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Study Guide

Field 119: Latin CST
Translation (Rendering into English)

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Directions for Translation Assignment

The Translation (Rendering into English) section of the test consists of a translation assignment in which you will render a passage of Latin prose or poetry into written English.

Please note that special characters (such as letters with accents or other diacritical marks) cannot be entered using the keyboard, but are available for insertion in the on-screen response box. To access these characters, click on the ash symbol button that appears in the upper left corner of the screen. Using the mouse, double-click on the character you wish to include in your response, or click on the character and then select " start bold Insert end bold ." The character will be inserted where the cursor is positioned in the response box.

Your translation will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Your translation should fully and completely express the meaning of the Latin text. For passages of Latin poetry, metrical scansion does not need to be retained in the English translation.

Select the  start bold Next end bold button to continue.

Sample Translation Assignment

Competency 0002 
Translation (Rendering into English)

Translate into English the passage below from Vergil's Aeneid, in which Aeneas describes the fate of the royal family during the sack of Troy. Your translation should fully and completely express the meaning of the Latin text. Metrical scansion does not need to be retained in the English translation.

Forsitan et Priamī fuerint quae fāta requīrās.
Urbis utī see footnote 1 captae cāsum convulsaque vīdit
līmina tēctōrum et medium in penetrālibus hostem,
arma diu senior dēsuēta see footnote 2 trementibus aevō
circumdat nēquīquam umerīs et inūtile ferrum
cingitur, ac dēnsōs fertur moritūrus in hostēs.
Aedibus in mediīs nūdōque sub aetheris axe
ingēns āra fuit iuxtāque veterrima laurus see footnote 3
incumbēns ārae atque umbrā complexa Penātēs.
Hīc Hecuba et nātae nēquīquam altāria circum,
praecipitēs ātrā ceu see footnote 4 tempestāte columbae,
cōndēnsae et dīvum amplexae simulācra sedēbant.

1utī = ut
2dēsuētus, -a, -um: unaccustomed
3laurus, -ī, f.: laurel tree
4ceu: like, as

Sample Strong Response to Translation Assignment

And perhaps you may seek what Priam's fate was. As he saw the fall of the captured city and the torn up thresholds of houses and the enemy in the middle of the inner rooms, in vain the old man put on his shoulders trembling with age arms long unaccustomed and he girded on useless iron, and he was carried about to die into the thick of the enemy.

In the middle of the palace and under the bare vault of the sky was a huge altar and beside it a very ancient laurel tree leaning over the altar and with its shade embracing the household gods. Here Hecuba and her daughters in vain around the altars, headlong like doves in a black storm, were sitting close together and embracing the images of the gods.

Rationale for Sample Strong Response to Translation Assignment

The response is an effective, clear, and well-organized translation that demonstrates complete understanding of the Latin passage, effectively captures significant details, and accurately expresses the meaning of the passage. The translation effectively expresses the meanings conveyed by figurative language, rhetorical devices, and metrical elements and meter used in the Latin passage. Inferences drawn from the Latin passage are effectively expressed.

The candidate effectively uses contextually appropriate English grammar and syntax to express the meanings conveyed by the linguistic structures used in the Latin passage. The choice of English vocabulary and idiomatic language is appropriate for the context and effectively expresses the meanings of the vocabulary and idiomatic language used in the Latin passage. While this rendering is not uniformly literal, it expresses the meaning of the Latin text accurately and effectively.

Performance Characteristics for Translation Assignment

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the Translation assignment.

APPROPRIATENESS The extent to which the response is a clear and well-organized translation (syntactically and contextually appropriate rendering into idiomatic English) that demonstrates understanding of the Latin passage, captures significant details, and accurately expresses the meaning of the passage
INTERPRETATION The extent to which the response expresses the meanings conveyed by figurative language, rhetorical devices, and where applicable, metrical elements and meter used in the Latin passage
INFERENCE The extent to which the response expresses logical inferences drawn from the Latin passage (e.g., point of view, purpose, style, tone, audience, register, cultural references or perspectives)
GRAMMAR The extent to which the response uses contextually appropriate English grammar and syntax to express the meanings conveyed by the linguistic structures used in the Latin passage (e.g., indirect statement, contrary-to-fact conditions, result clauses, voice, mood, tense, word order)
VOCABULARY The extent to which the response uses contextually appropriate English vocabulary and idiomatic language to express the meanings of the vocabulary and idiomatic language used in the Latin passage

Score Scale for Translation Assignment

A score will be assigned to each response to the Translation assignment according to the following score scale.

Score Point Score Point Description
4 The "4" response is an effective and accurate translation of the Latin passage.
3 The "3" response is a generally effective and accurate translation of the Latin passage.
2 The "2" response is a partially effective and accurate translation of the Latin passage.
1 The "1" response is an ineffective and inaccurate translation of the Latin passage.
U The response is unscorable because it is not related to the assignment, not in the appropriate language, or not of sufficient length to score.
B There is no response to the assignment.