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Funnels and Sieves [1]

Creative Nonfiction [2]
3.21.19

“There is a model of translation that resembles a funnel—everything from the source language swirls toward a single opening, and it all comes out the same way,” says Jeremy Tiang in “The Art of Translation: Many Englishes, Many Chineses” in the March/April issue [3] of Poets & Writers Magazine. “The kitchen implement I prefer is the sieve—allowing as much as possible through, falling as it will, breaking up clumps to ease the flow.” Think about a favorite book of translated literature, and write a personal essay that reflects upon your feelings about the translation choices within it. Consider Tiang’s analogy: Does it feel like the words came from the source language through a funnel or a sieve? Were there rough patches, or did the work feel frictionless? Which do you prefer and why?


Source URL:https://www.pw.org/content/funnels_and_sieves

Links
[1] https://www.pw.org/content/funnels_and_sieves [2] https://www.pw.org/genre/creativenonfiction [3] https://www.pw.org/content/marchapril_2019