Omissions in translations?

[Nina Wieda]

Responding to Melissa Smith's question whether anyone else uses comparative
translations in their work with students:

In my upper-level Dostoevsky class, taught in English, I offer my students
with sufficient knowledge of Russian the option to substitute one of the
papers with a comparative analysis of translations.  Students pick a three-
or four-page excerpt from a chapter of their choice, read and analyze two or
more translations, compare them to the original, and write a paper
reflecting on how the translator's choices foreground different aspects of
the text and affect their interpretation.  This practice has yielded some
very interesting papers.  I find this assignment especially productive for
heritage speakers, who take pride in being able to read the classics in the
original, but can't quite handle reading hundreds of pages in Russian fast
enough to keep up with the class.

-- 
Nina Wieda, Ph.D.
Slavic Languages and Literatures
Northwestern University
4-130 Crowe Hall
1860 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208

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