3/21 Reflections

 Cooperson’s Lecture

I really enjoyed last week’s lecture! I think Cooperson did well to shed light on his process of translation and how many people actually touch the work before it comes into our (the readers) hands. I really enjoyed how honest he was in saying that he needed help and how he reached out to people who were able to strengthen his visions for his translated pieces. It was so interesting to hear about how he took genuine inspiration from his surroundings such as using UCLA slang and how he owned his work as a culmination of disparate people and knowledge.

 The quote he ended on really stuck with me and I admired his attitude towards texts that may seem impossible to translate. I triggered me to think about how every translation is such a unique result of an individual’s vision, perception and interpretation. Throughout the works we’ve analysed in class, I’ve realised that each translator has captured various facets of the source text, some more than others but nonetheless it’s interesting to see the transduction between languages occur as a result of their subjective interpretations. I feel like we’re able to have fruitful debate as a result of our diverse perceptions whilst simultaneously building on each other’s understanding. All in all, I appreciated him being candid about his struggles during his process with the Impostures as well as how it left him knackered with translating Arabic. I think we rarely hear about the effects of the translation on the translator and it was refreshing to hear his side.

Diya