Halfway Through the Translator Training Program (TTP)
Halfway Through the
Translator Training Program (TTP)
This is my most happy and joyful year
at RYI. Three years since starting with the Bachelor Program (BA) I adventured
myself into the Translator Training Program (TTP) – a one-year course that
trains students to orally interpret from Tibetan into English. The TTP
includes:
Ø
One course of your choice during the
two-month Summer Program.
Ø
The Fall Semester and the Spring
Semester, where you have classes five days a week from 8am to 4pm.
Ø
Six weeks of Translation Seminar
(exclusive for TTP students): two weeks during the winter break and four-weeks
after the end of the Spring Semester.
During the Summer Program I enrolled
into the Advanced Colloquial Tibetan, a course that
radically enhanced my capacity to both speak and understand the language.[1]
The course was a great support to boost my Tibetan and be comfortable to start
the first day of the Fall Semester, where the actual training in interpretation
commences.
The first weeks of the Fall Semester
were a little bumpy. On the one hand, we had to adjust to a very intense class
schedule. On the other, from the first day of the semester we were asked to
interpret, from Tibetan to English, a Dharma teaching given by a learned
monastic (this Fall semester, Ani Thubten Wangmo.) Sent to the interpreter’s
seat, I basically did what I could and, surely, realized all that I could not!
I remember asking Ani la[2]
to repeat every sentence in slow motion, again and again, and using myriads of
synonyms until she targeted the one, probably the only one, that I knew.
Fortunately, together with Ani la and
your fellow TTP students, sits a professional, experienced translator that
helps you to first, understand what is being taught and, secondly, convey a
proper interpretation. The support of the corrector (this year, Anya Zilman,
Inka Wolf and Maria Vasylieva) is extremely precious; definitely a gem of the
program. Every day, we receive personal feedback regarding what we have
specifically (1) misunderstood, (2) omitted and/or, (3) added in our
interpretation. On top of that, each week correctors make a list of the unknown
vocabulary – that is, the words that Ani la said and we were not able to
translate – and, later, quiz us on these words. As a result, every week we
memorize between 50 and 100 new words and gradually build a broader vocabulary.
The process of interpreting actually
starts to become more manageable as the weeks go by. Slowly, slowly, we become
more familiarized with Ani la’s way of teaching; learn how to better prepare
for class; and with the support of the Interpreting Methodology class (this
year, given by Maria Vasylieva), acquire knowledge on specific techniques (such
as note-taking and memory-training) that help overcome the first wave of
difficulties.
As for the intense class schedule,
during the Fall and the Spring Semesters, a day of the TTP program is generally
as follows:
Ø
Classes start at 8am with one hour of
untranslated Khenpo class (open for TTP and non-TTP students). This year we are
studying the Dakpo Targyen (The Jewel Ornament of Liberation) by
Gampopa.
Ø
Subsequently, there is either:
o Advanced Classical Tibetan master class (open for TTP and
non-TTP students) or,
o Advanced Colloquial Tibetan master class (exclusive for TTP
students) or,
o Interpreting Methodology class (exclusive for TTP students).
Ø
Morning classes end with a one-to-one
dharma or colloquial language conversation with a native Tibetan speaker.
Ø
After lunch there is a Translation
Class, which is the heart of the program. In this class, a learned monastic
teaches a Buddhist dharma scripture in Tibetan, students take turns to orally
interpret for about 30 minutes each, and each student receives constructive
criticism from a corrector.
Ø
Three times a week the day closes with
another one-to-one colloquial language conversation with a native Tibetan
speaker.
Thus, the day brims with opportunities
to gain greater familiarization with the language. Yet though one might only be
driven to enroll in the TTP for the sake of drastically improving one’s Tibetan
knowledge and interpreting skills, there is much more to the TTP than just
that. Indeed, the TTP can be a great opportunity for personal growth.
The fact of
being corrected in almost every sentence that one utters is the best way to
learn, but can be challenging. Since the launch of the TTP program (2008) there
are stories of students that, while trying to interpret, burst into tears,
suddenly left the room, or just felt angry and frustrated. Though in theory
these strong reactions to making small mistakes do not make any sense – especially
when being corrected is a necessary element for the learning process and, of
course, a great opportunity – our subtle or emotional bodies can still get
disturbed and resistant to the feeling of imperfection. Even though we might
intellectually understand that all is okay, based on our uncomfortable feeling,
our thinking mind takes-off with critical thoughts either about ourselves (how
bad we are) or about the program, the correctors, etc. – trying to point to an external
source for our anxiety. As such, a certain personality is required to not
abandon the program.
Identifying one’s inclination to
perfectionism, exaggeration, excessive self-identification, and proliferation
of invalid assumptions – like the thought of it being so terrible that even a
small mistake will cause one to obsess about it for days – one can then learn
how to relax and cultivate a feeling of “okayness;” meaning, qualities of
acceptance, openness and tenderness that naturally relieve the unnecessary
sense of worry. I am not a good example for success in this area yet I am
confident in that the greater our openness and gentleness, the quieter our
inner critic’s voice will become.
The act of interpreting in the presence
of a corrector also acts as a perfect scenario to recognize how well one
understands the Buddhadharma in Tibetan. In fact, as long as one does not
clearly understands what is being taught, one is not able to communicate the
meaning of it to the audience. It is generally the case that, from the first
day of the TTP, students realize the significant gap there is between what they
think they understood and what they actually understand. In this way,
interpreting can become a means to test one’s understanding of the Buddhist
teachings and, more importantly, a way to actually enhance one’s capacity to
understand the Buddhadharma – what has a direct impact in how one puts the
teachings into practice.
Halfway through the program, I am full
of gratitude and appreciation for all that I have experienced. On top of
obviously improving my Tibetan and communication skills, I can already see how
the TTP is also helping me to unfold a healthier and more grounded sense of
being. Just like "drip by drip, a jug gets filled," I
trust that this process will contribute to fully settle the dharma in my mind,
and I pray whole-heartedly that all this nourishment may benefit
countless beings.
With
my TTP family (from left to right): Victor (Brazil); Cecilia (Argentina); Ani
Thubten Wangmo (Tibet); and Mimi (Austria).
~ Cecilia Pla
[2] In Tibetan, “Ani” (in wylie script, a ni) is a common way to address
ordained nuns and adding “la” (lags)
at the end is a sign of respect.
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