An exploration of how Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) might help a literary translator navigate the various challenges of understanding, interpreting, and conveying meaning across languages and cultures. And a couple of other literary updates.
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Introduction
Last semester, one of my course assignments was to draft a one-page teaching philosophy statement. If I aim to teach at the university level after finishing my Ph.D., this is one of the documents I will need in my application portfolio. The experience of putting it together made me look at my practice of literary translation afresh for various reasons.
Today’s newsletter concerns one of the cognitive theories I revisited: Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI.) The books I have on my shelves are as follows. However, he has several more recent ones, which I want to explore at some point, especially this latest, co-authored with Wendy Fischman and published in 2023: The Real World of College: What Higher Education Is and What It Can Be.
It has been at least a couple of decades since I revisited these books. This time, with all the writing and translating experience gained during that period, I have come to appreciate and understand MI differently. [Note: If you subscribe to my free Historical Fiction Craft Notes newsletter, I plan to write about a different application of the MI theory in that also shortly.]
In particular, as we keep reading news about how artificial intelligence (AI) is going to replace writers and translators, I think it becomes even more important for us to appreciate how writers and translators bring all of these multiple intelligences to their texts to create innovative synergies that will be difficult, if not impossible, for AI to replicate. That is my underlying thesis here.
Let’s begin with a summary. And a disclaimer: This is a vast multidisciplinary topic, and I have not researched all the critical scholarship around it. As always, this newsletter is my way of thinking through and organizing ideas in my head.
Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Gardner is a Harvard professor of cognition and education. He has proposed that intelligence is not a single, fixed attribute but a set of distinct types or modalities of intelligence. Each such modality is a computational capacity, he says, that helps us process certain kinds of information based on both our biology and psychology. It helps us solve problems and create cultural products that can capture and transmit our knowledge, beliefs, emotions, and conclusions. For the most part, he asserts, we all have some elements of each kind of intelligence but differ in the relative strengths we possess or exhibit of each one.
While this theory has its critics, it has been applied widely across various fields to provide frameworks and practical guides for dealing with cognitive abilities in terms of learning, teaching, self-improvement, and more.
Here are the various types of intelligences and how I see them applying to the practice of literary translation.
1. Linguistic Intelligence: This is the most obvious and foundational mode of intelligence for translators of all stripes: proficiency in source and target languages, including reading, writing, and effective communication. Of course, we are also discussing something beyond a facility with different languages. Multilingualism alone does not make us good translators because it does not necessarily mean that we have the requisite skills to comprehend and communicate everything clearly, fully, and accurately.
2. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence: The ability to think logically, reason well, solve problems, and understand abstract concepts is valuable for deciphering complex linguistic structures and ensuring accuracy. I also think this mode of intelligence can extend to understanding and analyzing the intricacies of the publishing world, the translation ecosystem, and the dynamics of the literary marketplace. This last point will repeat in a couple more types of intelligence below, too.
Note that these first two kinds of intelligence are the ones that most academic tests and assessments are based on. There is nothing wrong with that as long as we understand that a person may be smart in multiple other ways, and their performance in these two alone does not indicate their overall intelligence.
3. Musical Intelligence: This is also fairly evident, I believe. A sensitivity to rhythm, melody, and pitch helps capture the tone and flow of language and voice in literary translations. Recently, a translator friend mentioned how they did not know what is meant by a “deaf” translation. At the time, I agreed with them immediately. Then, as I reread Gardner’s theory and drafted this newsletter, I concluded that it might mean a translation that does not successfully carry over these musical elements from the source language.
4. Spatial Intelligence: This is about visualizing and manipulating mental images. While primarily associated with the visual arts, spatial intelligence can also play a role in understanding the structure and flow of written texts. Whether poetry or prose, each source text has a particular shape and structure. Whether we choose to retain it in our translation or not, we do need to understand it to make an informed choice. I believe we can also extend this one to the ability to navigate tricky translation and publishing ecosystems, which I describe next.
5. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: A not-so-obvious kind of intelligence for literary translation, right? How can the ability to coordinate body movements and handle objects skillfully help us be better translators? Beyond better motor skills and physical fitness, this is also about a sense of timing and the ability to coordinate our own mind and body responses to whatever work we might be doing. It is about being able to use our entire being to do our work. For example, even picking up on our mind-body dissonances during the translation process can be a vital tell to help guide our translation choices better.
6. Intrapersonal Intelligence: This is clear enough: self-awareness and understanding of one’s own emotions, strengths, and weaknesses. With any kind of creative work, we need to manage the difficulties and demands of the various processes involved such that roadblocks do not defeat us. We need to be able to introspect and reflect on our challenges and successes to learn from them and keep evolving. With literary translation, we also need to understand the questions or puzzles posed by the source text and how best to answer or resolve them with our interpretations. All of this requires a deeper connection with our inner selves.
7. Interpersonal Intelligence: How we understand others, cooperate with them, or motivate them is an intelligence required in almost every field. Even if much of our translation work is done in solitude, understanding and navigating social relationships effectively is essential for interacting with authors, editors, other industry professionals, news media folks, and even strangers on social media. And let’s not forget relationships within our communities with other literary translators. Note: Gardner has written how the idea of this particular intelligence bears some similarities to the theory of emotional intelligence (EQ) popularized by Daniel Goleman.
8. Naturalistic Intelligence: How might an affinity for understanding and categorizing aspects of the natural world help a translator? I interpret this as a sensitive and holistic appreciation of how our world and our environment influence language, literature, and culture overall. I’ll deviate from Gardner and include human-made constructs like societies and communities here because, for our purposes, they form our operating environment. Gardner did not have this intelligence mode as part of his initial framework in Frames of Mind. It was added in later revisions of the theory in the other texts shown above.
9. Cultural Intelligence: Another intelligence that applies to all fields is about sensitivity and adaptability to different cultural contexts. Though related, this is different from interpersonal intelligence. For translators, this is about attunement to the cultural nuances and complexities embedded in the source text and the ability to convey them appropriately in the target language. I’ve discussed before how the best translators are often also, to some extent, anthropologists, ethnographers, historians, and more.
10. Existential Intelligence: Some works on MI theory application have switched out “cultural intelligence” for “existential intelligence.” Presumably, this is for one or both of these reasons: a) They see the former as the same as “interpersonal intelligence,” and b) Gardner has himself conjectured about the latter.
While I have not read Gardner’s recent works to know if he has officially added this to his framework, I believe this to be a good addition here.
We have likely all asked deep and critical questions about our existence and specific experiences. I apply that fundamental “why” question to thinking about and framing my purpose and sense of vocation as a translator. These will vary and evolve, as I’ve written before, depending on where we are in our journey. And it is related to “intrapersonal intelligence” above. But this one is, to me, more about the ability to step back and look at the larger context of our role in the literary ecosystem such that it can then inform our choices of which texts to translate, how we resolve our translation challenges, and how we move through the world as individuals who aim to mediate between cultures.
Gardner has even considered two other kinds of intelligence: 11) pedagogical and 12) digital. In the 9-minute video below, he discusses pedagogical or teaching intelligence. Having been back in full-time education for a semester, engaged in teaching and learning, I find this to be highly relevant and accurate. And I plan to do more reading and thinking on practical ways to apply MI theory as a student and instructor.
[11. Pedagogical-Teaching Intelligence:] The intelligence which allows us to be able to teach successfully to other people. Now, you could have two people who have exactly the same expertise and knowledge in the field, but one is a very good teacher, and the other isn’t. That probably doesn’t surprise individuals so much. But what got me fascinated was as young as two or three, kids already know how to teach. […] So that shows as young as three, let’s say, we already have teaching intelligence.
“8 Intelligences: Are You a Jack of All Trades or a Master of One? | Howard Gardner | Big Think.” Big Think, uploaded by Big Think, 13 Jan. 2016, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY2C4YgXm7I.
12. Digital Intelligence: This is self-explanatory. We all need to use technology to some extent or other to do our translation work. But let’s extend this one to include all the social, emotional, cognitive, and technological skills required to survive and thrive in the digital world. This means understanding how and when technology can help us become better translators and when it can be a hindrance or even a threat. It also means determining how and when to use technology in ethical, responsible, and safe ways. I have yet to come across Gardner’s official definition of this. I’m not even sure it exists in published form yet, so I have some homework to do.
A 9-Minute Video on Multiple Intelligences with Howard Gardner
Gardner discusses almost all of the above intelligences in this video, so it’s worth a watch. There are likely many more out there, but this is a good place to start if you want a quick overview from the man himself.
Your Thoughts?
It’s important to note that these intelligences are not mutually exclusive. As I paraphrased from Gardner before listing them above, most of us possess a combination of these intelligences. He has also posited that, of these nine (or twelve, if you’re keeping score), there will always be some that are more dominant such that they may support or hinder the rest. Understanding which ones are most dominant for us might help us figure out how to strengthen some of the others to deal with the complexities of languages, cultures, and communication in our translation work.
I would love to know whether/how you see MI theory applying to your personal translation, reading, or writing practice. Please respond in the comments area below and I will respond.
I should mention that I now have a macro in place that takes email responses to the newsletter and adds them as comments. I had to do this to keep all newsletter responses in one place, so I hope you understand. I still have to manually approve them before they are publicly visible. So, if you do respond directly to the newsletter with something personal, rest assured that I will not allow the macro to post it.
Other Quick Literary Updates
Some time ago, I had shared about being a jury member for the Mozhi Prize 2023. This award is run out of India by two translators, Priyamvada Ram and Suchitra Ramachandran, for short story translations from any Indian language into English. It is for emerging (read: unpublished) translators. The three winners were announced this week, and you can read our jury citations for them and three other special mentions here. Congratulations to all of them! And big props to Priyamvada and Suchitra for leading the way in creating this kind of opportunity for emerging translators.
One other update: the spring semester starts in full swing next week. So, I may not post every two weeks as I have just done. But let’s see. I do have conferences and papers in the works. So, if nothing else, I will share excerpts from them.
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