Translation Grading & Reading via Sense Units

How are translations graded?

• all passages are broken down into sense chunk, each of which is worth 1 point

• you must get all words correct in the chunk to receive the point

• what is a sense chunk?

small group of words that go together syntactically and make up a coherent unit of meaning (e.g. subject-verb, verb-object, prepositional phrases, subordinate clauses,

etc.)

What combinations of words make up sense units?

• subject-verb• verb-object

– direct object + trans. vb.– dat. obj. + vb. w/ dat.– abl. obj. + puffv vb.

• prepositional phrases• noun phrases

– noun + adj.– noun + gen.

• subordinate clauses– introductory

conjunction/pronoun/etc. + verb

• adverb + word modified– adverb + verb– adverb + adjective– adverb + adverb

• correlative constructions– neque…neque, et…et,

aut…aut, etc.)• words joined by

conjunctions• subordinate constructions

– abl. abs., ind. st., part. phrases, gerund(ive) phrases, etc.

N.B.: This list is not exhaustive, but it’s a good starting point. Are there other units you can come up with?

In Cat. 1 Sense Units – Instructions• read through the passage again

• break down the passage into sense units as you go

– numbering the words as you go might help you do this

• fill in your sense chunks [LEFT column]

• explain WHY each chunk is a unit of meaning in itself (i.e. subj.-vb., vb.-obj., prep. phrase, vb.-adv., etc.) [MIDDLE column]

• translate only the chunk [RIGHT column]

• try to keep your chunks small (2-4 words, max. 5)

N.B.: There is no ONE correct way to do this; there are NUMEROUS ways to divide a given passage.

What combinations of words make up sense units?

• subject-verb• verb-object

– direct object + trans. vb.– dat. obj. + vb. w/ dat.– abl. obj. + puffv vb.

• prepositional phrases• noun phrases

– noun + adj.– noun + gen.

• subordinate clauses– introductory

conjunction/pronoun/etc. + verb

• adverb + word modified– adverb + verb– adverb + adjective– adverb + adverb

• correlative constructions– neque…neque, et…et,

aut…aut, etc.)• words joined by

conjunctions• subordinate constructions

– abl. abs., ind. st., part. phrases, gerund(ive) phrases, etc.

N.B.: This list is not exhaustive, but it’s a good starting point. Are there other units you can come up with?