Jacoby

Preparing to Translate:

Purpose: This passage is to be presented in a Biology class at the local Deaf high school which

serves deaf students that use ASL and those who do not.

Function: The speakers intent is to describe the way the tongue works and how people taste.

Expected Audience: Deaf high school students with diverse language abilities will be watching

this video at the local Deaf high school in their Biology class.

Length and Time Frame: This assignment is due February 27th at 11:59PM. I think the whole

translation process including writing the process down will take 7 hours. I think it will take an

additional hour minutes to voice the passage to my liking and add captions.

Competence in Target Language: The target language is my first language so I feel the translation

will sound natural and have the same impact of the original speaker.

Competence in Source Language: The source language is my second language. Knowing this, I

have allotted more time to understand the message and watch the video several times. I realize I

may need help comprehending some of the parts I am unsure of. However, I am confident that I

will comprehend her intent and general meaning and will need to focus on the details to ensure

an accurate translation. With each view of the video and progression of my translation I am

convinced that I will create a dynamically equivalent message in the Target Language.

Competence in Subject Area: I have general knowledge of how the tongue works and how we

taste. If there are specific scientific terms used, I may have to do some research to fully grasp

the spelling and meaning. I have taken a Biology class so I have a general background. I believe

I am capable of rendering an objective translation.

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Analyze the Source Text:

Main Idea of Entire Text: The main idea is to describe the way we taste with relation to the

tongue.

Main Idea of Each Paragraph:

1. Describe the tongue and its responsibilities.

2. Young children versus adults tasting abilities.

3. Two ideas exploiting the relationship between the nose and tongue to change tasting

abilities.

Identify Translating Issues: At first I had some fingerspelling issues with MUSHROOM and

PAPILLA, but deciphered them after watching the video a few times.

GLOSS:

1. fsTONGUE IXT (tongue) fsFLOPPY fsMUSCLE CL: 2h O (show floppiness) SOFT

_____q
RESPONSIBILITY WHAT MOVE FOOD CL: 2h S (showing food being eaten, chewed, and

moved around mouth) SECOND SPEAK

2. IXT (tongue) RELATED-TO BRAIN

3. IXT (tongue) HAS FOUR DIFFERENT TASTE fsBUDS SEE LOOK KNOW CL: claw

(showing bumps/taste buds on tongue on cheeks) CL: B CL: claw (describing bumps) CL: B CL:

1 (showing bumps on tongue) NAME fsPAPILA. EXAMPLE CL: H CL: 1 (point to each

side of tongue showing where different tastes are located) SEE CL: H CL: 1 (point to right and

left side of tongue) SALT CL: H CL: 1 (point to front to show taste buds on tip of tongue)

SWEET CL: H CL: 1 (show taste buds along lengths of each side of tongue) SOUR fsSOUR CL:

H CL: 1 (point to back of tongue) TASTE fsBITTER. ALL-TOGETHER FIVE THOUSAND

fsBUDS CL: 2h claw (showing many taste buds covering tongue at cheeks)

5. YOUNG CHILDREN MORE TEND-TO TASTE FOOD NOT-LIKE fsBROCCOLI

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fsCARROTS fsPEAS NOT LIKE TEND-TO. OLDER+++ TASTE BUDS LESSEN

SMALLER+++ EAT++ LIKE ONION fsMUSHROOMS fsPEAS

_____q
6. CHILDREN YOU-KNOW MEDICINE TASTE AWFUL DO+++ IDEA CL: G

(holds/pinches nose closed) IXN (nose) IXT (tongue) CL: G (hold/pinch nose)

RELATED/CONNECTED TOGETHER CONNECTED CL: G (hold/pinch nose) CANT

TASTE

7. OTHER IDEA IF CUT-UP POTATO GROUPL CUT-UP GROUPR APPLES. BLINDFOLD,

______q
SMELL ONION STRONG SMELL HAS. TASTE EACH WHICH DONT-KNOW
______q ____nd
POTATOES APPLES WHICH SMELL DISASTER TASTE. TAKE-AWAY SMELL, TASTE

8. INTERESTING

Message Transfer:

Unconscious Bias: I feel that I do not know too much about the subject matter, nor do I lack

imagination. I think I accurately describe the speakers description of how we taste, using her

techniques and compressing the ASL expansion to make it sound natural in English.

Source Language: Due to the source language being my second language, I realize I may

struggle to understand the details of the passage. However, I feel that with the time frame

allotted and the repetition of watching the video and gaining input from people who know both

the source and target languages, I will achieve an equivalent target language message.

Target Language: As I write my translation, it is easy for me to think in my first language. I can

choose equivalent cultural references and words that will accurately, clearly, and naturally

represent the source language and the speakers intent. I am having several peers look at my

translation to make sure that my translation is clear. Though the target language is my first
 Jacoby

language, I want to make certain that my understanding of the source language, my second

language, is strong.

Transfer:

Temporal: I retained the temporal relation when describing the speakers other idea of

how to affect ones ability to taste since the order of operations matters. First, one needs

to have two groups of food that are cut up, then one smells the onion, then the person

tastes the food and discovers they cannot recognize which flavor they taste.

Spatial: The speaker discusses the taste buds in ones mouth. When describing them she

uses classifiers on her hand, but then at the end displays the bumps by her cheeks

notifying the audience that the buds are in the mouth. Using classifiers allowed the

audience to imagine the tongue and taste buds that the speaker describes. When

translating that into English I had to compress her description, but still alert the audience

to the location of the many taste buds on the tongue.

Logical: The speaker uses cause and effect when she describes that ones taste buds

decrease in quantity as one ages. As one ages the taste buds lessen or dull so that

more foods are enjoyed. When she describes the relationship between the nose and tongue she

uses a logical transfer. If one pinches his nose, then the sense of taste is dulled so that

one does not taste the difference between a potato and an apple.

Form vs. Meaning: The form of the Source Language, ASL, had to be changed to make an

equivalent message into the Target Language, English. Some of the form in ASL is expanded, so

when translating into English, I compressed these expansions to make the translation sound more

natural. The form is different, but the speakers intent and meaning remain.
 Jacoby

Content Loss: There were no idioms to translate so I do not think there was any content loss in

my translation. Throughout my translation I experienced some negative self-talk. When I could

not figure out a finger spelled word I got frustrated, however, once I understood the word my

confidence grew.

Reformulating the Message:

The main idea of the passage is to make students aware of how we taste with the tongue. For the

passage to make sense the location of objects is important to know. Since the taste buds are on

the tongue and the tongue is related to the brain and nose it is important to know their location.

The speaker uses these relationships to describe the ways we taste. While translating the message

I had to reformulate some of the rhetorical questions into statements. For example, when the

speaker discusses the audience deciding whether they bit into an apple or a potato she uses a

rhetorical question. When translating this I changed it to be a statement explaining that one

could not distinguish between an apple and a potato. I also went from specific to general when

the speaker talks about adults liking specific types of food. I compressed this specific list of

foods and used a general phrase that adults will enjoy a larger variety of foods.
 Jacoby

Draft Translation:

The tongue. The tongue is a floppy, soft muscle that helps move food around the mouth

so one can chew and enables one to speak (I compressed her Describe and Do expansion: she

showed how the tongue helps move food around the mouth). The tongues functions are

connected to the brain. The four different taste buds on the tongue are called Papilla. The very

front sides of the tongue taste salt, the tip tastes sugar or sweetness, the lengths of the sides

recognize sour flavors, and the back of the tongue tastes bitter flavors. There are a total of five

thousand taste buds!

Children tend to dislike foods such as broccoli, carrots, or peas. Young children tend to

have more taste buds and as you age the number lessens. The older you become the more foods

you eat and discover you enjoy. (I compressed this Explain by Example expansion: She listed the

foods adults liked as they get older and I compressed it.)

As children we hated the taste of medicine. Since your tongue and nose are connected,

holding ones nose allows you to swallow medicine without tasting the bad flavor. Another way

to disguise the flavor is to cut up two kinds of food and put them into groups. Then blindfold

yourself and smell an onion. Due its strong smell, the onion will alter your sense of taste and

you will not be able to guess which food, an apple or a potato, you take a bite into.
 Jacoby

Translation Process/Changes:

The tongue, a floppy, soft muscle helps move food around the mouth so one can chew

and enables one to speak. The tongues functions are connected to the brain. The four different

taste buds on the tongue are called Papilla. The very front sides of the tongue taste salt, the tip

detects sugar or sweetness, the lengths of the sides recognize sour flavors, and the back of the

tongue discerns bitter flavors. There are a total of five thousand taste buds!

Children tend to dislike foods such as broccoli, carrots, or peas. Young children tend to

have more taste buds and as you age the number lessens. The older you become the more foods

you eat and discover you enjoy.

As children we hated the taste of medicine. Since your tongue and nose are connected,

holding ones nose allows you to swallow medicine without tasting the bad flavor. Another way

to disguise the flavor is to cut up two kinds of food and put them into groups. Then blindfold

yourself and smell an onion. Due to its strong smell, the onion will alter your sense of taste and

you will not be able to guess which food, an apple or a potato, you bite into.
 Jacoby

The tongue, a floppy, soft muscle has two main responsibilities. It helps move food

around the mouth so you can chew and enables you to speak. The tongues functions are

connected to the brain. There are four types of taste buds on the tongue called papilla. These

papilla are the bumps that you see on your tongue. (I compressed her use of 3D space: she

describes the way the bumps look on ones tongue using classifiers). The very front sides of the

tongue taste salty flavors, the tip detects sugar or sweetness, the lengths of the sides recognize

sour flavors, and the back of the tongue discerns bitter flavors. There are a total of five thousand

taste buds!

Children tend to dislike foods such as broccoli, carrots, or peas. Young children tend to

have more taste buds and as you age the number lessens. The older you become the more foods

you eat and discover you enjoy.

Childrens medicines normally taste awful! Since your tongue and nose are connected,

holding ones nose allows you to swallow medicine without tasting the bad flavor. Another way

to disguise the flavor is to cut up two kinds of food and put them into groups. Then blindfold

yourself and smell an onion. Due its strong smell, the onion will alter your sense of taste and

you will not be able to guess which food, an apple or a potato, you bite into.
 Jacoby

The tongue, a floppy, soft muscle has two main responsibilities. It helps move food

around the mouth so you can chew and enables you to speak. The tongues function are

connected to the brain. There are four types of taste buds on the tongue called papilla. These

papilla are the bumps that you see on your tongue. The very front sides of the tongue taste salty

flavors, the tip detects sugar or sweetness, the lengths of the sides recognize sour flavors, and the

back of the tongue discerns bitter flavors. There are a total of five thousand taste buds!

Children tend to dislike foods such as broccoli, carrots, or peas. Young childrens mouths

possess more taste buds, however, as you age that number lessens. The older you become the

more foods you eat and discover you enjoy.

Childrens medicines normally taste awful! Since your tongue and nose are connected,

holding ones nose allows you to swallow medicine without tasting the bad flavor. Another way

to disguise the flavor is to cut up two kinds of food and put them into groups. Then blindfold

yourself and smell an onion. Due its strong smell, the onion will alter your sense of taste and

you will not be able to guess which food, an apple or a potato, you bite into.

Testing the Translation:

My mom read the above passage for clarity and naturalness. She thought I need to work on these

parts of my translation:

Use of you? Or should it be more formal (one)?

The tongues functions are connected to the brain.

These papilla are the bumps that you see on your tongue.

Young childrens mouths possess more taste buds, however, as you age that number

lessens.

More=quantity, not variety

 Jacoby

The tongue is a soft, malleable muscle that has two main responsibilities. It helps move

food around the mouth so you can chew and enables you to speak. The tongues functions are

controlled by the brain. There are four types of taste buds on the tongue called papilla. Papilla

are the bumps that you see and feel on your tongue. The very front sides of the tongue taste salty

flavors, the tip detects sugar or sweetness, the lengths of the sides recognize sour flavors, and the

back of the tongue discerns bitter flavors. There are a total of five thousand taste buds!

Children tend to dislike foods such as broccoli, carrots, or peas. Young childrens mouths

possess many taste buds, however, as you age that number lessens. The older you become the

variety of foods that you enjoy increases.

Childrens medicines normally taste awful! Since your tongue and nose are connected,

holding ones nose allows you to swallow medicine without tasting the bad flavor. Another way

to disguise the flavor is to cut up two kinds of food and put them into groups. Then blindfold

yourself and smell an onion. Due its strong smell, the onion will alter your sense of taste and

you will not be able to guess which food, an apple or a potato, you bite into.

Testing the Translation:

Gabby back-translated my passage in order to test it, or check for accuracy. She looked at the

above translation and found these parts to be a little awkward or not equivalent:

Young childrens mouths possess many taste buds, however, as you age that number

lessens.

Since your tongue and nose are connected, holding ones nose allows you to swallow

medicine without tasting the bad flavor.

 Jacoby

The tongue is a soft, malleable muscle that has two main responsibilities. It helps move

food around the mouth so one can chew and enables one to speak. The tongues functions are

controlled by the brain. There are four types of taste buds on the tongue called papilla. Papilla

are the bumps that one sees and feels on the tongue. The very front sides of the tongue taste salty

flavors, the tip detects sugar or sweetness, the lengths of the sides recognize sour flavors, and the

back of the tongue discerns bitter flavors. There are a total of five thousand taste buds!

Children tend to dislike foods such as broccoli, carrots, or peas. Young childrens mouths

possess many taste buds which causes children to appear very picky, however, as a person ages

the number of taste buds lessens. The older one becomes the variety of foods that one enjoys

increases.

Childrens medicines normally taste awful! Since the tongue and nose are connected,

working together relating the senses of smell and taste, holding ones nose allows one to swallow

medicine without tasting the bad flavor. Another way to disguise the flavor is to cut up two

kinds of food and put them into groups. Then put a blindfold on and smell an onion. Due to its

strong smell, the onion will alter ones sense of taste and the individual will not be able to guess

which food, an apple or a potato, he bit into.

Testing the Translation:

I sent this draft to a friend who is an interpreter. She checked my translations for accuracy,

clarity, and naturalness. She noticed several discrepancies between my last paragraph and what

she believed the speaker said. She thought the speaker said that the individual puts on a

blindfold and smells a potato. The absence of a scent confuses the brain so that one does not

know which food was bitten into. If I am wrong, this would a serious error due to my lack of

comprehension of the speakers message. However, I am keeping my original idea in order to

 Jacoby

remain true to my own understanding of the passage and not simply rely on someone else to do

the work for me. She also gave me a few places where she thought I could improve my word

choice and sentences in the last paragraph.

Final Translation:
 Jacoby

The tongue is a soft, malleable muscle that has two main responsibilities. It helps move

food around the mouth so one can chew and enables one to speak. The tongues functions are

controlled by the brain. There are four types of taste buds on the tongue called papilla. Papilla

are the bumps that one sees and feels on the tongue. The very front sides of the tongue taste salty

flavors, the tip detects sugar or sweetness, the lengths of the sides recognize sour flavors, and the

back of the tongue discerns bitter flavors. There are a total of five thousand taste buds!

Children tend to dislike foods such as broccoli, carrots, or peas. Young childrens mouths

possess many taste buds which causes children to appear very picky. However, as a person ages

the number of taste buds decreases. The older one becomes the more variety of foods one

enjoys.

Childrens medicines normally taste awful! Since the tongue and nose are connected,

working together to relate the senses of smell and taste, one may fool the tongue by holding

ones nose. Pinching ones nose allows the medicine to be swallowed without tasting the bad

flavor. Another way to disguise a flavor is to cut up two kinds of food and put them into separate

groups; then have a blindfold test. Beginning with a sniff of an onion, the brain will be

overwhelmed by the intense smell. Due to its strong smell, the onion will alter ones sense of

taste and the individual will not be able to guess which food, for example an apple or a potato, he

bit into.

Priorities in Translation: I think my translation shows an equivalent message. I have retained the

meaning and changed the form to fit the requirements of a natural English translation which
 Jacoby

accomplishes the goal of having contextual consistency. After revising it several times and

having several people competent in the source language and/or target language, I believe my

passage proves dynamically equivalent. The speakers intent remains the same from ASL to

English and audience needs were taken into account. This video is supposed to be educational so

I went into detail when describing the tongue and where we taste certain flavors. I also took into

account the age of high school students when choosing words so the passage fits the audience

needs.

Testing the Translation: You can see in my translations above that I had several people look over

my translation. My mom as a native English speaker looked at the translation first to consider

the clarity of my translation and hear if it sounded natural in English, testing readability. Next, I

had a Deaf person who is also very skilled with her English skills look over my translation. She

was able to read my translation first and back translate it to assess if it made sense. Then she

also watched the video and told me if the translations were dynamically equivalent and reflected

the audience needs and the speakers intent. Next, I had an interpreter look at both my

translation and the video. First, she looked for readability. She read my translation out loud and

noticed if parts sounded unnatural. As a native English speaker and a skilled ASL user she could

identify parts that sounded awkward and reveal any form vs. meaning troubles of my translation

from ASL to English. After this revision, I again had another Deaf person back translate and

compare my translation to the video. Lastly, I had my boyfriend, a native English user, listen to

my translation to verify my voicing matched the speakers intent and sounded like a natural and

clear English presentation.

Seriousness of Errors: In my first draft for the translation, I had a serious error because I could

not decipher some of the finger spelled words (PAPILLA and MUSHROOM). Had I not figured
 Jacoby

out the words or asked someone for help this would have been a very serious error in my final

translation. PAPILLA would have been a serious error because of its importance in the passage;

however, MUSHROOM would have been only a somewhat serious error because if I had never

figured it out, I would have simply omitted that detail.

As stated above in one of my testing the translation paragraphs, I may have a very serious

error in my understanding of the last part of the video if the interpreter who looked at my passage

was correct. Again, I wanted to rely on my own understanding and even after watching the video

again I still felt my translation fit so I wanted to go with my gut instinct and see where it took me

because in the future I will have to trust that instinct. When having my two Deaf friends evaluate

my translation they agreed with my translation so I feel confident this is not a serious error.

In my final translation, I think I produced only not serious errors due to reformulation.

When I wrote my translation, I condensed the description of the papilla by saying that they were

simply bumps on the tongue so the message was not skewed and the speakers intent remained.

In the video she demonstrated what the papilla looked like so when I reformulated the message

this caused a not serious error. Also, in the middle of the video, the speaker uses expansion to

describe that adults enjoy many types of food. I, again, reformulated the message, a not serious

error, without skewing the message by generalizing this saying that adults enjoy a variety of

foods.