VES: Lesson - Cloze Translation Preparation
Cloze Translation
Download and complete the Vesuvius Cloze Quiz Links to an external site. handout. Please be sure you have completed the handout before moving on in the course. Use the information on this page to help you get an idea of what cloze translation is and how you should approach this content.
Cloze translation is a form of translation in which the translator fills in blanks with missing content. A passage of Latin is presented, and followed by a partial translation, where certain words or phrases have been omitted. The task is to find the missing information in the Latin passage and finish the translation. A short example:
| Latin Text | Cloze Translation | Final Translation |
|---|---|---|
|
Lucius amico librum dedit. |
Lucius ______ a book to his ______. |
Lucius gave a book to his friend. |
What was missing from the cloze translation? The verb dedit is not translated, nor is the noun amico. So the translator's task is to now fill in the blanks with the appropriate translations for these two missing components:
- dedit
- perfect tense from do, dare, dedi, datus - to give.
- 3rd person singular. So, the blank should be filled in:
- (he/she/it) gave
- Note: the subject has been provided as Lucius, so when filling in the blank, you can just write gave
- amico
- dative, singular, and masculine
- Dative = indirect object - this is the noun receiving what is being given, shown or told (in this case: given).
- friend
So, as you can see, the goal is to see what has been translated, then based on that, working out the meaning of the parts that remain untranslated to complete the sentence.