The article is featured in the volume Spunti e riflessioni per una didattica della traduzione e dell’interpretariato nelle SSML, edited by Valeria Petrocchi. Configni (RI), Italy: Edizioni CompoMat, 2022. 3-20.
Abstract
This article proposes multiple classroom applications of Damon Knight’s 1950 science fiction story, To Serve Man. The versatility of this text makes it an approachable, entertaining and thought-provoking tool that can contribute to bridging the gap between theory and practice in translation pedagogy. In the story, the Kanamit, a mysterious alien species who claim they have come to earth to bring peace and prosperity, succeed in gaining people’s trust when the title of the handbook they have brought with them is translated as To Serve Man. Interpreting the message as one of altruism on the part of the Kanamit, the humans realize only too late that the text is actually… a cookbook. The story, and its 1962 adaptation for an eponymous episode of The Twilight Zone, provide a number of educational opportunities. In courses that seek to familiarize beginning translation students with some of the crucial issues and major schools of thought in translation studies, To Serve Man supplies a seamless transition to several theoretical readings. In translation workshops and/or courses that feature a practical component, the misinterpretation at the core of the story, as well as the recurring motif of food, offer fascinating translation challenges.