fandomhigh | Foreign Literature in Translation, 1/10, 3rd period

Dream is dressed in his robes again, though he might seem slightly tired from the rigors of class yesterday. He grips a mug of tea as he stands before the blackboard.

"Welcome to "Foreign Literature in Translation." Some of you may know this discipline as comparative literature. In brief, it is critical scholarship dealing with the literatures of several languages. I anticipate covering works originally written in French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Latin and Italian this term, and I am looking for a suitable text with its roots in the many languages of the continent of Africa.

We have a small group, which I hope will lend itself to discussion. Miss Bristow is our TA; please come see her or me with any questions. Today, I would like for you to begin by reading and signing the list of classroom rules. This is our contract for the semester. After that, stand and introduce yourselves, making note of any previous experience with languages.

As homework, I would like for you to read Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace", which I have made available in the original French as well as English. Be prepared on Thursday to discuss what the story says about the French culture of de Maupassant's time, as well as any other critical reactions you may have to it.

I am in my office after class for any questions or concerns."

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Dream nods. "And you speak several languages, correct?"

*Hamlet signs in. After last semester, he's used to all the odd things in this classroom.*

I'm Hamlet. I took Languages of Europe with Professor Dream last semester, in addition to some other lingustic study at my old school.

"Thank you for joining us again. Is there anything you especially hope we will read in this class?"

*He thinks about this a minute.*

I wouldn't mind reading some Scandinavian literature in this class. The Nordic countries have a fine literary heritage dating back to the Eddas of the Viking era, and I wouldn't mind having the class enjoy a taste of my home culture.

Dream nods at this and appears to make a note on a pad of paper.

"I'll see what we can do."

Elizabeth signs in.

"I'm Elizabeth Weir, and this is my first language class at this school, although I took Western Lit last semester."

"Thank you for joining us, Ms. Weir. What languages have you studied in the past?"

"Well, I never really studied it, but I grew up speaking Russian as well as English. I've studied French, Spanish, German, Latin and Farsi or Persian," she said.

Dream raises his eyebrows. "Impressive. I look forward to your contributions to class."

Nadia signs in, and when she stands to introduce herself, her shoulders are held stiff and high. It's pretty obvious she's not entirely comfortable taking classes just yet.

"Nadia Santos. Freshman. My native language is Russian, but I don't really speak it anymore. Then Spanish, and then English."

She looks as though she's going to continue, but then sits down abruptly.

Dream appears to note her discomfort and doesn't ask her further questions. "I hope you enjoy class, Ms. Santos."

Nadia nods sharply, then ducks her head. At least the story looks interesting.

Questions? Concerns? Talk to Dream.

"Professor? I was just wondering about the independant studies Principal Smith said you were offering this semester?"

Dream rises from his chair and gestures Elizabeth into his office. "Two of my classes are fairly small this term, Ms. Weir. I believe that with my TAs, I should be able to tutor a few students on the language of their choice without giving short shrift to my other responsibilities. Are there languages of particular interest to you?"

"I've started to learn Italian on my own," Elizabeth begins. "But I'm also interested in learning Mandarin and Arabic, which as they would require learning further alphabets are harder to work with on your own. Obviously not all this semester. Even I'm not much of an overachiever!"

Dream considers this for a moment. "Those are all excellent choices, given what you've told me about your background. I would recommend you pick two of the three; we can do one for the first half of the semester and one for the second half. I would ask you come to my office hours and turn in an assignment once a week. Your progress would be largely self-directed, but I or one of my TAs should be available to answer your questions or for tutoring."

He gestures to the pile of add slips on his desk. "If you want to do this, I'll be happy to sign a form for you to drop at the office."

Elizabeth nodded. "That sounds good," she said. "Considering I've started the Italian, I think I'd like to continue with it for the first half of the semester. Then I'd probably go with the Arabic; I'm more likely to be in the Middle East than Far East!"

Dream nods. "And Arabic is such a storied language."

He rises from his desk, looks briefly at the shelves, and returns with a green-covered book, , A Beginner's Guide to Italian (http://italian.about.com/library/fare/blfareindex01.htm).

"I suspect you know the Italian alphabet already, but if you would like to review the first several chapters -- through "Punctuation Marks" -- that would be a strong foundation. We could discuss them after your literature class next week."

"Would you like me to sign an add slip for you now?"

Elizabeth takes the book and looks at it. "Sure thing, Professor," she says. "And if you could, thank you."

"Consider it done," Dream says, signing an add form for Independent Study in languages and passing it across to her.

"Thank you, sir," Elizabeth replies, taking the form. "I'll see you on Thursday."

"Yes. And we will discuss the Italian next Tuesday. Farewell for now, Ms. Weir."

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