Course Syllabus

Jump to Today



The purpose of this Beyond Print course is to: 

 

a. Introduce the participants to key concepts from the different fields of beyond print, intersemiotic translation.

b. Provide the participants with pathways of research and resources related to the three topics

c. Offer an introduction to the theoretical underpinnings of for intersemiotic translation.

d. Help create a community of interested participants in an ongoing mutually enriching web based community that continues to exchange ideas on the mentioned topic.

e. Provide an opportunity for participants to see different ways of incorporating "Beyond Print" elements in their work as translation consultants or aspiring translation consultants.

f. Provide a practical orientation on the three fields of beyond print translation through practical exercises, reading material, community discussion groups, and face-to-face exchange during NSBT 2015.

Due to time and logistical constraints, there is no pretension of offering an exhaustive course on the topics at hand, but rather to offer the participants an introductory course from which they can select pathways for their own future development and/or in order to help them develop localized material to train translators. 

 

 

I. Musicology and Bible Translation  (Dan Fitzgerald)

Bible Translation Beyond Print: Translating, Performing and Evaluating Sung Biblical Discourse

  •  Objectives: (1) to introduce course participants—and the Bible translation agencies that they represent—to current critical interdisciplinary research on the relationship of music and language and (2) to recommended “better practices” for bringing that research to bear on contemporary practice and production of Bible translations “beyond print,” i.e., translations designed to be aptly performed in song.
  • Preparatory Assignment: Each participant is strongly encouraged to bring (1) field recordings of at least 2 traditional songs from the receptor language of one Bible translation project, (2) text transcriptions of those recordings (including a vernacular transcription, a word-for-word gloss, and a free translation), and (3) a very brief ethnographic description of the socio-cultural context of that recording.

 

Monday

1. Lecture (15 min) - Music and Language: Building a Shared Vocabulary

  • Objective: To introduce the semiotic and intersemiotic nature of music and language
  • Preparatory Reading: Feld, Steven and Aaron A. Fox, 1994.  “Music and Language,” in Annual Review of Anthropology, 23; Austin, Texas: Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, p 25-53. FILE: FELD FOX MUSIC LANGUAGE

 

2. Lecture (30 min) – Piercean Semiotics of Song

  • Objective: To describe the semiotic and intersemiotic nature of ‘text, tune, and context’ in sung verbal performance.
  • Preparatory Reading: Turino, Thomas, 1999. “Signs of Imagination, Identity, and Experience: A Peircean Theory for Music.” 
Ethnomusicology 43, p 221-55. FILE: TURINO PEIRCEAN MUSIC SEMIOTICS

 

Tuesday

3. Lecture (90 min) – Semiotics of “Poetically Organized Discourse” (“POD”)

  • Objective: To describe the semiotic and intersemiotic nature of ‘Poetically Organized Discourse’ (POD), i.e., “song”
  • Preparatory Reading: Banti, Giorgio and Francesco Giannattasio. 2004. “Poetry.” In A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology, edited by Alessandro Duranti, Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 290–319. FILE: BANTI GIANNATTASIO POD

 

Wednesday

4. Lecture (90 min) – Translating Biblical Texts to be Sung

  • Objective: to introduce the complementary processes of (1) identifying distinctive features of “poetically organized discourse” (POD) of a receptor language and (2) prescribing the inclusion of some of those features in biblical texts translated to be sung.
  • Preparatory Reading: (1) Fitzgerald, Danny, 2011. “Translating Poetically Organized Discourse to be Sung: a Case Study.”  Paper presented at the 2011 Bible Translation Conference, Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics and SIL International, Dallas, TX, October; FILES: FITZ POD BAKA & FITZ POD BAKA PPT, and (2) Fitzgerald, Danny, 2013.  “Translating Psalms to be Sung: Encoding the Poetic Line,” Paper presented at the Bible Translation Conference, co-sponsored by the Graduate School of Applied Linguistics, SIL International, and the Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship, Dallas, Texas, October. FILES: FITZ POETIC LINE PDF & FITZ POETIC LINE PPT

 

5. Lab (90 min) - Integrating Scripture Enagagement and Translation… in Translation Training and Production: Engaging Translated Scriptures in Song

  • Objective: to propose, discuss, and critique innovative ways to integrate “Scripture engagement through song” in your agency’s translation training and productions.
  • Preparatory Reading: Fitzgerald, Dan, 2014. “Oral Verbal Arts: ‘Transcribe the Verbal Texts of a Recorded Event,’ ‘Make a Preliminary Musico-Poetic Analysis of a Song,’ and ‘Compare the Rhythmic Devices of Three or More Songs’” in Creating Local Arts Together,” by Brian Schrag, edited by James R. Krabill. Pasedena: CA, William Carey Library.  FILE: SCHRAG FITZ OVA

 

6. Lab (90 min) - Integrating Scripture Enagagement and Translation… in Translation Checking: Checking Scriptures that are Translated to be Sung.

 

II. Sign Language (Elsa Tamez)

 

III. Orality and Performance Criticism

 

 

This part of the syllabus only deals with Orality and the way the topic will be approached. The two other strands in the program, Musicology (Dan Fitzgerald) and Sign Language (Elsa Tamez)  will be touched upon in separate rubrics by the respective facilitators. 

Online resources:

For the topic of orality and performance the following websites are of interest. Please feel free to send suggestions  for other sites of interest. 

http://gotell.org

http://www.biblicalperformancecriticism.org/

https://oralitystrategies.org/

http://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/

 

I. Performance and Semiotics

We will start the sessions on orality with a theoretical underpinning based on semiotics. The link between Translation and Semiotic will addressed. Introductory resource: 

a. Peirce semiotics for Translation (1).pdf

 b. (To be included article by Robert Hodgson ) 

II. Orality as a cultural phenomenon

We will talk about orality as part of a wider cultural phenomenon.

-value tradition

-socio-cultural value 

-

III. Using Performance as part of translation pedagogy

 

a. Translators doing it themselves

b. Testing tool

c.  Go to Perfomance Criticism 

Objective: embodiment performance

Creating save space

Comsultamt 

 

 

IV, Actual evaluation of spoken translation products 

 

 

I. Semiotics

In this session we will concentrate on an introduction to semiotics and introduce the notion of intersemiotic translation where a key element shall be the notion of isotopies. The continental semiotic frame will be our point of departure. This session will function as our theoretical underpinning for the work in performance translation. The following Bibliography is useful for this part of the course.

II. Orality as a cultural phenomenon

We will quickly look at Walter Ong's theory on orality and how we have moved beyond this. The work of Lourens de Vries will also be consulted so as to help us in our assessment of  orality in both primary oral communities and secondary oral communities.

In that sense we will look at the ancient world and define the world of the NT and OT as oral societies in the sense that orality played a key role but in a dialectical relationship to writing. 

 

III. Bible Translation as oral Performance

In this session which will take place during a more practical lab work will entail first looking at different types of performances and analyzing how are examples of intersemiotic translation. We will then work on exercises which will help the participant experientially engage the "oral medium" as a critical and fecund approach to text. 

The lab will then proceed with concrete work on selected passages in order to creatively perform translation or translate for performance. This will be done in small groups of 5-6 persons.  

IV. Evaluation of Translation products

The National Translation consultant  will often be invited to give input or to help evaluate nonprint translation products. 

In the case of Faith comes by hearing recordings, for example, what would be the criteria with which to work in order to help a translation team and the recorders to produce an acceptable audio rendition of the written translation and how does the audio recording function as a revision of the written text. 

 

LAB WORK 

For the lab in Misano we will divide in groups and each group will be asked to work on an analysis of a passage and a an oral/visual performance. The following assignments will part of the offering for the week. The final decision as to the methodology will be taken in consultation with the group and depending on time constraints: 

 

I. Lab group work for the whole cohort (Bible Society Product )

 

A. Evaluation of Dutch Passion Play 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q15OsOHaR44

[Note from facilitator: Only a selection of the passion play will be used and subtitles in English will have to be provided)

 

B. Evaluation of  Bible Cartoon for Children

 

i. Analysis of illustrations of in Children's Bibles

ii. Analysis of  artwork in Bible Cartoons

iii. Analysis of  illustrations in Bibles 

 

C. Evaluation of Performance by  WTSHebrewPlayers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ4uw45nBqE

 

D. Evaluation of film material 

Analysis of  segments of  Franco Zeffirelli

 film on the life of Jesus from a semiotic perspective. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rko2ot7L61c

 

  

II. Group Selection of  Passage for Performance

 

 A. Philemon 

See article by David Rhoads as a guideline http://www.biblicalperformancecriticism.org/index.php/2011-08-26-20-28-44/articles-mainmenu-37/articles/24-performing-the-letter-to-philemon/file.

See also example Performance in Papiamentu by MWinedt

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lVFbDnadwI

 

B. Hebrew Performance of Jonah (WTS Players)

 

Group is asked to evaluate this performance and to develop a performance in English/French/Spanish of the same text.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsPZ8bjDQ1E

 

C. Performance of Psalm 18

Please hear the dramatised NIV audio and work on a dramatization of that Psalm or another Psalm in your group.

It can be done in any language.  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrwesjSKs6A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due