There are many students of the classics who need to know how to translate Latin authors. Obviously, these authors' works have been around for centuries and therefore a lot has already been written about translating them. Translating authors like Cicero and Caesar is not that hard when one knows how to do it.
One needs to know two types of information in order to successfully translate Latin authors. First, one needs to know what to do. That is, the "do's" of translating.
Also, translators of Latin authors need to understand what not to do when attempting to translate. Many people make mistakes when translating which lead them to waste a lot of time. Needless to say, this should be avoided if at all possible.
That said, let us have a look at some of the do's and don'ts that one should know when translating Latin authors:
First "Do": "chunk," or divide, the passages using commas, if possible.
This is a good idea because it makes it easier to identify which verb is the main verb, which makes it much easier to identify the subject. This is because the verb and its subject always match in number and person.
1st "Don't": Do NOT try to translate each word by itself. Instead, good translators of Latin authors translate entire phrases instead. This is yet another reason to chunk sentences because it makes it easier to identify phrases.
Absent this important technique, many Latin poems look like an incomprehensible bunch of words.
2nd "Do": It is advisable to find out the subject of the sentence early on. Subjects usually come at the beginning of English sentences, so this will make it easier to understand where the sentence is going in terms of meaning.
Second "Don't": It is inadvisable to commence a translation with the very first word of each sentence. This is because the first word is seldom the subject of the sentence, so it is not worth writing it down only to have to erase it a minute later.
Instead, it is best to seek out the verb in the beginning. As previously mentioned, knowing the verb's person and number will help enormously in identifying the subject.
The third and final "Do": It is a very good idea, before attempting to translate any Latin sentence, to look up the meanings of all the words in the sentence and write them directly above the Latin words. This will save a lot of time when translating because people often look up a word, forget what they were translating, and then have to look up another word. Looking them up beforehand is much more efficient.
Also, one should write down the meanings of words that he or she already knows. This lifts some of the burden during translation. That is, it is one less thing to remember during this already complex task.
Third and final "Don't": It is better to NOT attempt to guess meanings if a dictionary is available. It just makes things more difficult because, odds are, the guess is going to be wrong. Granted, there are a lot of cognates with Latin and English words, but there are also a lot of false cognates. What one should do alternatively is to just look up the words one is unsure of.
Now you can hugely increase your chances of success in translating the Latin authors. It is much easier than many Latin students think if one follows the "do's and don'ts" detailed above.
One needs to know two types of information in order to successfully translate Latin authors. First, one needs to know what to do. That is, the "do's" of translating.
Also, translators of Latin authors need to understand what not to do when attempting to translate. Many people make mistakes when translating which lead them to waste a lot of time. Needless to say, this should be avoided if at all possible.
That said, let us have a look at some of the do's and don'ts that one should know when translating Latin authors:
First "Do": "chunk," or divide, the passages using commas, if possible.
This is a good idea because it makes it easier to identify which verb is the main verb, which makes it much easier to identify the subject. This is because the verb and its subject always match in number and person.
1st "Don't": Do NOT try to translate each word by itself. Instead, good translators of Latin authors translate entire phrases instead. This is yet another reason to chunk sentences because it makes it easier to identify phrases.
Absent this important technique, many Latin poems look like an incomprehensible bunch of words.
2nd "Do": It is advisable to find out the subject of the sentence early on. Subjects usually come at the beginning of English sentences, so this will make it easier to understand where the sentence is going in terms of meaning.
Second "Don't": It is inadvisable to commence a translation with the very first word of each sentence. This is because the first word is seldom the subject of the sentence, so it is not worth writing it down only to have to erase it a minute later.
Instead, it is best to seek out the verb in the beginning. As previously mentioned, knowing the verb's person and number will help enormously in identifying the subject.
The third and final "Do": It is a very good idea, before attempting to translate any Latin sentence, to look up the meanings of all the words in the sentence and write them directly above the Latin words. This will save a lot of time when translating because people often look up a word, forget what they were translating, and then have to look up another word. Looking them up beforehand is much more efficient.
Also, one should write down the meanings of words that he or she already knows. This lifts some of the burden during translation. That is, it is one less thing to remember during this already complex task.
Third and final "Don't": It is better to NOT attempt to guess meanings if a dictionary is available. It just makes things more difficult because, odds are, the guess is going to be wrong. Granted, there are a lot of cognates with Latin and English words, but there are also a lot of false cognates. What one should do alternatively is to just look up the words one is unsure of.
Now you can hugely increase your chances of success in translating the Latin authors. It is much easier than many Latin students think if one follows the "do's and don'ts" detailed above.
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Unknown - Monday, October 22, 2012
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