously visited, seen, or encountered a vessel for transporting people or goods by sea strange, foreign, unfamiliar, alien, unknown, new ship, boat, barge, sailboat, yacht, ark, skiff thấp thoáng (v.) makes small, quick movements flickers, flutters, quivers, spasms, dances thềm (n.) thơ (n.) tơ (adj.) trăng (n.) trên (prep.) vô tư (adj.) vùng biền (n.) xa (adj.) an elevated structure on which people or things can stand writing arranged with a metrical rhythm made of a fine, strong, soft, lustrous fiber produced by silkworms the natural satellite of the earth, visible at night by reflected light from the sun surrounded by or within the confines of having no particular anxiety, interest, or sympathy stretches or bodies of colorless, transparent liquid situated at a great distance in space or time threshold, platform, deck, scaffold verse, poetry, poems silky, silk, of silk moon, orb, satellite in, upon, within, among carefree, indifferent, disinterested, fair, even-minded waters, oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, shores far, faraway, afar, remote, farflung, outlying Center for the Art of Translation!! Please do not copy without permission.

5 NAME: DATE: PHRASE BY PHRASE ĐƠN SƠ Lạc loài trên dất tạm dung. Dựng căn chòi nhỏ bên vùng biền êm. Bàn tay chai cứng, đà mềm. Đêm trăng soi bóng bên thềm đọc thơ. Đong đưa chiếc võng chùng tơ. Điệu ru ngày cũ À ơ ví dầu Chòi sau lắc lẻo nhip cầu. Center for the Art of Translation!! Please do not copy without permission.

6 Buồm xa thấp thoáng bóng tàu lắc lư. Bềnh bồng sóng nuóc vô tư. Gió ơi, đưa mối sầu dư sang bờ! Center for the Art of Translation!! Please do not copy without permission.

7 NAME: DATE: MAKE IT FLOW ĐƠN SƠ Lạc loài trên dất tạm dung. Dựng căn chòi nhỏ bên vùng biền êm. Bàn tay chai cứng, đà mềm. Đêm trăng soi bóng bên thềm đọc thơ. Đong đưa chiếc võng chùng tơ. Điệu ru ngày cũ À ơ ví dầu Chòi sau lắc lẻo nhip cầu. Center for the Art of Translation!! Please do not copy without permission.

8 Buồm xa thấp thoáng bóng tàu lắc lư. Bềnh bồng sóng nuóc vô tư. Gió ơi, đưa mối sầu dư sang bờ! Center for the Art of Translation!! Please do not copy without permission.

9 DEFENDING YOUR TRANSLATION FINDING THE MEANING Group Member Names: Date: Pick a scribe for the group, and work together to answer the questions. Note three phrases or words that were challenging or interesting to translate, and explain why. How did this poem make you feel? What do you think the poet is trying to communicate in this poem? Center for the Art of Translation!! Please do not copy without permission.

10 POETRY INSIDE OUT TRANSLATION CIRCLES Begin by seeking volunteers to read the poem aloud to the whole class. Several readings are fine. When possible, have a native speaker of the language read the poem. Hearing the poem is the first step in literary translation. A big part of translation is to have a sense of the piece, which begins with listening. Examine all the parts of the poem page and read the biography of the poet together. Then break into groups of four with mixed levels of language expertise, if possible. It is helpful but not necessary if one member of the group is a dominant English speaker and at least one is bilingual. NOTE: If a person in the class is a native speaker of the language of the poem, he/she should hold back on telling what the words are in English until the Make It Flow step in the translation process. 1. Become acquainted with the poem. Each member of the group reads the poem silently to him/herself. Anyone who is willing can read the poem aloud. If possible, start with someone who speaks the language of the poem. Search for cognates words that look and sound the same as the English word. Use the cognates as clues to figuring out what the poem means. Once the poem has been read aloud several times, and the group has found all the cognates, make a prediction about the content of the poem. 2. Translate the poem phrase by phrase. The group of four breaks into pairs. Balance the spoken language strengths of the group members when possible. The person least fluent in the language of the poem begins by guessing at all possible words. This can be done using the Translator s Glossary, if desired. If there is a person with knowledge of the language in the pair, this is the time to add her/his input. Remember, sometimes when you translate a poem from one language to another, you need to add small words like the, it, etc. Be on the lookout for where those words might be needed. 3. Make it flow. Once the phrase-by-phrase translation is complete, meet with the rest of your group. Share the translations. Make changes or adjustments based on what you learned from each other. 4. Defend your translation find the meaning. As a group, discuss possible interpretations of the poem. Talk about words or phrases that were particularly difficult to translate, and why. Discuss which words were most interesting, and why. In the whole-class discussion be prepared to: (a) Discuss and support your group s interpretation of the poem. (b) Talk about what was interesting or difficult to translate. (c) Share possibilities about what the poem might mean. Center for the Art of Translation!! Please do not copy without permission.