ISSN 2348-3156 (Print) International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research ISSN 2348-3164 (online) Vol. 10, Issue 3, pp: (391-398), Month: July - September 2022, Available at: www.researchpublish.com
Musical Translation Approach (MTA) for Cognitive Learning in Translation Studies Pedagogy in Bangladesh Ahmed Tahsin Shams1 1
Assistant Professor, Department of English, Notre Dame University Bangladesh, and Visiting Scholar, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0577-4753 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7043773
Published Date: 02-September-2022
Abstract: Cognitive learning focuses on students’ learning rather than teachers’ teaching, according to Noam Chomsky. Therefore, while teaching contents of Translation Studies like Walter Benjamin’s ‘The Task of the Translator,’ and George Steiner’s ‘The Hermeneutic Motion’ for undergraduate literature students in Bangladesh, a musical translation could be a new pedagogical approach compared to the non-musical approach, which will serve two specific purposes: learners might develop self-evaluation attitude when musical beat would be the parameter to evaluate the translation; and secondly, learners could improve instinctive mental capacity, which will help their brain function naturally while translating literature texts like poetry and fiction. While performing such translations maintaining the source language's musical beat and rhythm, students could develop the aptitude for precise and relevant figures of speech, as well as accurate syllable sense. On the other hand, if students are assigned in the classroom to translate literature texts, for instance, Bengali poetry or short story into English, it might not be pragmatic to expect to complete the syllabus within the trimester or semester curriculum because there would be infinite multiple translation outcomes from students in Bangladesh. In order to connect the translated texts with the theories of Translation Studies, the Musical Translation Approach (MTA) can be effective as well as time-saving. This research focuses on how MTA in classroom teaching has given better learning outcomes when applied in classrooms for Bangladeshi undergraduates. This paper also aims to present through a qualitative approach how musical translations can contribute to cognitive learning of the motion of translation compared to the non-musical approach. Keywords: Musical Translation Approach, Cognitive Learning, New Pedagogical Approach, Teaching Translation Studies.
1. INTRODUCTION While teaching Translation Studies to undergraduates of literature students in Bangladesh, the Musical Translation Approach (MTA) can be viewed as a new pedagogy that develops students' cognitive learning ability compared to nonmusical literary translations. While teaching content like Walter Benjamin’s ‘The Task of the Translator’ and George Steiner’s ‘The Hermeneutic Motion’ from the book The Translation Studies Reader edited by Lawrence Venuti, from my classroom observation at Notre Dame University Bangladesh (NDUB), it is found that when learners directly attempt literature translation like poetry from Bengali to English, each student comes up with varieties of translated texts, whereas when they attempt musical lyrics to translate, for instance, Bengali songs into English, most of the learners produce nearly similar results as they have to maintain the original musical beat and rhythm while translation. Thus, through such a Musical Translation Approach, literature students can self-evaluate their aesthetic skills of translation even outside the classroom by judging if their translated texts get fit the original musical beat or not. On the other hand, non-musical literature translation like poetry can hardly be self-evaluated by undergraduate learners in Bangladesh without expert opinions.
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