Comments on: Recordings http://translatorconference.wordpress.com/2008/09/30/recordings/ Hosted by Light of Berotsana. Boulder, Colorado. September 26, 27, 28 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:44:23 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Troy Omafray http://translatorconference.wordpress.com/2008/09/30/recordings/#comment-13 Troy Omafray Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:44:23 +0000 http://translatorconference.wordpress.com/?p=54#comment-13 Cool. Thanks Craig. Looking forward to your new book. And say hi to your son from me, a fellow metal head shredder. Bows, Troy Cool. Thanks Craig. Looking forward to your new book. And say hi to your son from me, a fellow metal head shredder.

Bows,
Troy

]]> By: Craig Preston http://translatorconference.wordpress.com/2008/09/30/recordings/#comment-12 Craig Preston Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:34:50 +0000 http://translatorconference.wordpress.com/?p=54#comment-12 Hi Troy, I guess this is the proper place for a comment I put elsewhere, so sorry for the duplication. It’s good to get out, meet new folks, make new connections. I’m entering a phase where my students are younger than my three kids (a metal guitarist, a hairdresser in Hollywood, and a new mom-ethnomusicologist). As you know, I had the good fortune to train under Jeffrey Hopkins at UVa from 1978-1982. We worked incredibly hard (thanks, Jeffrey!), but we played hard too. Hey, we are Wahoos. The day at my desk today is not that different from then. As I type this I’m listening to a Darkstar from Feb 2, 1969. I’m just as happy to talk about life in the Phil Zone on a good night as I am to talk about where the verb is. Epistemologists come in all cultural flavors, and I’m an old Deadhead. Students and teaching methods come in all flavors too. I’m the right guy to study with for some students, but certainly not all students. As Alex Berzin and Hopkins emphasized again and again, the development of memory is key. We memorized philosophical definitions in Tibetan daily, debated their meaning within our limitations, and thus carried around with us lots to think about specifically. My teaching methods are a logical extension of where I came from. My students memorize short paradigm sentences as keys to unlock the large units found within the sorts of sentences found in commentarial texts. In this way pedagogically I am the opposite pole from the “intuitive” camp. Just as I’m a Deadhead rather than (fill in whatever here, maybe anything from the 80s), I naturally gravitate to a rule-based system to decode Tibetan sentences. I think it was implicit in our collective conversation that this is not a substitute for long work with native speakers. It is merely one developmental stage that is useful for some translators in training. As Hopkins said at his retirement speech, “Do what you can do.” This is what I do. If anyone finds it appealing, get up with me. Now, as a point of shameless self-promotion, Volume Two of my box-laden approach to exploring the marvels of Tibetan sentences will be published by Snow Lion real soon now. I’ve presented Jay-dzun-ba’s short (maybe 20 sides) Presentation of Tenets for students interested in getting a foothold in the tenets genre. Its more of the same, so if you liked volume one, this will appeal to you. It is a better book in man y ways, proof positive that this old dog can learn new tricks. --Stay cool, Craig Hi Troy,

I guess this is the proper place for a comment I put elsewhere, so sorry for the duplication.

It’s good to get out, meet new folks, make new connections. I’m entering a phase where my students are younger than my three kids (a metal guitarist, a hairdresser in Hollywood, and a new mom-ethnomusicologist). As you know, I had the good fortune to train under Jeffrey Hopkins at UVa from 1978-1982. We worked incredibly hard (thanks, Jeffrey!), but we played hard too. Hey, we are Wahoos. The day at my desk today is not that different from then. As I type this I’m listening to a Darkstar from Feb 2, 1969. I’m just as happy to talk about life in the Phil Zone on a good night as I am to talk about where the verb is. Epistemologists come in all cultural flavors, and I’m an old Deadhead.

Students and teaching methods come in all flavors too. I’m the right guy to study with for some students, but certainly not all students. As Alex Berzin and Hopkins emphasized again and again, the development of memory is key. We memorized philosophical definitions in Tibetan daily, debated their meaning within our limitations, and thus carried around with us lots to think about specifically. My teaching methods are a logical extension of where I came from. My students memorize short paradigm sentences as keys to unlock the large units found within the sorts of sentences found in commentarial texts. In this way pedagogically I am the opposite pole from the “intuitive” camp. Just as I’m a Deadhead rather than (fill in whatever here, maybe anything from the 80s), I naturally gravitate to a rule-based system to decode Tibetan sentences.

I think it was implicit in our collective conversation that this is not a substitute for long work with native speakers. It is merely one developmental stage that is useful for some translators in training. As Hopkins said at his retirement speech, “Do what you can do.” This is what I do. If anyone finds it appealing, get up with me.

Now, as a point of shameless self-promotion, Volume Two of my box-laden approach to exploring the marvels of Tibetan sentences will be published by Snow Lion real soon now. I’ve presented Jay-dzun-ba’s short (maybe 20 sides) Presentation of Tenets for students interested in getting a foothold in the tenets genre. Its more of the same, so if you liked volume one, this will appeal to you. It is a better book in man y ways, proof positive that this old dog can learn new tricks.

–Stay cool, Craig

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