You down with the IOC? Yeah, you know me!

First, a Naughty By Nature cover by The Muppets to pump you up:

Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way: 

1) Complete a 20-minute "prep" for your passage (absent when Mrs. G handed out the passages? Let her know and she'll send one your way)

2) Next, record your practice IOC (remember, try to be in that 8 to 10 minute mark) and post it to your blog. See the instructions below if you need help with recording or posting.

3) Listen to your recording and score yourself. For each criterion, provide a brief justification/explanation. THIS SHOULD BE POSTED ON YOUR BLOG. You should also include the passage analyzed and your planning.

HELPFUL LINKS:

IOC Rubric 

IOC Overview Presentation

Sample IOC

IB Language A – IOC Practice

Instructions for using Voice Record (you may also choose to use vocaroo.com, another voice recording app, OR may decide to post a video):

PREPARING

1.       Open the Voice Record App

2.       Hit the red “RECORD” button (this will not start your recording)

3.       Make sure it is set to medium quality

 RECORDING

1.       Hit the “start” button

2.       SAY YOUR NAME FIRST, then start your commentary

3.       Stop your recording at 10 minutes (unless you finish earlier; don’t record silence until the 10-minute mark)

4.       Hit the  “STOP” button to end the recording

 SUBMITTING/ SHARING

1.       Of all the options, choose to email it to you AND post it to your blog. If you have an issue or aren’t sure how to post it, share or send it to me (lgenesky@wcpss.net)

Nothing Really Mattress (?): Kafka, Camus, and the Importance of Translation

First published in 1915, Franz Kafka's novella Metamorphosis tells the story of Gregor Samsa, who wakes to find himself transformed into a large insect. Though the cause of the transformation is never revealed, the novella focuses on Samsa's struggle  to adjust to his new identity. 


Between the 1920s and 30s, Kafka's works were published and translated (from the original German) and are considered iconic works of the twentieth century. Kafka emphasized the absurdity of existence, the conflicts that come with authoritarian power, and the alienating experience of modern life, which resonated with public after World War I. Though we can certainly find parallels between Samsa and Meursault's stories, Camus acknowledged that Kafka's work represented a description of the absurd condition, but that Kafka failed as an absurd writer because his characters and his work maintain a sense of hope. 


Take a look at the four translations below to the first line of Kafka's Metamorphosis. For each, provide a brief observation (can be a few sentences or a list- include in your post) of the following:

- diction (connotation/denotation)

- syntax

- imagery/details

- structure

- any other stylist/figurative elements

*Remember that the first line of The Stranger (or The Outsider) is sometimes translated as "Maman died today.", while another translation might read "Mother died today."  (Here's a great article from The New Yorker about this: "Lost in Translation" )
Translations: 
#1:Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.


#2:When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.

#3:As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

#4:One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.

Original: Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer verwandelt.

After analyzing each, respond to the following questions in a well-developed (2-3 paragraphs) response- think about the translations as a whole: How does the word choice, syntax, punctuation, and imagery shift in each affect meaning? Is one more effective than another? Why? What does this exercise bring up about the difficulty of reading translated texts? How do different translations effect the tone of the sentence?