A Modern Languages learner at Solihull Sixth Form College has won the Midlands Regional Prize in the Anthea Bell Translation Competition this year.
Year 12 student Dan Martin came top in his age group in the prestigious competition. There were over 16,000 entries from over 300 schools in the competition, which is run by Queen’s College, University of Oxford. The competition presents learners with the opportunity to translate texts at four different age levels from French, Welsh, German, Spanish and Mandarin into English.
Dan is currently in his first year of studying A level German, History and Politics. He explained what the competition involved:
“I was challenged with translating an extract from Irmgard Keun’s ‘Nach Mitternacht’, sa novel set in Frankfurt in 1936 based on a group of young German teenagers trying to enjoy life despite harsh Nazi rule. Compared to A level standard I would say for me it was quite difficult to translate. Not only were certain words completely alien to me, but I also found it difficult to balance literal meaning, while considering the context of the story, as some literally translated words may not have been appropriate to use for the suspenseful nature of this narrative.”
German Teacher, Jane Weatherup, added:
“We are delighted for Dan and congratulate him on his success. It was great to see him pushing himself with this challenge and it will stand him in good stead when it comes to making higher education applications.”
Dan hopes to continue his language studies at university after completing his A levels. He explained:
“I plan to apply for German and beginner’s Russian at universities such as Cambridge and University College London. I feel as though these two languages complement each other nicely, with rich historical and cultural links, and having two widely-spoken languages under my belt broadens employment opportunities for when I graduate. A strong ambition of mine is to be based in Germany or Austria working for an international company like BMW or Deutsche Bank, where I can communicate and negotiate with people in a different language.”
26 June 2024