Translation at Aston

Dear all,

The Thematic Network on Empirical and Experimental Research in Translation (TREC), of which Dr. Severine Hubscher-Davidson is a member, is meeting in Barcelona in July 2013 to continue working on facilitating research and enhancing comparability across studies within empirical and experimental translation research.

As I’m sure you all know, translating is a highly complex and demanding cognitive task and the Network brings together several international research groups in order to exchange data and information and thus improve the development of this type of research.

A seminar on empirical and experimental research in translation is also being organized on 2-3 July 2013 during which TREC members and their research students will present their ongoing work. Both Dr Hubscher-Davidson and her PhD student Claudine Borg will present at this event.

For further information on TREC, please go to:
http://pagines.uab.cat/trec

Dr Olga Castro, Lecturer in Translation Studies and Spanish at Aston University has recently been in Spain participating in different launchings of her first monograph Feminismos , written in Galician (Edicións Xerais, 2013), co-authored with María Reimóndez.

On 3 April, the book Feminismos was launched in the bookshop ‘Lila de Lilith,’ in Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña. A second presentation was held on 5 April at ‘Casa das Letras,’ in Ribadeo, Lugo, organised by the Observatorio da Mariña pola Igualdade On 8 April Feminismos was launched in the bookshop ‘Librouro,’ in Vigo, Pontevedra.

At these different events, the authors Olga Castro and María Reimóndez spoke about the present-day significance of the book. The authors regard feminism as the political theory and social movement that has most profoundly transformed societies worldwide in a peaceful manner, the main purpose of which is to improve the lives of women and men. A specific section is devoted to the contribution of feminist theories to different academic disciplines, such as linguistics and translation studies.

The book was very well received. Different reviews have been published so far, and the authors have also been interviewed in different media. For further information:

Click here for the interview with Olga Castro and María Reimóndez on the newspaper Faro de Vigo (in Spanish, 9 April 2013).

Click here for the interview with the authors on the Galician radio station “Radio Galega” (in Galician, 3 April 2013).

Click here for the interview with Olga Castro on the newspaper Praza Pública (in Galician, 3 April 2013).

Click here for the interview with Olga Castro on the newspaper La Voz de Galicia (in Galician, 4 April 2013)

And click here for the interview with María Reimóndez on the Galician TV station Televisión de Galicia (in Galician, 16 April 2013).

You can also follow Feminismos on Facebook.

Hello everyone!

In celebration of our Distinguished Visiting Professor of Translation Studies, Professor Birgitta Englund Dimitrova, we held a small get together with our BA/MA/PhD students in Translation Studies. The social event was a great success and some first year students even performed! In the picture you can see Antonella who has translated a beautiful song as part of a first year module! She is performing with a fellow student also studying languages at Aston.

ENGLISH translation

Dear readers,

I am very pleased (and proud!) to share with you another beautiful piece of translation work accomplished by one of our 1st year students on the BSc Mod Langs & Trans Studies French & Spanish.

In the module entitled Translation Workshop, students had to translate a song of their choice from a foreign language into English. Please see below for Antonella Campanella’s chosen song:

And click on the attached mp3 file to hear her own beautiful English rendition!

Hello all!

Have you heard about Bob the Cat? This is a story of a ginger kitty cat that stays with a homeless musician, busking on the streets of London to survive, and changes his life forever… Click here to see the Amazon link to the story that his owner wrote.

Well, now the author wrote a special version of his book for children – I wonder what he has taken out of the original book, or what has been altered? And what that says about current norms in our society…

Maybe an essay topic for one of my Contemporary Translation Theories students next year….!

This year, final year students in French translation were tasked with translating a peom for Father’s Day. As you can see, their beautiful versions attest to their skills in creative thinking as well as translation! The source poem is at the bottom of the post.
—

My Father

Behind his toughness,
He hides his tenderness,
A façade before me,
My defender of faith, always protecting me.

Although your words may be hurtful,
I know they’re always meaningful,
Because you see in me,
The baby I was and all I can be.

Above all,
Of all the men in the world,
You’ve shaped my heart,
You are my hero, endlessly smart.

I can tell from your gaze,
I can tell from your support,
From the way we always speak together,
I know it will last forever.

I will face the harshest mornings,
I will give you my love,
I would brave the worst weather,
I know it will last forever.

Happy Father’s day
Without you I wouldn’t exist…

By Anna and Emma (Translated from Michaela Degui)

–
To my Father

Behind the tough exterior,
Hides tenderness,
A protective shield in front of me,
A protector of my life, a defender of faith.

Your words sometimes hurt me,
but you mean them in good faith,
As you see in me,
The baby that was born, the fruit of your soulmate.

Amongst everyone,
Of every man in the world,
Yours is the mould for my heart,
You are the hero who never falters,

It is in your gaze,
It is in your support,
It is in your long discussions,
That forever, forever,

I would conquer the blizzard,
I will face the hard mornings,
I will give you my love,
Forever, forever.

Happy Father’s Day
Without you I would not exist…

By Georgina, Jennie and David (Translated from Michaela Degui)
—

My Father

Behind your toughness,
Your tenderness hides,
A façade in front of me,
My guardian, a defender of trust,

Your words sometimes hurt me,
But in the end I empathize,
As you see in me,
The baby that was born, a miniature you,

Amongst everyone,
All the men in the world,
You’re my idol,
You’re my faultless hero,

Your look,
Your support,
The way you talk,
Forever and always,

I would brave the storm,
I will face the difficult mornings,
I will love you,
Forever and always,

Have a great day Dad
Without you, I wouldn’t exist…

By Laura, Sam and Sarah-Louise (Translated from Michaela Degui)
—
 
My Dad

Behind your toughness
Hides your tenderness
Standing as a facade
Protector of my life, defender of the faith

Your words are sometimes hurtful
But they are always thoughtful
Because you see in me, I,
The baby who was born, the apple of your eye

Between all,
All the men in the world
You are my role model as I grow
You are the perfect hero

It’s in your gaze
It’s in your support
It’s in your long speeches that amaze
Forever and always

I would overcome the blizzards
I would face the hard mornings
I would give you my loving grace
Forever and always

Happy Fathers’ Day

By Bade and Sally (Translated from Michaela Degui)

–
To my Father…

Behind the sternness,
Like a mask before me,
Lies a hidden tenderness
Like a protector behind me,

Though your words may hurt,
They’re just your hidden caress.
For you see in me,
The baby born through the fruits of your loins,

Compared to others,
All of those men in sight
You make me who I am
You are my undented knight.

Under your gaze,
Through your speeches
Your support through every phase,
I’ll forever more,

Beat the elements,
Triumph over the bitter dawn,
All whilst I give you my love
Till the end of my days and forevermore.

Happy Father’s day,
For whom I stand here to this day.

By Adrien, Ben and Rebecca (Translated from Michaela Degui)
–

Father

Behind the robustness,
Hides a kindness,
A façade before my face,
A protector of my life, a defender of my faith.

Sometimes your words hurt,
But it is you who heals my heart.
Because what you see in me,
The baby that was born, the apple of your tree.

Out of everyone,
All of the men in the world,
You are the apple of my eye,
You are a hero in disguise.

It’s in the way you regard,
It’s in your kind warnings,
It’s in your speeches, long and clever,
That never, forever.

I’ll fight the blizzard,
I’ll get through the hard mornings,
I’ll give you my love tender,
Never, forever.

Happy Father’s Day
Without you I wouldn’t be here…

By Ria and Aline (Translated from Michaela Degui)
–

Original poem:

Mon père

Derrière la robustesse,
Se cache la tendresse,
Une façade devant moi,
Un protecteur de ma vie, un défenseur de foi.

Tes mots parfois me blessent,
Mais ce sont des caresses.
Car tu vois en moi,
Le bébé qui naquit, le fruit de l’autre toi.

Entre tous,
De tous les hommes au monde,
Tu es le modèle de mon cœur,
Tu es le héros sans erreurs,

Et pourtant,
La perfection furibonde,
Malgré des drôles d’humeurs,
Malgré mes doutes et mes frayeurs.

C’est dans ton regard,
C’est dans ton soutien,
C’est dans tes longs discours,
Qu’à jamais, pour toujours,

Je vaincrais le blizzard,
J’affronterai les rudes matins,
Je te donnerai mon amour,
A jamais, pour toujours.

C’est pour t’honorer
Comme toi tu l’as souvent fait.
Que je t’adresse mes mots,
Mes mots un peu timides,

Je te souhaite, avec mon plus grand respect,
Avec ce que je peux créer,
Mon seul petit cadeau,
Verve limpide.

Bonne fête papa
Sans qui je n’existerai pas…

Michaëla Degui

http://clpav.fr/poemes-audio/musardises-fete-des-peres.htm

We have been told about a new website which aims to provide an insight into the day-to-day workings of the translation industry for those considering a career in translation.

Using examples from first-hand experience, the various blog articles highlight aspects which aspiring translators might want to consider, besides listing links to other useful resources and featuring articles from members of the translation community who specialise in different fields.

We warmly recommend that you visit the site! http://www.sourcetext-targettext.com/

Dear all,

You may have heard about the controversial privatised monopoly awarded by the Ministry of Justice to Applied Language Solutions (ALS) for the provision of court interpreting services, covering all courts in England and Wales.

Hundreds of experienced court interpreters refused to sign up to the service, complaining of poor rates of pay and conditions.

This article provides the latest on this hot topic.

Dear All

A new blog is being launched on creative translation and the art of text making in general, which we think will become a useful and exciting resource for everyone interested and passionate about writing and translation.

According to the blog creators (scholars from the University of East Anglia) this forum is envisaged as a ‘studio’ where issues about text making are discussed, theorized and put into practice. Creations are possible and encouraged!

Readers are encouraged to contribute by sending their experimental and creative translations which will be published on the blog. The studio will also build a list of resources and links to relevant events, conferences and experiments.

So we warmly recommend that you check it out!

The link for the blog is:

http://thecreativeliterarystudio.wordpress.com

In Aston, the School of Languages and Social Sciences has recently introduced a new distance learning research programme in the area of Languages (French, German, Spanish) and Translation Studies.

The programme aims to deepen your knowledge and understanding of key issues at the forefront of French, German, Spanish or Translation Studies, and will enable you to design and implement a research project that makes an original contribution to the field.

You can live anywhere in the world and still have a PhD from Aston! You are supervised by one or two members of staff with whom you will communicate via Skype and email.

For more information on the programme, and how to apply, please click here.