Women in Translation
Women in Translation. That’s the
theme of the International Translation Day in Denmark. Translation always
implies interpreting. There is no one “correct” translation in an absolute
sense (talking about literature, etc.). The translator will always to a certain
degree add a personal touch to the translation. Talking about gender in
translation there will always be clear cultural markers both inside and outside
the text and the language that will underline gender. What does it mean for
example for the newly translated text, when men translate female writers or
when women translate male writers?
In 2017 the English translator
Emily Watson translated Homer’s Odyssey into English. Not just a linguistic
update to a modern language use, but also a revaluation of gender roles and
power relations in the text. Since 1615 the Odyssey has been translated into
English more than 60 times, but never before by a woman translator. Inspired by
the many comments due to the fact that the work for the first time has been
translated, read and interpreted from a female perspective, the organizers behind
the International Translation Day will have a closer look at the relation
between the gender of the translator and the content of the text. We will
discuss the many facets of gender in translation, not only in literature, but
also for example subtitling.
From a more pragmatic perspective,
we will furthermore look at the role gender, age, ethnicity, etc. may play in the
translation marketplace: For example, does the harmony of identity between the
writer and the translator plays a role in the awarding of translation tasks?
And who gets the prizes, the recognition and the time for public speaking
within the translation business?
Below you’ll
see our st. Jerome poster from 2018:
The
International Translation Day is September 30 every year
The
International Translation Day, also called the Day of St. Jerome, is celebrated
every year on September 30 internationally, also in Denmark. Why is this?
Because St. Jerome passed away in the region around the city of Bethlehem in
the year 420. But also, because the International Translation Day for a number
of years was an official UNESCO Day. However, in 2017, the General Assembly no.
71of the United Nations unanimously to give the International Translation Day
official status through Resolution no. A/RES/71/288.
The International
Translation Day has been celebrated since the foundation of the International
Federation of Translators , FIT, in 1953.
Who is St. Jerome?
St. Jerome was a holy man. A writer
of holy scripts, a priest, a translator. Especially, he is known for having
translated The New Testament from Latin to Greek. This version of the Bible is
known under the name the ”Vulgata”. St. Jerome also translated parts of the Old
Testament from Hebrew to Greek and Latin. This is why St. Jerome became the
Saint of Translators.
What if St. Jerome had been
a woman?
St. Jerome was obviously a man. There
are many visual reproductions of St. Jerome, here for example “St. Jerome in
his study chamber” by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1480):
But what if St. Jerome had been a woman? In what way would it have influenced his translations? We don’t know, but one can always imagine. That’s what the Danish visual artist Morten Schelde did. Morten Schelde made a graphic piece of art of St. Jerome as a woman.
It was written about his work: “As the title “St Jerome, after Dürer”, underlines, the work by Morten Schelde is a recomposition of Albrecht Dürer’s imprint from 1514 of the Holy St. Jerome in his study chamber. But Morten Schelde transformed St. Jerome into a young woman with her computer, the crucified Christ on the desk has been transformed into Yoda from Star Wars, and there is a Y-shaped chair designed by the renown Danish designer Hans J. Wegner next to the desk.”
But what if St. Jerome had been a woman? In what way would it have influenced his translations? We don’t know, but one can always imagine. That’s what the Danish visual artist Morten Schelde did. Morten Schelde made a graphic piece of art of St. Jerome as a woman.
It was written about his work: “As the title “St Jerome, after Dürer”, underlines, the work by Morten Schelde is a recomposition of Albrecht Dürer’s imprint from 1514 of the Holy St. Jerome in his study chamber. But Morten Schelde transformed St. Jerome into a young woman with her computer, the crucified Christ on the desk has been transformed into Yoda from Star Wars, and there is a Y-shaped chair designed by the renown Danish designer Hans J. Wegner next to the desk.”
Morten Schelde gave us permission
to use his work of art for the promotion of our conference, which certainly comes
in handy in relation to the theme of conference: “Women in translation.”
Organizers:
Amalie Foss, amaliefoss@gmail.com,
Forum for Billedmedieoversættere
Birthe Lundsgaard,
birthelundsgaard@mail.tele.dk, Dansk Oversætterforbund
Hanne Jansen, hanjan@hum.ku.dk,
Københavns Universitet
Juliane Wammen, jwammen@gmail.com,
Dansk Oversætterforbund
Jørgen Chr. Wind Nielsen,
jcn@kommunikationogsprog.dk, Forbundet Kommunikation og Sprog
Siri Rønne Christiansen,
vtb714@alumni.ku.dk, studerende
Sources:
Articles
Women Who
Translate
What
Happens to Our Deeply Gendered Understanding of the Act of Translating a Text
When the Translator is a Woman? Article here.
Link to
the original article in Danish:
https://myliuserichsensalle.blogspot.com/2019/07/kvinder-i-oversttelse-den.html
https://myliuserichsensalle.blogspot.com/2019/07/kvinder-i-oversttelse-den.html
Forfatteren, blad for Dansk Forfatterforening, med en forkortet version af Hieronymusreportagen. Se her (fuld pdf.version)
https://danskforfatterforening.dk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/FORF_4_2019.pdf
Og her, link til artiklen selv:
https://danskforfatterforening.dk/forfatteren/koen-i-oversaettelse/
https://danskforfatterforening.dk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/FORF_4_2019.pdf
Og her, link til artiklen selv:
https://danskforfatterforening.dk/forfatteren/koen-i-oversaettelse/
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