02 - Catullus the Valedictorian: Translating Latin in a High School Active Latin Classroom

Translation remains, as the CFP states, "a mainstay of education and outreach." This
proposed talk showcases translations produced by high-school students and their teachers at an
active Latin school. It aims to show what students trained in an active Latin curriculum can
accomplish and how the school prepares its graduates for Latin at the college level, where they
can expect a heavier emphasis on reading, grammar, and translation. The approach this school
utilizes, variously called "acquisition-based," the "natural method," "active," "spoken," or
"living" Latin, places an emphasis on communication and fluency rather than grammar and
translation. The translations shared here will make clear that high-school students in the III, IV,
and V levels, having studied, spoken, and actively used Latin in school for 3+ years, are more
than ready for the interpretive work and translators' decisions required of them in a
college-level Latin course.
In the rich, immersive Latin environment this school provides, students and teachers
regularly find ways to express ideas in aliis verbis, reshaping phrases through circumlocution
while staying in Latin. This daily practice helps students build that high level of mental and
linguistic versatility required for switching between English and Latin. These high-school
students also bring a uniquely adolescent perspective to their translations. The (selected) poems
of Catullus and Martial are particularly well-suited for young adult audiences, who find the
experiences and emotions described by these poets accessible and relevant: friendship, petty
revenge, crushes, betrayal, and other social conundrums abound.
Students recently collaborated on a translation of Catullus 85:
1
It's a love-hate relationship. Why do I do this to myself? You might ask.
I have no idea. But it feels real. And it sucks.
Odi et amo. Quare id faciam, fortasse requiris.
Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.
If this proposal is accepted, audience members can expect viva voce remarks from the
presenter on the translation process in the classroom, then pre-taped bilingual performances by
students. Students will produce updated translations of Catullus, Martial, and other authors by
adolescents, for adolescents. The presentation will close with a live rendition of Catullus 46
which was chosen for bilingual performance at the school's May 2022 Commencement. This
new translation, the text of which is given below, was produced specifically for a high school
valedictory address.
Springtime now brings back the warmth and thaw.
The raging sky now grows calm
With a friendly golden breeze.
Our fields left behind, and fertile, sweltering farms-
Let us fly to big cities, exotic places!
My trembling spirit now lusts to wander
My feet excitedly step up for adventure.
Farewell, oh sweet class of friends:
Though journeying far from home,
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Some how, some way, our different paths
Lead us back.
Iam ver egelidos refert tepores,
iam caeli furor aequinoctialis
iucundis Zephyri silescit aureis.
Linquantur Phrygii, Catulle, campi
Nicaeaeque ager uber aestuosae:
ad claras Asiae volemus urbes.
Iam mens praetrepidans avet vagari,
iam laeti studio pedes vigescunt.
O dulces comitum valete coetus,
longe quos simul a domo profectos
diversae varie viae reportant.

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Presenters

Noreen Kupernik, Thaden School

  SCS-27