國立政治大學英國語文學系

英文系課堂演講公告

講者：賴傑威（文化大學英文系退休教師）

                        董恆秀（新竹教育大學英教系兼任講師）

                        吳敏華（政大英文系助理教授）

講題：Translating Emily Dickinson in Practice: A Recent Example

主持人：許立欣（政大英文系副教授）

時間：12月25日（五）13：10~16：00

地點：研究大樓 250420教室

Abstract: The non-native speaker of English can easily become lost in the maze-like structure of Dickinson's poems, the odd word combinations, nonstandard spellings and punctuation, or lack of punctuation, lack of context, arrangement of phrases, etc. Again, there are personal, literary, historical, and religious allusions, as well as grammatical/syntactical difficulties, and the use of fragmented English to express fragmented or inexpressible thoughts, all of which the translator (as well as the reader, whether native or non-native speakers of English) must contend with. All of these combine to present the translator, especially non-native speakers, with formidable challenges. In this talk, we will deal with these issues and others as they relate specifically to translating Dickinson into modern Chinese in the context of contemporary Taiwanese, and broader Chinese, culture. We will draw on specific examples that we have recently encountered while working on a project we were asked to undertake, namely reading, reviewing, and where necessary correcting (or occasionally re-translating parts of) the recent Chinese translation of an English language book on the gardening life of Emily Dickinson ("Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life" by Marta McDowell). The book includes 87 of Dickinson's poems in full or in part (mostly in full), and numerous excerpts from her letters. By using specific examples of specific problems the translator may encounter, we hope to make the talk more concrete, not just an abstract or theoretical discussion.

Bio: 

George Lytle:

Born 1951, USA

1973: B. A. in Anthropology, minor in Chinese, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

1976: M. A. in East Asian Studies, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

1985: M. A. in Chinese Literature, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

1976: Began teaching career in English Department, Chinese Culture College, Taipei, Taiwan 中國文化學院，臺灣，臺北市，楊明山，later Chinese Culture University 中國文化大學

2007: retired from Chinese Culture University 中國文化大學

Dorothea Tung:

Dorothea Tung (writer / translator) received her M. A. in English Language and Literature from Fu Jen Catholic University. She translated Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson in Chinese Translation, Volume One and Volume Two, with George Lytle. She compiled and translated Selected Letters by Emily Dickinson in Chinese Translation and Selected Poems of English Romantic Poetry in Chinese Translation. She is the translator of Shattering the Myths: Taiwanese identity and the legacy of KMT colonialism by Laurence Eyton. Her essays and articles have appeared in numerous Taiwanese publications, among them The Liberty Times, United Daily News, The News Lens, and Newtalk. Her essay “An Amazing, Enduring Encounter” appeared in Dickinson Bulletin (November 2020). She was an adjunct lecturer in the English Teaching Department of National Hsinchu University of Education from 2003- 2014.