Sarah Greene

on translating Catullus

In this Homophonic Translation, I translate the ancient Latin poem "Fletus Passeris Lesbiae" by Catullus into English based on the way each Latin word sounds. Many Latin words possess sound and letter combinations that are not frequently used in English. I solved this problem by translating many of the sounds less "literally." If l could not find a close English match for a Latin word that flowed in the context of the piece, I chose an English word that sounded very similar and possessed the same root sounds. In some instances, I also combined the endings of a Latin word with the beginning of the next word. When the Latin poem is read aloud by a native or fluent speaker, the words seem to blend together in this manner, and combining the ending and beginning sounds of words mimicked this affect. For example, the words "incitare morsus," which sound like "in-kit-are-ray morse us," became "in guitar remorse us." I feel that incorporating common English words like "guitar," as well "hurray" and "scenario" makes the piece more relatable and enjoyable for the reader. In addition, juxtaposing less frequently used words like "legume" and "hipsta" with illogical sounds such as "grr" gives the piece a unique flair and creates an upbeat rhythm. At the same time, many erotic attributes of the original poem are naturally preserved because of the way these Latin words sound.