Davies and Spiessens

Question 1

A survivor leaves pauses and silences during their oral testimony. How do you represent this in the written translation?

Accepted Answer

Use ellipses or formatting to signal silence

Question 2

You encounter a phrase in the source language with no cultural equivalent in English. What’s the best approach?

Accepted Answer

Provide an explanatory footnote or phrase in context

Question 3

You find a historical error in the text. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Keep the error and add a discreet translator’s note if necessary

Question 4

A publisher insists on removing all non-English phrases for a smoother read. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Keep them with footnotes or glosses to maintain cultural integrity

Question 5

What does the term témoignage brut suggest?

Accepted Answer

Unmediated, raw witness statements

Question 6

You're translating a testimony where the narrator contradicts earlier statements. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Preserve contradictions to reflect the trauma of memory

Question 7

The survivor insists their name not be published. The publisher insists on naming. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Respect the survivor’s wishes and anonymize the text

Question 8

An editor suggests simplifying a genocide survivor's testimony to make it more readable for students. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Add a glossary instead of changing the text

Question 9

Why is translation considered a site of power in testimony?

Accepted Answer

It can shape how testimony is heard or silenced

Question 10

The translator can be considered a “secondary witness.”

Accepted Answer

True

Question 11

How does translation impact the “authenticity” of testimony?

Accepted Answer

It introduces new layers of interpretation

Question 12

In institutional contexts, translation can lead to:

Accepted Answer

Institutional inequality of voice

Question 13

Who said the following: “To listen to the witness is to become a witness.”

Accepted Answer

Ellen Fine

Question 14

The testimony uses raw, emotional language, but your editor prefers a more “literary” style. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Preserve the original voice and resist stylistic polishing

Question 15

What does Eva Lezzi’s “referential pact” emphasize in Holocaust testimonies?

Accepted Answer

Factual accuracy and identity of narrator

Question 16

In the context of Holocaust testimony, translation is often seen as:

Accepted Answer

A betrayal of the authentic voice

Question 17

A published testimonial is highly edited and framed by a journalist. What do you highlight in your translation?

Accepted Answer

Editorial and translator presence through paratext

Question 18

What is the main theme of the “Translating Testimony” dossier?

Accepted Answer

How translation complicates and supplements testimony

Question 19

What is “passage de témoin”?

Accepted Answer

The relay of witnessing across generations

Question 20

While translating a testimony of extreme violence, you find yourself emotionally distressed. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Take breaks and seek support, if needed

Question 21

A testimonial text includes activist slogans and culturally coded language. What’s your strategy?

Accepted Answer

Retain the slogans and provide cultural annotation

Question 22

The target audience prefers narratives with emotional closure. The original text ends in ambiguity. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Retain the open ending to reflect the unresolved trauma

Question 23

What does the dossier ultimately argue about translation?

Accepted Answer

Translation is essential and politically powerful

Question 24

You are subtitling urgent protest footage. The translation must be fast, but accuracy is difficult due to poor audio.

Accepted Answer

Approximate clarity – represent key ideas faithfully

Question 25

What is “secondary witnessing”?

Accepted Answer

The act of a reader or translator listening and enabling the testimony

Question 26

The author holds political views you strongly disagree with. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Translate faithfully, focusing on their voice, not yours

Question 27

According to the dossier, testimony is often shaped by:

Accepted Answer

Psychological trauma and context

Question 28

You find testimony transcripts that differ from the original oral accounts. What do you do before translating them?

Accepted Answer

Request access to the original recordings

Question 29

Testimony is a fixed genre with a universal definition.

Accepted Answer

False

Question 30

Fidelity in translating Holocaust testimonies might be owed to…

Accepted Answer

The witness, the reader, or the publishing context

Question 31

The original text uses very graphic descriptions. The publisher wants it toned down. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Preserve the language of horror and context it ethically

Question 32

The testimony uses culturally specific metaphors that don’t exist in the target language. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Keep the original metaphor and explain its meaning in a note

Question 33

The testimony could be misunderstood in the target culture (e.g., mistaken for fiction). What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Use paratext (intro/footnotes) to clarify the genre and its ethical frame

Question 34

You’re working on a tribunal case. The accused manipulates translation to delay proceedings. How do you respond?

Accepted Answer

Pause and request clarification on all contested terms

Question 35

You’re translating an asylum interview conducted in English. The applicant used vague or awkward terms. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Flag linguistic limitations and annotate ambiguities

Davies and Spiessens

Questions 35

Davies and Spiessens

Questions 35