RESOURCE PACK Oksa Pollock & Translation Ideas for small group activities in Years 6 and 7 (P6/P7), or library reading groups
Where do stories come from? Think of the stories you enjoyed as a child, in Christmas pantomimes and cartoons as well as in books. If you can only remember the characters, write their names down. Are any of these characters on your list? Beauty (Belle in the Disney film) from Beauty and the Beast) The Little Mermaid (Ariel in the Disney film) Princess Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty) Aladdin and Jafar Snow White Cinderella The Snow Queen Pinocchio Red Riding Hood We only know about these characters because the stories they appear in have been translated from another language, although they are so well known in the UK that we think they belong to us just like Robin Hood, a traditional English folk hero. Today, we can only enjoy stories from around the world because at some point (perhaps a very long time ago) a translator has worked on how to express their meaning in English. Translators are invisible storytellers. Thanks to them, writers and readers around the world can find each other.
What does translation involve? One meaning of the word translation is to carry something from one place to another. To translate a story you need to give the new readers the whole meaning of the story. How do you do this? You might think one word at a time : but it isn t that simple. Why not one word at a time? If you look up every word in the Oksa Pollock books in a French dictionary and put them together, you still wouldn t have the story. And if you tried to translate them on the internet, it wouldn t work either. So many things can affect the meanings of words. Here are some of the issues a translator has to think about: #1 Some words mean something different to everyone who hears them because they create a picture in the reader or listener s mind based on their experience. Try this exercise in a small group: Write down what you think of when you read the following words (one word at a time): School Home Bed Toy Take turns for each member of the group to read out what they have written and see how different it is.
#2 All languages have expressive phrases that mean something more than they say (idiom). What do the following examples of English idiom mean? To refuse to take something lying down To take someone down a peg or two To have something on the tip of your tongue Say cheese! The last example is a particular good example of challenges for translators, imagine what the school photographs would look in like in France if everyone said FROMAGE! (=cheese in French). Can you think of any more examples of idiom? #3 Some words belong to a particular region in the original country but the translator has to make sure everyone understands them. For example, in the north of England ginnel means alleyway or passageway. So a person from the south of England might not understand that. A fish and chip shop is called a chippy in some places and a chipper in others, so although you would understand both versions you would use the word that is local to you without even thinking about it. What words do you say that someone from another part of the country might not understand?
#4 Every language has some words that you might not say in school or with your older relatives. The translator has to know all the various levels of the language, polite or formal and less polite. Are there any words you are not allowed to say (besides swear words)? Some of these might be the same as your local dialect words, above, or they might come from music or television. How might a translator find out the best equivalent words for the slang words in the original language? These questions about how the characters might speak might be answered by the context of the story: are the characters high up in society or trying to sound as if they are? Where is the story set? Are the people in a royal palace, an army camp or a housing estate? When the world of the story is completely imaginary, as the world of Oksa is, then the translator s job becomes even more interesting.
Meet the Oksa Pollock translator Sue Rose has worked on translating novels and poetry from French to English for more than 20 years. She has always enjoyed reading fantasy, including the Harry Potter, Twilight and Game of Thrones series, so she loves exploring the world of Edefia. Translating names was one of the most fun and sometimes the most difficult part of translating the Oksa books. Here is what Sue says about some of the names she created. The names were often plays on words in French, so I worked hard to find names that operated on the same level in English this had me wracking my brains on some occasions, but it was very rewarding when I came up with names that I felt worked well. Next, try Sue s two translation challenges, then read more about how she works.
Challenge #1: which words/which context? Can you guess which meaning matches which word? What Sue the translator said What she came up with French is a combination of culbuter (knock over, fall over) and gueulard (loud mouth) French is an invented name, which left me free to experiment. I combined the word for octopus in Greek with the word for lighthouse in Greek! French is a combination of fourrer (to stuff) and pensée (thought) The French is an invented name. This creature will change shape and speak all kinds of languages. It is also very chatty indeed. The French is based on chuchoter (to whisper) and is a power which enables someone to hear something whispered a long way away. French is a combination of coffre (chest) and ton (a suffix meaning smallish) Thought Adder Caskinette Volumiplus Polypharus Tumbler Bawler Poliglossiper
Challenge #2: how would YOU translate this? In French, they re called Grenettes, combining grenouille (frog) and ette (suffix meaning small) Your translation: The French is a play on feu follet ( a will o the wisp) with the suffix etto for small. Your translation: In French they re called Devinailles, from deviner (to foresee/guess). They re truth teller/lie detectors but also very sensitive and make a lot of noise about the weather. Your translation:
Sue s favourite names Lunatrix/a The French, which is Foldingot/e, is a combination of foldingue (crazy) and dingo (nutcase). I wanted to use something that operated in the same way, and which could also be varied for male and female. I was very pleased when I came up with Lunatrix, which plays on loony (for their eccentricity) and tricks (for their quirky abilities and the tricks they always have up their sleeves). They also have very large, moon like, eyes so the lunar aspect was apt too. Croakette The French, which is Grenette, combines grenouille (frog) and the suffix ette, which is used for a small version of something. I loved Croakette, which combines croak (the sound a frog makes) with ette, which works the same way in English. I also enjoyed the fact that it sounds like croquette. Gargantuhen The French, which is Gelinotte, refers to a type of hen a hazel grouse or hazel hen of normal size, although the Gelinottes in the book are six feet tall. I was very happy when I came up with Gargantuhen, which combines hen with the idea of something enormous or gigantic. a play on Gargantuan (which means immense or gigantic and is also a nod to the French author Rabelais) combined with hen. Polypharus The French, Trasibule, is an invented name. I combined poly which referred to its octopus like form and 11 tentacles the Greek for octopus was Polypous, meaning many feet and pharus, which was a reference to the Greek lighthouse or pharos, since the creature has lights on the end of its tentacles and is used specifically for lighting. I did leave some names in their original form, when it would have served no real purpose to find equivalents. For example, the Getorix was left unchanged, since it is a reference to the Gallic tribal leader Vercingetorix, who had a voluminous mane of hair.
Thank you for taking part! The series continue Volume 4 Tainted Bonds coming in August 2015 In the meantime, keep in touch on oksapollock.co.uk. Pushkin Children s, Geraldine Brennan