I created an ESL study group while I was a graduate student in English at Gannon University in Erie, PA. The group consisted of several young students from the Middle East and Asian countries. I broke the groups into two. One of my colleagues helped the Asian group and I maintained the Middle Eastern group. My group met at the university coffee shop, once a week. I introduced my group of three female and two male students to Robert Frost poetry. They asked me over a dozen questions, which focused on English nouns and meanings mostly. This is the poem they shared with me, and the issues we faced with translation:
The poem titled "Pride of Iraq" by Mohammed Mehdi Al Jwaheri was read aloud in Arabic and translated to English by an Arabic ESL student during a tutoring session. The student translated the poem's setting as a real place in Iraq, with a special river and grove in Iraq. The theme is about this river and grove that the narrator longs for. The student says the narrator greets the river, several times throughout his life, and repeats a greeting that sounds like (in English), "ya Dijila.". The student said he does not know the English word for this greeting. (It sounds like the English version of a deja' vu combined with a nostalgic longing.)
The student said the river is feminine and represents a woman. The river calls to the narrator, and he whole-heartily responds to her each time. The narrator is aware there are other bodies of water and he tells the river he has been to the spring many times, but the spring does not compare to her beauty. He insists there is no other like her. He is far away from the river and thirsts for her. But there is a problem. The student says it would be a sin for the narrator of the poem to visit the river. He stays away because he desires to drink from the river; and, if he does he will not get to heaven.
The student thinks the poem is most likely based on a folktale about drinking from the holy river, and how drinking from the holy river is considered a sin. He makes a comparison between purity and a bird. If the bird touches the water, his wings will become soiled with salt and will no longer fly. The student says the narrator feels a sense of comfort within this boundary, but the distance makes him sad. So he tells the river she smells good and when he feels like he is dying - imagines wrapping himself within her like a shroud. He imagines her embrace like sheep's wool, soft and white. He also imagines her as a white sail that covers and protects him. People in the poem say the river serves him well this way because she gives him strength, so thinking about her is acceptable and good. But he is still forbidden to touch her.
It's a long poem (twenty-eight stanzas), and we only had time to discuss the first seven stanzas. According to the student, this poem is written in traditional free-form, and includes this traditional form's requirement to reference one, or more, of the seven seas. The English sound "ch" is repeated at the beginning of each line, and this combines to designate the poet as one who received a special "talent" from God, and that the poem is God's voice. The poem is to be sung, or chanted.
The translation-of-meaning difficulty was the word pronounced "ya." He said he didn't know the English words for it, but it means, I greeted and called you before, and I am greeting and calling you to come again.
Our group of six ESL students (two males from China, two males from Iraq, and two females from Saudi Arabia) also read Robert Frost poetry. We learned a lot about our cultures while reading and translating poetry together, and opened doors to other discussions while breaking down language barriers, polishing English speaking skills, and learning some Arabic and Chinese.
The poem titled "Pride of Iraq" by Mohammed Mehdi Al Jwaheri was read aloud in Arabic and translated to English by an Arabic ESL student during a tutoring session. The student translated the poem's setting as a real place in Iraq, with a special river and grove in Iraq. The theme is about this river and grove that the narrator longs for. The student says the narrator greets the river, several times throughout his life, and repeats a greeting that sounds like (in English), "ya Dijila.". The student said he does not know the English word for this greeting. (It sounds like the English version of a deja' vu combined with a nostalgic longing.)
The student said the river is feminine and represents a woman. The river calls to the narrator, and he whole-heartily responds to her each time. The narrator is aware there are other bodies of water and he tells the river he has been to the spring many times, but the spring does not compare to her beauty. He insists there is no other like her. He is far away from the river and thirsts for her. But there is a problem. The student says it would be a sin for the narrator of the poem to visit the river. He stays away because he desires to drink from the river; and, if he does he will not get to heaven.
The student thinks the poem is most likely based on a folktale about drinking from the holy river, and how drinking from the holy river is considered a sin. He makes a comparison between purity and a bird. If the bird touches the water, his wings will become soiled with salt and will no longer fly. The student says the narrator feels a sense of comfort within this boundary, but the distance makes him sad. So he tells the river she smells good and when he feels like he is dying - imagines wrapping himself within her like a shroud. He imagines her embrace like sheep's wool, soft and white. He also imagines her as a white sail that covers and protects him. People in the poem say the river serves him well this way because she gives him strength, so thinking about her is acceptable and good. But he is still forbidden to touch her.
It's a long poem (twenty-eight stanzas), and we only had time to discuss the first seven stanzas. According to the student, this poem is written in traditional free-form, and includes this traditional form's requirement to reference one, or more, of the seven seas. The English sound "ch" is repeated at the beginning of each line, and this combines to designate the poet as one who received a special "talent" from God, and that the poem is God's voice. The poem is to be sung, or chanted.
The translation-of-meaning difficulty was the word pronounced "ya." He said he didn't know the English words for it, but it means, I greeted and called you before, and I am greeting and calling you to come again.
Our group of six ESL students (two males from China, two males from Iraq, and two females from Saudi Arabia) also read Robert Frost poetry. We learned a lot about our cultures while reading and translating poetry together, and opened doors to other discussions while breaking down language barriers, polishing English speaking skills, and learning some Arabic and Chinese.
No comments:
Post a Comment