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14 The Linguist FEBRUARY/MARCH www.iol.org.uk PRIZEWINNERS 2012 Prizewinners Katja Klier and Cahit Baylav offer tips on how to pass the Diploma in Translation (Literature) to make final revisions and to polish your translation. Throughout the preparation process, the support of my tutor helped to build my confidence so that on exam day I felt that I was ready and able. Four months of preparation worked for me because I had years of translation experience. For candidates who don't, preparation could take a lot longer. Translation of literature, more than any other field of translation, is about capturing the style, tone of voice and mood of the original text, and rendering them faithfully and eloquently in the target language. I always try to stay as close as possible to the original text but, of course, the translated text should also read like an authentic piece of writing in its own right – you shouldn't really see that it is a translation at all. Candidates taking the Literature option should have very good writing skills in their mother tongue, as well as a good command of the language they translate from, so that they're sensitive to nuances and able to pick up cultural references. I am a keen reader and familiar with a range of different types of literature in both my working languages (English and German), and I think that helps. Katja Klier won the Fred Brandeis Trophy for Best DipTrans English to German Candidate and is joint winner of the Peter Newmark Prize for best DipTrans candidate in the Literature option. Cahit Baylav Before taking the DipTrans, I had been doing paid translation jobs for a long time. Primarily, I was a science teacher and then a college counsellor, but I did translation on the side, including some poetry translation from Road to exam success Katja Klier Following years of professional experience as a translator, I had been thinking about gaining a formal qualification and opted for the DipTrans for a number of reasons. I already had an MA-level degree in a related subject (the Staatsexamen in Linguistics and Language); the DipTrans was well regarded worldwide, especially in the UK, where I live; and I could study at home, in my own time. Searching for a distance-learning preparatory course, I found one that seemed to fit the bill at www.translator-training.com, and started that just four months before I was due to sit the exam. The course consists of six assignments – previous DipTrans papers – which are corrected by your tutor. I chose to send in two 'General', two 'Social Science', and two 'Literature' papers, which were the options I was planning to choose in the exam. My tutor returned each paper with detailed comments and corrections – constructive criticism that was instrumental in helping me fine-tune my translation skills and prepare properly, and specifically, for the exam. Each time I worked on a new paper, I was able to build on the feedback I had been given. I could discuss my queries in telephone tutorials and I also practised by myself, translating a number of additional past papers and reading the Examiners' Reports I had bought. Included in the course fee is a very useful IoLET DipTrans Handbook, which explains the examination format, practical approaches to translating and some translation theory. In the weeks before the exam, I focused particularly on my time-keeping – you have two hours to complete the Literature paper and you need about 20 minutes at the end The Peter Newmark Award was kindly presented by the Translating Division to honour the contribution made by the late Professor Newmark (pictured), both to the CIOL and to the study of translation. Professor Newmark had a long association with the Institute and was also an examiner for the DipTrans, marking various options, including Literature from French into English. The prize is given to the candidate who achieves the highest mark in the DipTrans semi-specialised Literature option in any language combination. Peter Newmark Award © C HRIS C HRISTODOULOU