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Service Translation Class Offers Skills and Insight
LEXINGTON, Va., April 26, 2016 鈥 鈥淭his is the Spanish class I鈥檝e always wanted.鈥 That鈥檚 quite a pronouncement from Apostolos Cominos 鈥16, a student in Col. Mary Ann Dellinger鈥檚 service translation class.
The advanced Spanish class is engaging in real-world translating projects. Whether it鈥檚 a religious text for use in a church or a picture book for children, the cadets are finding that learning a language is not just an academic achievement; it is also a valuable skill, a skill they can use to serve the community.
鈥淚n foreign languages for some time we鈥檝e been emphasizing what you can do in the language. So when I studied language, or even my first years as a teacher, we taught about the language [itself],鈥 Dellinger explained. 鈥淭his is the way you conjugate a verb, this is the preposition that you use 鈥 that鈥檚 about the language, that鈥檚 not using the language.鈥
The cadets chose from a selection of projects presented by Dellinger or a project they had in mind, and she is making sure the final products go to a useful destination.
Kristen Whitehurst 鈥17 is writing a children鈥檚 book to send to the day care where she worked in Cusco, Peru. Whitehurst was part of last summer鈥檚 Peru program led by Dr. Ivelise Faundez-Reitsma, instructor of Spanish. The experience had a big impact on the cadets.
鈥淚 definitely got to see how little resources they had to learn and be creative. So giving back to them is huge for me. 鈥 I want to see that development,鈥 said Whitehurst. Several copies of her book, She鈥檚 So Lucky, will also go to Rockbridge County schools.
Another cadet, Aidan O鈥機onnor 鈥16, is writing and drawing a coloring book for Waddell Elementary School. The book aims to make students from Latin America feel more at home in Lexington.
鈥淚 have siblings who have studied abroad in Latin America when they were very young, and they had trouble speaking the language. So I thought it would be good to have some kind of book that would interest kids,鈥 said O鈥機onnor.
Cominos has even bigger ambitions. He is translating a Greek Orthodox liturgy from Greek to Spanish. Cominos hopes it will be published and sent to churches Latin America. There are very few Orthodox Christians in the mostly Catholic Latin American countries, explained Cominos, making some resources scarce.
鈥淭here are no translations readily available,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 wanted to spread the knowledge.鈥
Dellinger finds that this practical use of the language deepens cadets鈥 understanding of the cultural differences and similarities between English speakers and Spanish speakers.
For example, the title of Whitehurst鈥檚 book was a challenge.
鈥溾楽he鈥檚 So Lucky鈥 is an English thing to say. Saying that in Spanish, would I say, 鈥楽he has a lot of luck鈥 or 鈥楽he is fortunate?鈥 It was hard to translate,鈥 Whitehurst said. Whitehurst settled on the latter, 鈥淓lla Est谩 Afortunada.鈥
To prepare the cadets for these kinds of challenges, Dellinger had them practice by translating in a variety of genres and levels, including slang. They talked about how Spanish has different registers 鈥 formal versus informal address 鈥 like English does. She also had the cadets do semiotic translations, translating from images instead of words.
In spite of all they鈥檝e learned, however, the cadets find the most appealing aspect of the class is the opportunity for community service.
Said Dellinger, 鈥淐adets are our clients. And for them to stay in and study Spanish 鈥 it鈥檚 because there鈥檚 some reason 鈥 something they see. 鈥 To find out just what that was, she had the cadets fill out index cards at the beginning of the semester saying why they were interested in the course. All of them were eager to serve.
鈥 By Kelly Nye
-VMI-