mandag den 2. september 2019

Women in translation



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.”



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
In other words: four translators reflect on women in translation. Article here.

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.


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/



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