„Anglophoner Tag“ ist eine traditionsreiche, seit 30 Jahren stattfindende Konferenz für Übersetzer mit den Arbeitssprachen Englisch und Deutsch. Dieses Jahr organisiert das German Network des britischen Institute for Translating and Interpreting (ITI) ein solches Treffen in Saarbrücken.
In der Ankündigung heißt es:
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How do we understand our professional identity today – as translators, interpreters, language consultants, cultural mediators …? How do the languages we speak shape who we are? Is there such a thing as a bilingual identity? How do the different facets of our identity influence the ways we use and work with language? What questions of identity – personal, cultural, political – do we have to grapple with when we are translating?
Join us for a long weekend combining thought-provoking talks from fellow translators and a programme of cultural activities that explore Saarland’s history and complex regional identity. The workshop will be taking place at the historic Brauhaus zum Stiefel in the heart of Saarbrücken.
Programme
Friday 6 November
- 12 p.m. Lunch/coffee for any early arrivals
- 2 p.m. Visit to the Saarland Museum – Moderne Galerie, Bismarckstraße 11–15, 66111 Saarbrücken (separate ticket required)
- 4 p.m. Guided walking tour of Saarbrücken, meeting at Rathausplatz 1, 66111 Saarbrücken
- 6.30 p.m. Restaurant meal (venue tbc)
Saturday 7 November
- 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Workshop: Language and Identity
Venue: Brauhaus zum Stielel, Am Stiefel 2, 66111 Saarbrücken
Rachel Ward (ITI): Author, character and translator voice
In literary translation we aim to replicate the author’s voice and usually to suppress our own as the translator, but of course that can’t truly be done. What stylistic features are part of our source language and should be adapted to the target language, and which are part of the author’s own idiolect to be reflected in our translation? How do we choose ‘the word the author would pick if they were writing in English’? How do we approach accents and dialect in dialogue? How do we ensure that fictional characters also have their own voices? These are some of the questions that we grapple with as we translate, consciously or unconsciously, so let’s take time to consider them together.
Beth Skinner (ITI): Groovy, wicked, epic or fire? Language identity across the generations
This talk will ask what words and phrases identify someone as a boomer, gen X-er, millennial or gen Z-er, covering both English and German. What social/historical trends contribute to the popular words for each generation? Which are acceptable to one generation, but completely unacceptable to another? There may even be a quiz or practical exercise for participants to test their knowledge!
Kim Sanderson (ITI): Who are we, what do we do and why do we do it?
Translators are increasingly advised to explain their work without using the word ‘translator’. Which words are they using instead, and why?
Arguably the translator’s role has always been broad, encompassing other tasks: managing projects, researching subject matter and terminology, liaising with clients and colleagues. So what’s new?
Today’s translators are largely self-employed, some translating part-time alongside other job roles. Sometimes diversifying in this way is not a choice, but something translators feel obliged to do so they can maintain a steadier income.
In this context, what keeps us translating at all – and where do we find job satisfaction? Do we have internal motivation? Do we find external motivation from the cultural and linguistic gaps we bridge for clients? This talk aims to illustrate and discuss different approaches to these thorny issues.
Gwen Clayton (CIOL, BDÜ, ITI): Identity and the writer’s choice of language
Why do some authors choose to write in a language other than their native one? Sometimes it is for political reasons, as in the case of Elif Shafak, whose writing has been banned in her native Turkey, sometimes it is to reach a wider audience, as with Yael van der Wouden’s The Safekeep, sometimes it is to forge a new identity, as with Jhumpa Lahiri’s extraordinary book In Other Words. Considering these and other literary and autobiographical examples, this talk will explore the many and varied answers to this question.
Sarah Swift (BDÜ): Identity as a daily plebiscite: Becoming by doing
How conscious are we, as we navigate through a forest of daily dilemmas as professional translators, that each action we take amounts to a vote cast for or against some version of our professional identity? Individual choices may be inconsequential and perhaps best made on autopilot, but the votes cast at watershed moments solidify into a professional self-concept over time. This creates fresh dilemmas: do we want to deepen and sustain this identity or to change it? Is it better to hold it tightly or to wear it lightly? These are personal questions, and this personal reflection will offer some tentative answers grounded in a landscape characterized by wine, woods and watersheds.
Emma Gledhill (CIOL, ITI): Whose identity is it anyway?
As AI causes demand for “pure” translation to dwindle, translation skills are an unmatched foundation for diversification into adjacent fields. Yet if you define yourself by the task of translation, diversification risks a loss of identity.
However, drawing on professional translation expertise to add value in adjacent fields harnesses the human and psychological aspects of language and culture that no machine can yet replicate. That implies knowing exactly who your reader, user or client is.
Adjacent fields make heavy use of personas to put a face on the target audience, but they are close to unknown in our profession. If you know who you are and who they are, exploiting interdisciplinary skills and tools is a promising seam of potential for trained translators to tap in a globalised world.
This talk will explore diversification and identity, and report on some ongoing research into personas in translation.
- 4.30 p.m. Guided tour of Historisches Museum Saar, Schlossplatz 15, 66119 Saarbrücken
- 6.30 p.m. Restaurant meal (venue tbc)
Sunday 8 November
- 9 a.m. Meet at Saarbrücken Hbf to catch a train to Völklingen (10 minutes)
- 10 a.m. Guided tour of the Völklinger Hütte ironworks (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
- 1 p.m. Lunch/coffee in Saarbrücken for anyone staying a little longer
About Anglophoner Tag
Anglophoner Tag is a forum for translators, interpreters and other linguists working with English and German. Now taking place every two years, the meetings are alternately organised by different participating associations and are held in a different British or German city each time.
Anglophoner Tag was launched by John D. Graham back in 1995. This year’s meeting has been jointly organised by members of the BDÜ and ITI German Network.
Any questions? Please email anglophonertag@itigermannetwork.org.uk
- 2017-05-19: Ehemaliger BDÜ-Vizepräsident und ATICOM-Mitbegründer John D. Graham im Alter von 77 Jahren gestorben
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