Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-10-27
VALUABLE PAPER.
Continued from page So

the reasons why rejected word Is mn
satisfactory. and is the best method or
i cutivatng the language sense and de-
velopins the power 70 use language with
skill and grace. or, in other words il Is
the best way to acquire the ability to llu-
dcrstand what we read, and express what
we think and feel.
Besides the choice Of words the matter
of empnasi sis is important, how emphasis
| is produced in the original. and how in
the translation. the whole question of
getting hold of the thought right end
foremost. This involves the study of tne
order and arrangement of words If IN
cludes countless details. and demands
the consumption of no little time But
this matter OF emphasis must be prett.-
thoroughly threshed out before the pIpl
can breathe the atmosphere of the ori.
inal text with mich sense of freed m AMI
eXhilaIation. Written translations are
Indispensable Oral renderings are too
evanescent, but writing gives the oppor-
tunity for radical criticism. It gives the
pupil too, a chance to sit in Judgment
upon his own. work for the defects do
not slip out Of the sight of either teacn-
er or pupil as they do in oral recitation
but they stand in full view TO receive.
! the shaft of criticism In the criticism
of written work it is possible to see how
one point hinges on another how one
change necesstates another. 1t makes
it possible TO examine sentence or a
paragraph as whole. and discover
whether any links of the logical chain
This kind of criticism must be a pretty
frequent exercise if transla ton is to bear
its best fruit in the teaching of English.
To sum up briefly, we ought 10 ne
habitual,y intolerant of undiomatic and
SlipShod English. II pupils do not see
thai their English Is bad. and no one OF
you will deny that such blindness is prev
alent. let us show them what good Eng
lish is. and teach them to discriminate.
We should discourage all attempts at
| translation in the strict sense of the
term, until at least the general trend of
the thought has been clearly grasped
and then in the work of translation call
attention to the misuse of words and the
failure to distinguish synonyms and ap-
preciate what a word connotes. In this
discipline pupils need 10 be sent to the
EngnSh distionary no less than to the
Greek. Finally passages should often be
set for written translation and no pains
spared in criticism IL is weli to trans
late to the class sometimes, not in ex-
tempoTaneouS, nit or miss fashion, but
after careful preparation. and also to
read TO the class from the best transla-
tons that have been published. If this
process is continued long enough the pu-
pill will accomplish what Ritchl pre-
scribed the first task in studying Il
.oreign language. namely. the learning to
translate, and he may get some inkiing
of what the same writer means when he
goes on to say: The next thing is to
learn rhat translation is impossible The
truth of the paradox is illustrated in an
interesting way BY a story which Will
amowitz tells Of Mortz Haupt. VINO ex-
amined him for the doctorate of philos-
Onhy. Wi!am0WitZ was given a long pas
sage from i.uCrctius, and after he had
read the Latin. Haupt remarked: VERY
well. You understand it, and | under
stand it, but neither one of us can trans
late ii. Ii translation from Il foreign
tongue is so conducted that after Il reas-
enable lapse OF time the pupil can see
even blt dimiy the meaning of this par
adoX. it is practically certain TO prove
effective in the teaching of English