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Charles Tiayon
June 13, 2020 12:07 PM
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In a recent Google AI team blog post, researchers report on recent efforts and progress in the field of language translation, especially with resource-poor languages.
Are humans the only beings on the planet that use language to communicate?
"Burg Giebichenstein
Kunsthochschule Halle
“Language can only deal meaningfully with a special, restricted segment of reality. The rest, and it is presumably the much larger part, is silence.” George Steiner
Are humans the only beings on the planet that use language to communicate? Can we decipher the nonhuman world around us without harnessing it to our own socialization, syntax, and lexicon? Is interspecies communication even possible? Translation has been described as a precondition that underlies all (human) cultural transactions upon which communication is based. It also is inherently political and stands at the forefront of so many of today’s questions around identity, gender, post-colonial criticism, feminist critique, machine translation and canon creation, yet its connection within the context of the nonhuman turn, interspecies communication, and eco-criticism has not yet been fully explored.
Whether we are talking about classic linguistic and literary translation, or any number of related fields including: language and literature, cultural studies, performance, visual and media arts—the core question that translators and theorists of translation have been debating about for centuries remains the same: is it possible to translate without interpreting? Is linguistic and cultural equivalence even possible? These questions become all the more urgent in the limit-case of interspecies communication. Can we apply empathic modes of translation to nonhuman articulations, wherein translation involves a form of metamorphosis, not of text, but of the translator. As such, translators are something of a hybrid species with one foot in each culture and language, and whose very existence revolves around traveling between worlds. Translators have something of a mythical being about them, akin to a chameleon or centaur. In this course, we will not be engaging in a scientific exploration of interspecies communication, but examining theories around empathic translation-- a process that sees translation not merely as the transformation of a text, but of the translator themself.
Emerging and classical theories of translation can offer a paradigm for engaging with plant and animal articulation, not language as such, but different forms of articulation perceived through the senses, one in which our hearing and seeing,“once intertwined and attentive to the calls and cries of animals, all but disappeared with the invention of the alphabet, retreating into a kind of silence.”
In David Abram's words: “By giving primacy to perception we can see the natural world, not as inert and passive, but as dynamic and participatory. The winds, rivers and birds speak in their own way (if we listen), the sounds of nature not only have informed indigenous languages, but language in general--humans are but one being intertwined with other beings and ‘presences.’ This perspective sees the landscape as a sensuous field, and human perception as but one point of view that is in reciprocity, in expressive communication, with other points of view and ways of being.”
How can theories of translation help us make sense of this new view of a world teeming with language and sentience? What theories abound in reference to multiplicity of “language,” even as Walter Benjamin would argue for a “universal (human) language.” What practical tools does translation studies offer, and what bridges can it forge between the disciplines? The first half of the seminar focuses on key theoretical concepts relevant to the history and practice of translation. In the second half, students will engage in translation experiments that intersect with their own artistic/design practice. A final project should be considered a first draft of something that could develop later into a larger project.
The course will be taught in English and German.
This seminar is ideally suited to students interested in: Literature, Translation Theory / Translation / Cultural Studies / Critical Theory, Creative Writing/ Post-humanism, Trans-humanism, Eco-criticism, the More-than-Human Turn.
Teachers
Dr. Zaia Alexander"
https://www.burg-halle.de/en/course/l/talk-with-the-animals-translation-in-a-more-than-human-world
#Metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus
#métaglossie
"Cannupa Hanska Luger Wins PEN/Jean Stein Book Award for SURVIVA: A Future Ancestral Field Guide
PEN Open Book Award Went to Justin Haynes for Ibis, a Novel about Caribbean Migration
PEN/Weld Biography Award to Nicholas Boggs for James Baldwin Biography, Baldwin: A Love Story
Host Murray Hill quipped: “PEN America knows that making this night is about joy, love, and celebration, and that is our most powerful resistance. So on that note, let’s start handing out the cash!”
(NEW YORK)—Against the climate of government censorship of words, books, and ideas, PEN America held its celebratory 62nd annual Literary Awards last night to honor some of the best writing and thinking of the past year across fiction, nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, and essays. Nearly $350,000 in prizes were conferred at the event known as “the Oscars for books.”
Comedian, author, producer, and actor Murray Hill (Somebody Somewhere), host for the ceremony, greeted an audience of star authors, publishing insiders, and book influencers by joking that the evening is indeed like the Oscars (“I agree, it’s like the Grammys but for tonight Beyoncé is Emma Straub…it’s like the Emmys but for people who don’t have TVs”). Then Hill struck a more serious tone, saying, “Governments are doing everything they can to squash diversity in our schools, our libraries, our businesses, and our halls of power, to prevent the exchange of new perspectives and the celebration of—and even the acknowledgement of—multiculturalism. But we all know that diversity is our greatest strength.”
Musical performances by Amber Iman (Broadway: Lempicka, Tony nomination); Nina Simone in Soul Doctor;Shuffle Along…) and the Ulysses Owens Jr. Band, led by the GRAMMY Award-winning drummer and percussionist, set a high-spirited tone as the audience cheered winners onstage.
Summer Lopez, co-CEO of PEN America, said: “Tonight, we came together to uplift our shared love of books and literature’s profound role in connecting people even as we witness in real time the relentless attacks on free expression by our government. Whether Jamaica Kincaid’s incisive essay collection, Nicholas Boggs’ intimate portrait of James Baldwin, Peter Beinart’s urgent search for a new narrative, or Cannupa Hanska Luger’s imagining of a decolonized future, the winners’ works emphasize the transformative power of storytelling.”
Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, co-CEO of PEN America, said: “Literature’s capacity to create community—one of the beautiful, vulnerable things we fight for when we defend free expression—was on full display at the ceremony. Being in the room as magnetic performers brought career achievement winners Edwidge Danticat and Julia Cho’s audacious words to life was a magical experience. It’s an honor to recognize Cho’s unique theatrical voice and the sweeping force of Danticat’s mastery across genres on the global stage. These two artists connect us to our shared humanity.”
PEN America President Dinaw Mengestu, introducing the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award for an outstanding work with the promise “of enduring influence,” raised the ongoing spectre of book censorship in his remarks: “This prize, this ceremony, this organization of writers and readers, and all of us who are gathered here this evening, are a reflection of this multitude, this intertwining, layered body of style and form and aesthetics. One that despite being relentlessly under assault, cannot be taken away or diminished by any one person or any government.”
For his genre-bending work of Indigenous futurism, SURVIVA: A Future Ancestral Field Guide, Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara/Lakota artist and writer Cannupa Hanska Luger won the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. The evening’s largest monetary prize, presented to the author by Mengetsu and Hill, it recognizes the originality, merit, and impact of a book-length work of any genre, and confers $75,000 to its author.
Luger described the origin story of his book: “My wife 10 years ago bought me a US Military Survival Guide as a joke. These two black and white Helvetica textbooks came in. One said ‘Booby Traps’ and the other said ‘Survival.’ And I opened to page five and there was an acrostic poem and the A in ‘Survival’ was ‘Act like the Natives.’ I realized that it is full of Indigenous knowledge—militarized, weaponized, and recontextualized, and I wanted to fix that. In a world where it’s hard to fix things, I thought maybe I could fix this. I imagined my audience was in a future far from now. You proved me wrong.”
Journalist and author Adam Higginbotham (Midnight in Chernobyl, Challenger) presented the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award to neurologist, Boston University School of Medicine professor, and writer Pria Anand for The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains, with judges citing the book as “science writing at its best,” with “wisdom, insight, and clarity that does not sacrifice poetry or beauty.”
The PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay, also presented by Higginbothom, went to Jamaica Kincaid, a writer at the New Yorker for two decades, for Putting Myself Together: Writing 1974-, her collection of nearly five decades of writing, which the judges cited for a “combination of precision and soul, that rarest of combinations.”
Peter Beinart won the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction, presented by music journalist and author Dan Charnas (Dilla Time), for Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. The judges praised Beinart’s work as “a brave and vital contribution to contemporary American intellectual life, challenging readers to reckon with the demands of justice, equity, and accountability in the face of one of the most consequential and divisive issues of our time.”
Accepting the award, Beinart said: “I wanted to acknowledge that there are many Palestinian writers in Gaza and beyond who have the talent to win awards like this, but didn’t have the opportunities that I have had. I wrote my book because I believe there is another Judaism than the one being offered by the Israeli government and America’s most powerful Jewish organizations. It begins where Torah begins, with the recognition that all human beings, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, and race are created equal in the image of God.”
PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography winner Nicholas Boggs’ book Baldwin: A Love Story is the first major biography of James Baldwin in three decades, centering the impact of his personal relationships on his writing and life. “Boggs distills Baldwin’s life into a heart-throbbing ‘memory of love’ that echoes through the ages,” wrote the judges, calling it “a landmark achievement.”
Receiving the award from Charnas, Boggs said: “I’m honored to have spent my whole life writing about James Baldwin,” adding that he was grateful to be honored alongside other finalists’ “incredible books” — including that of Carla Kaplan, his “undergraduate professor [who] introduced [him] to feminist theory.”
Golden Globe-nominated actor and singer Emmy Rossum (Shameless) introduced a suite of awards and grants for translation, including the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation, given to Michael Martin Shea (for translating Theory of the Voice and Dream by Liliana Ponce from Spanish), and the PEN Translation Prize, given to Minna Zallman Proctor for her translation from Italian of The Leucothea Dialogues by Cesare Pavese. The judges wrote that Shea “deftly captures the essence of Ponce’s serial poems on creation and absence” and Proctor for her “consistently fresh and contemporary tone and rhythm” that “makes the book come alive for readers today.”
Justin Haynes won the PEN Open Book Award (given to an exceptional book-length work of any literary genre by an author of color) for Ibis, his debut, a cross-generational Caribbean story the judges celebrated for its “magical flair and wild, idiosyncratic audacity” as it “expose[s] the continuum between colonialism, slavery, and ongoing human trafficking” and “reminds us that the only way to confront a haunted past is to accept—with humor, humility, and invention—the simultaneity, interconnectedness, and mystery of survival.”
Accepting the award from bestselling author and civil rights litigator Qian Julie Wang (Beautiful Country: A Memoir of an Undocumented Childhood), Haynes, from Trinidad and Tobago, said: “I am standing here on the shoulders of giants” and referred to immigrant authors from Caribbean nations– Edwidge Danticat, Marlon James and Jamaica Kincaid. Describing the struggles of U.S. immigrants from the region, he said: “I am just grateful that I am able to share their story and help them become… citizens of the world.”
Aracelis Girmay won the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection for Green Of All Heads, cited by the judges for “dreamlike” poems that give voice to loss and life while celebrating the Eritrean community and the African diaspora. “This book is a whisper of a book and I didn’t know if it would be met by a reader,” she said, then, reflecting on her own father’s death in 2020, she quoted from the poem Glory by fellow nominee Gbenga Adesina: ‘Glory of the eyes of my father/which, when he died, closed/inside his grave/and opened even more brightly/inside me.’” She concluded: “I’m so grateful for all the words that we can live inside.”
Jared Lemus won the $25,000 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection for Guatemalan Rhapsody, which the judges praised as a “rare” debut that “arrives fully rendered and delivers a writer whose voice and talent promise even greater things to come.”...
In celebration of Haitian-American novelist Edwidge Danticat’s (Everything Inside; Krik? Krak!; Brother, I’m Dying) PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature, Haitian-American actor Pascale Armand (Broadway: Eclipsed, Tony nomination) gave a world-premiere reading from Dèy, Danticat’s forthcoming novel (Knopf, August 2026). Set between Haiti, Brooklyn and Miami, Dèy follows a Haitian-American woman whose understanding of self is upended after a random act of violence on a sunny Florida day.
Man Booker Prize-winning author Marlon James (A Brief History of Seven Killings) introduced Danticat and her career achievement honor.
Danticat referred to the Haitian immigrant communities in the United States she writes about as now living “in fear of being abducted and disappeared.” She added: “Literature has helped me to reclaim so much of what I thought I had lost. It’s allowed me to build community and imagine beyond all I’ve been told was impossible.”
In honor of playwright Julia Cho’s (99 Histories; Office Hour; The Language Archive) PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award, actress Sue Jean Kim performed an excerpt from Cho’s play Aubergine, directed for the occasion by Obie Award-winner Eric Ting (The Far Country, The Comeuppance). Kim previously appeared in Cho’s play Office Hour (Public Theater) and performed in the New York premiere of Aubergine at Playwrights Horizons in 2016. Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly, Chinglish, Yellow Face) presented the award to Cho.
Cho said: “All my life, I’ve looked up to writers. They’ve been my heroes. You still are. So it’s really meaningful to be in a room full of writers and the people who love them. It’s been such a hard time and I have been filled with so much fear and sadness. And the reaction I had was the exact wrong one. I became quiet. I became silent. So most of all, thank you for waking me up. Thank you for reminding me who I am — that I’m a writer, that it’s the time now more than ever to write, and I will do my best to create work to be worthy of this honor.”
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Press Contacts
Suzanne Trimel at PEN America: 201.247.5057, strimel@pen.org
Blake Zidell, Adriana Leshko, and Caitlyn Tella at Blake Zidell & Associates: 917.572.2493, blake@blakezidell.com, adriana@blakezidell.com, caitlyn@blakezidell.com"
https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-62nd-annual-literary-awards/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus
"This paper draws on literary analysis and foresight or futures thinking to discuss the futures of royal (and sacred) animals in Cameroon’s Grassfields — a geo-cultural space covering mainly the Anglophone Northwest and Francophone West regions. In the indigenous kingdoms (fondoms) located within the western Grassfields of Cameroon, some nonhuman animals are reserved for royalty and/or are considered sacred. These animals—which include, among others, wild cats (cheetahs, leopards, lions, tigers); buffalos; elephants; porcupines; cowries; and birds like the Bannerman’s Turaco—are all threatened by the ongoing sixth mass extinction of biodiversity across the globe. This paper suggests that literary texts by some Anglophone Cameroonian writers foreground the extinction of wildlife in general and royal and sacred animals in particular. Such texts include Kenjo Jumbam’s Lukong and the Leopard (1978), J.K. Bannavti’s Leopard Watch (2011), Athanasius Nsahlai’s The Buffalo Rider (2008), and John Nkengasong’s Njogobi Festival (2012). The first part of this paper builds on postcolonial ecocriticism and narrative foresight to examine the literary representations of biodiversity extinction, especially royal and sacred animals, in Cameroon. And the second part presents visions, insights and recommendations from participatory foresight workshops that explored preferred futures for royal and sacred animals in Cameroon. The #CongoBasinFutures and #RoyalAnimalsFutures foresight workshops, facilitated online and onsite in Yaoundé (Cameroon), brought together a variety of stakeholders – including teachers, students, environmentalists, artists, journalists, farmers, and indigenous kings (fons) from the Northwest region. The preferred futures and recommendations from the workshops include, among others, breeding royal animals and creating special parks or reserves for them, promoting ecotourism, using artificial parts of royal animals, reinforcing environmental education and legislation, using arts and entertainment. Ultimately, the paper hopes to contribute in advancing Cameroonian and African perspectives on environmental futures in this Anthropocene and Capitalocene era of escalating global climate change and ecological crises."
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19467567261434197
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus
"Concours de traduction Saint-Jérôme
Participez au 17e concours de traduction Saint-Jérôme organisé par l’ONU !
Le Service de la gestion des conférences de l’Office des Nations Unies à Vienne a le plaisir d’annoncer le lancement de la dix-septième édition du concours de traduction Saint-Jérôme.
Participation
Le concours est ouvert aux étudiantes et étudiants inscrits dans les universités avec lesquelles le Département de l’Assemblée générale et de la gestion des conférences de l’ONU a signé un mémorandum d’accord ou dans les universités partenaires (pour de plus amples informations, voir la liste des universités partenaires).
Épreuves
Deux textes sont choisis pour chaque édition du concours : un texte en anglais à traduire vers l’arabe, le chinois, l’espagnol, le français ou le russe, et un dans une autre langue (qui alterne habituellement entre l’espagnol et le français) à traduire vers l’anglais. Les paires de langues du Département de traduction de la FTI pertinentes pour le concours sont anglais-arabe, anglais-espagnol, anglais-français et français-anglais.
Pour la dix-septième édition, l’épreuve proposée aux personnes traduisant vers l’anglais est un texte en français intitulé « Les grands-parents d’animaux de compagnie ». Celle proposée aux personnes traduisant depuis l’anglais vers les autres langues susmentionnées est un texte intitulé « A dog’s life ».
Envoi des traductions
Les étudiantes et étudiants devront se procurer le formulaire d’inscription auprès auprès de M. Fernando Prieto Ramos : Fernando.Prieto@unige.ch
Comme nous ne pouvons soumettre qu’un maximum de quatre traductions par langue A, l’éventuelle présélection interne sera gérée en collaboration avec les Unités de notre Département de traduction. Les étudiant-es des programmes de Ma en traduction auront la priorité.
Les personnes intéressées doivent transmettre à Fernando Prieto Ramos leurs traductions et leurs formulaires d’inscription avant le 11 mai 2026 à 10 heures.
30 mar 2026"
https://www.unige.ch/fti/es/a-la-une/concours-de-traduction-saint-jerome
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus
"Upcoming Translation Events (Virtual & In-Person): April 2026
Thursday, April 2:
Book Talk: Woodwind Harmony in the Nighttime by Michelle Quay | Winner of the inaugural Mo Habib Translation Prize in Persian Literature, Reza Ghassemi’s darkly comic and subtly provocative novel of life among the exiled and expatriated. Iranian exile Yadollah is barely scraping by in 1990s Paris. It’s an all too common situation—their apartment building houses a cast of eccentric neighbors, most of them fellow down-on-their-luck exiles from all over the world. The author, Michelle Quay is a scholar, researcher and translator who teaches Persian language, literature, and Iranian cinema and culture at Brown University. In conversation with Porochista Khakpour, an award-winning Iranian-American author of the novels Sons and Other Flammable Objects, The Last Illusion, and Tehrangeles. In-person. Hosted by Yu & Me Books. More info here. Starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Monday, April 6:
Max Lawton on Antonio Moresco’s The Beginnings | The Center for the Art of Translation, City Lights, and Deep Vellum co-present a conversation between Max Lawton and Sean Thor Conroe about the life and work of Italian author Antonio Moresco and The Beginnings, the first book in his colossally disruptive Games of Eternity (Giochi dell’eternità) trilogy. Hybrid (In-person and Virtual). Hosted by City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. Zoom registration required. More info here and here. 10:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. (ET)
Thursday, April 9:
Sakura by Kanako Nishi and translated by Allison Markin Powell | Rizzoli Bookstore and the Japan Society are delighted to host a conversation with author Kanako Nishi and translator Allison Markin Powell to celebrate Sakura, a heartwarming tale about familial love. The discussion will be moderated by Asha Lemmie and followed by a signing. In-person. Hosted by Rizzoli Bookstore. More info here. Starts at 6:00 p.m. (ET)
Tuesday, April 14:
Poetry Exploring Poetry | Join us for a discussion about poetry translation with Carmen Gallo (poet, translator and professor of English literature at La Sapienza University in Rome) and Patrizio Ceccagnoli (translator, Italian Studies professor at University of Kansas, managing editor of Poetry Italian Review). This event is a part of the NYC Art and Craft in Translation Meetings and Dialogues on Literary Translation festival from April 13th to 15th. In-person. Hosted by Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò. More info here and here. 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (ET)
Interlinguistic Dialogue in Classic and Contemporary Literature | Join us for a discussion about the translation of fiction by classic and contemporary authors, with Edwin Frank (Founder, Editorial Director, New York Review of Books), Michael Frank (writer), Ann Goldstein (Translator of various Italian authors, both classical, such as Alba De Cespedes, and contemporary, such as Elena Ferrante and many more), and Brian Robert Moore (Translator of classical authors such as Lalla Romano and of the contemporary authors Walter Siti and Michele Mari). This event is a part of the NYC Art and Craft in Translation Meetings and Dialogues on Literary Translation festival from April 13th to 15th. In-person. Hosted by Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò. More info here and here. 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. (ET)
New Translations of Cesare Pavese | Join us for the presentation of two books by Cesare Pavese: The Craft of Living (Toronto University Press) with translator Julian Sachs and the volume editor Iuri Moscardi, and The Leucothea Dialogues (Archipelago Books) with translator Minna Zallman Proctor. This event is a part of the NYC Art and Craft in Translation Meetings and Dialogues on Literary Translation festival from April 13th to 15th.In-person. Hosted by Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò. More info here and here. 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. (ET)
Wednesday, April 15:
Tangerinn by Emanuela Anechoum, translated by Lucy Rand | A stunning debut novel about the legacy of migration in a Moroccan Italian family. Rizzoli Bookstore is delighted to partner with the Bridge Book Award to celebrate Tangerinn by Emanuela Anechoum (translated by Lucy Rand), a profound and resonant story of a woman's search for belonging and identity between cultures. She will be in conversation with Eduordo Andreoni, followed by a signing. This event is a part of the NYC Art and Craft in Translation Meetings and Dialogues on Literary Translation festival from April 13th to 15th. In-person. Hosted by Rizzoli Bookstore. More info here and here. 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (ET)
A Fictional Inquiry by Daniele Del Giudice, translated by Anne Milano Appel | Rizzoli Bookstore is delighted to partner with the Bridge Book Award to host a conversation with Chiara Benetollo (Center for Educational Justice), Alessandro Giammei (Yale University), and Iuri Moscardi (The Graduate Center, CUNY), in celebration of the first English translation of the championed Italian novel, A Fictional Inquiry by Daniele Del Giudice, translated by Anne Milano Appel. The novel is a mysterious story of a narrator tracing the life of a long dead writer, bringing to light the sublime connection between literature and life. The conversation will be followed by a signing. This event is a part of the NYC Art and Craft in Translation Meetings and Dialogues on Literary Translation festival from April 13th to 15th. In-person. Hosted by Rizzoli Bookstore. More info here and here.. 4:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. (ET)
Tuesday, April 21:
Reading: Yoo Heekyung and Stine An at the Korea Society | Across Languages: New Voices in Korean Poetry brings together acclaimed South Korean poets Lee Jenny, Yoo Heekyung, Oh Eun, and Shin Hae-uk with award-winning literary translators Archana Madhavan, and Stine An, for a Korean-English bilingual reading and conversation to share the dynamism and innovations of language in Korean poetry culture. Through poetry and discussion, the speakers examine the cultural centrality of poetry in Korea and consider translation as a critical, creative practice that reshapes how literature circulates, sounds, and is felt across languages. Hybrid (In-person and Virtual). Hosted by Ugly Duckling Presse. More info here. 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Wednesday, April 22:
Book Launch: Winter Night Rabbit Worries at Poets House | Celebrate the launch of Winter Night Rabbit Worries (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2026) by Yoo Heekyung, translated from the Korean by Stine An. Structured as a series of stories, Yoo’s fifth poetry collection presents narrative and linguistic architectures that dissolve the opposition between those materials that construct the this and the that side of life—past and future, truth and falsehood, memory and fantasy. Join poet Yoo Heekyung and translator Stine An for a reading and Q&A on their collaborative translation process. This event will also feature readings from PIROWA PADOWA by Lee Jenny, translated from Korean by Archana Madhavan, and A Season by Michael Joseph Walsh. In-person. Hosted by Ugly Duckling Presse & Poets House. More info here. 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (ET)
Friday, April 24:
Reading: Yoo Heekyung and Stine An at Accent Sisters l Come meet the poetry of four contemporary South Korean poets (and the poets) in this bilingual reading and party to celebrate four recent publications in translation. Join iconic South Korean poets Oh Eun, Yoo Heekyung, and Lee Jenny, alongside literary translator and poet Stine An, and friends for an evening of readings, experimental performances, followed by a lively conversation on Korean poetry culture and book signing. In-person. Hosted by Ugly Duckling Presse & Accent Sisters. More info here. 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (ET)
Us&Them: A Writer/Translator Reading Series | A writer-translator reading, with original writing and new translations. For Spring 2026, Lily Meyer, Diana Arterian, Nevena Džamonja, and C.Francis Fisher will be reading. In-person. Hosted by Molasses Books. More information here. Starts at 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Thursday, April 30:
Exophony: Writing Outside the Mother Tongue | This discussion explores the creative possibilities of writing in another language and examines the colonial legacies of languages. It convenes Patrice Nganang, whose memoir Scale Boy reflects on his relationship to the Cameroonian indigenous language Medumba, his mother tongue, and his writing in English, German, and French; and Swedish-Tunisian author Jonas Hassen Khemiri, whose recent novel The Sisters marks his first book written in English rather than his native Swedish. Moderated by translator and poet Nancy Naomi Carlson, this conversation will explore the cross-cultural and intra-language possibilities of exophonic writing and the historical legacies that shape which languages are heard. In-person. Hosted by Goethe-Institut New York. More info here. 6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. (ET)"
https://arts.columbia.edu/content/upcoming-translation-events-virtual-person-april-2026
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus
The academics spoke about translation, authority, disciplinary boundaries, science communication, and AI and its risks.
"
Of translation, transgression, and transcreation: A conversation on knowledge across languages
The academics spoke about translation, authority, disciplinary boundaries, science communication, and AI and its risks.
Doyeeta Majumder, Anuj Misra, Bill Mak, Subha Prasad Sanyal & Biju Paul Abraham
Mar 29, 2026 · 08:30 pm
The 2026 Making and Unmaking Facts roundtable conference.
What do facts, data, and objectivity mean for literature and translation in South Asia today? “Making and Unmaking Facts”, a conference on the subject, was organised by Fact or Value, DECISION, and IIM Calcutta in February 2026 to explore this and related questions.
The conference examined how facts are made, stabilised, challenged and granted authority across different social and political contexts. It feels especially relevant now, when public life is increasingly shaped by debates around post-truth, misinformation, expertise and the question of who gets to decide what counts as fact.
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The roundtable extended those concerns into a wider conversation about translation, authority, disciplinary boundaries, science communication, AI and the risks of both rigid certainty and corrosive relativism.
Anuj Misra, Professor of the History of Science and the History of Knowledge, Bill Mak, Professor of History of Science at the University of Science and Technology, John Mathew, Professor of the History of Science, Sourav Bhattacharya, Professor of Economics, Biju Paul Abraham, Professor of Public Policy, and translator Subha Prasad Sanyal were in conversation with academic Doyeeta Majumder at the conference.
Excerpts from the conversation.
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Doyeeta Majumder (DM): I would like to begin with the question of language and translation, how the making and unmaking of facts is mediated through, and constantly has to encounter, the issue of translation, transpropriation, and encounters with other systems of knowledge and other times. Facts are made at a particular point in history, at a certain historical moment; then they can be challenged and unmade, and later they can recrystallise and new certainties might emerge. This process is mediated through acts of carrying across.
Translation is not merely the question of rendering something into another language; it often involves a completely different idiom of doing science. What are these idioms of knowledge-making in different times and cultures? How do encounters with the “other” make and unmake objectivities and certainties?
Anuj Misra (AM): It is interesting to consider the cognitive space one occupies when transporting a concept from one language into another. In doing so, one lives simultaneously in two worlds, the world that belongs to you and the one that does not. One must navigate how to bring something foreign into one’s own conceptual space.
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While language does act as a mediator at this point, it has its own restrictions and strictures that delineate and shape what you are trying to understand and what you are trying to communicate. Much depends on tacit skill, your ability to introduce new words, your mastery of grammar, and your control over concepts. Many factors are already written into the translation process, including internal cognitive mediations that we do not hear about.
Equivalence, particularly in the context of translation studies, is never final. It is always in the process of being finalised, but never fully complete.
Bill Mak (BM): Translation is something I have worked on extensively, particularly in the course of my doctoral studies on Sino-Indian Buddhist translation. The translation of Indian Buddhist texts into Chinese was one of the largest human intellectual endeavours, taking nearly a millennium and becoming a collaborative project involving scholars from Central Asia, India and China.
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Although there is, of course, a linguistic dimension, translation involves more than linguistic crossing; it involves crossing cultural identities, epistemologies and value systems. There can be many ways of perceiving such acts of crossing boundaries: it can be seen positively, as in “transcreation”, where something new is added. But it can also be perceived as transgressive, provoking negative reactions to such boundary-crossing.
We can see an example of such negative reactions in the case of Hindu numerals being introduced in China, where such attempts were either completely ignored or, worse, the bringers of such new knowledge were attacked by traditional scholars, and this new scholarship was then buried for centuries before being rediscovered. As a result, although the Chinese developed their own zero sign, they did not benefit from that earlier encounter with Indian astronomers.
Sourav Bhattacharya (SB): Two words seem to be of particular significance in this context: “transgression” and “expertise”. Keeping these two words in mind, let me ask: Is there also the question of protecting one’s turf? Expertise builds authority, but it is also the source of one’s livelihood. There may be reluctance to allow dilution. A grammarian, for instance, establishes rules to maintain purity, but in doing so creates boundaries that make translation more difficult.
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During the Cold War, for instance, mathematicians in the US and the USSR worked on similar problems with little exchange, leading to duplication of effort. Might there be political efforts to protect intellectual territory that hinder translation and knowledge creation?
AM: Knowledge ownership is complex. Once a book is published, it no longer belongs solely to the author but to its readers. When knowledge systems are owned and possessed, transgression becomes possible because someone enters another’s intellectual territory.
We often speak of knowledge economies but rarely of knowledge parochialism. In certain societies, certain knowledge systems are codified in certain other kinds of practice. For example, although scholars of Sanskrit often paint a very secular picture of it, the dominant narrative is that Sanskrit is a sacred language, a language of the gods, thereby fortified and insulated from intrusion, creating a parochial view of its excellence, unnecessarily so. Yet alongside this existed secular forms such as marketplace Sanskrit and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, which is a mix of Sanskrit with Pali and Prakrit languages. Thus, astrology, for example, which was practised in hybridised Sanskrit, much more readily absorbed foreign Perso-Arabic material because it was not parochialised. However, when knowledge is tied to economic survival, such as royal or administrative bureaux, new systems that threaten established practices are resisted.
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At a philosophical level, once a work is created, can it truly be transgressed? Who is the victim in such a case?
John Mathew (JM): However, we must also think about societies that have been dominated and have become parochial by necessity, the Toda people, for example. In such cases, the transgression of knowledge boundaries has happened after the advent of colonialism, so there is a kind of protectionism in operation here.
AM: Of course, parochialism can also be thought of in terms of protectionism. In the short run, keeping itself closed off allows something to preserve itself until the imminent dangers have ceased, for a while. It certainly allows you to guard something until it can flourish again. Welsh is a great example, where people had to guard their language against English. They were even punished; it was extremely difficult for them even to learn their language. Very often, Welsh-speaking people miss a generation. So there is always a resurgence from the grandparents to the grandchildren, and the parents do not speak it. This happens regularly because, of course, they get narrowed and siloed into their own little communities.
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DM: I was just thinking of Ramanujan and a certain way of doing mathematics that disappeared with him; there was no revival for that. It died with Ramanujan when other systems of calculation and proof took over.
BM: When discussing knowledge parochialism, I am reminded of academia today. In many academic departments, the buzzword is interdisciplinarity, yet economic pressures encourage departments to protect their funding and survival. Interdisciplinarity can become almost an irony: when a conference is designated “interdisciplinary”, it is usually hosted by a single department, by a single discipline, which is now feeling the pressure to open up to interdisciplinary discourse.
But are we empowered to produce credible and morally valuable knowledge within the current institutional and power structures of academia?
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AM: Interdisciplinarity is an interesting term. The disciplines were themselves created by compartmentalising knowledge, assuming that expertise in the individual parts would eventually allow reconstruction of the whole. Interdisciplinarity then attempts to bridge an artificial divide with another artificial construct.
Bill and I are philologists. We look at ancient texts, we translate them, we understand their historical context, and then we bring the skills of philology and history to bear on them, and, to a certain extent, philosophy as well. We are not sociologists, but nine out of ten texts under discussion were probably texts that we had both read. So how does it really happen? I cannot claim the authority to stand up here and say I am a sociologist. I am not. But many of the texts you cite and talk about do not categorise themselves as sociological texts, or philosophical texts, or historical texts. They are texts. There is something they communicate. Once we understand communication, we can draw upon it in whatever field we wish to apply it to. So I think a better way, and this has happened in many universities, would be to abandon the idea of departments and instead create notions of themes, thematic discourse, where you build upon skills from law to sociology to medicine to talk about that theme and bring it to the fore, using them in very similar ways to how we use our skills in philology and philosophy at the same time when we look at a text.
JM: But there is also the tyranny of the invisible canon. Scholars often rely on recognised names, Spivak, Foucault, and construct their talks around them because it helps if the audience is familiar with and attuned to particular names rather than having to make the case for someone more obscure.
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BM: In some academic contexts, historical work, say, work on the history of science, is taken seriously only if framed within sociological theory. One must preface presentations with references from sociology in order to be heard.
I do agree with Anuj that a thematic approach might be more productive. To a theme, we then apply different skills. From a pedagogical point of view, this would require students to develop a much broader repertoire of skills: science students with liberal arts exposure, and arts students with scientific literacy. The Chinese, for the longest time, had this tradition. Traditional Chinese scholars were often well-versed in literature, music, natural science, and philosophy. However, current educational trends often move in the opposite direction.
DM: My final question is about what kinds of conversations historians and philosophers of science, especially those originally trained in scientific disciplines, are having with practitioners in the fields whose histories or philosophies they study.
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AM: Yes, in fact. But theoretical physics has become so obscure that the divisions between mathematics and philosophy have nearly erased themselves. Neither mathematicians nor philosophers understand what string theorists do, so they have created a universe in which, very often, they have to do both jobs themselves. When a string theorist talks about thirty-second dimensions of bosonic particles, it is almost impossible to understand what they mean. Only they understand that; for them, it is real. It is tangible. It is something they can play with. They see it, they visualise it, they understand what it really means. But they are very poor at communicating, and this is largely because they have never been called upon to communicate. They are very happy living monastic lives, doing mathematics, being left alone. And that is essentially how we have codified mathematicians in general: you do not understand a word of what they are talking about because the point of entry is so high.
This is where we break down. I teach a course on the history of mathematics, one concerned with thinking across the divide, where we have to bring people out of their irrational fear of mathematics. I have never heard anyone tell me that they are afraid of music, even though music is equally complicated. If I write music for you, or take you to a course in musicology, the point of entry is about as difficult as it is to get into string theory. But how is it that you are not afraid of music? Because there is something palpable about music, even cacophony. You can decide that you do not like this, but you can actually give it a listen. How do you give an equation a listen? And that is exactly what I teach in my course: how to listen to equations rather than look at the numbers and be afraid.
JM: Your reference to music is interesting. I once heard a TED Talk about the “music of the melting Arctic”, where climate data were rendered musically. It is interesting because you learn through music that everything is not hunky-dory, and this is more telling than anything any particular statistician could ever say.
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I teach a course called Science, History and Theatre, and students actually have to write their own play at the very end. It has always been fascinating to see how much science can be communicated through the medium of the play. Do you have to use literal elements? Do you need to resort to a metaphor? What do you do? So often, a metaphor is employed in this particular case.
BM: The question of how the dialogue takes place is a very important one. And, of course, it is not only about how the dialogue takes place among scholars, but also about the specialist communicating with non-specialists, with other colleagues, or with the public. I think there have been some good developments: you have science communicators like Carl Sagan and Brian Cox, and they are very approachable and inviting. But you do not have these people in all disciplines.
What happens when this large and messy body of evidence is encountered by non-specialists? Since the specialists are not willing to take up the task, the generalist or non-specialist still feels like taking on the job. But maybe AI will bring down all these barriers and become a game-changer. When you go to either ChatGPT or the BBC, you have equal access to everything. Of course, the irony is, as I mentioned, that AI is neither artificial nor intelligent. It is not capable of actually discerning things on the basis of truth value. But at least it opens up the opportunity, the accessibility of expertise and knowledge.
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SB: But you notice that ChatGPT, or such AI models, are much more open and permissive than regular referees, who are completely embedded within the field, which is perhaps something we were pointing out.
We have seen that facts are made, facts are unmade, facts are value-laden, and so on. But is there a risk of pushing this a bit too far, where there are multiple groups trying to produce facts, which become competing narratives? In today’s world, with social media, you end up in a scenario where people look at any fact, or anything spewed as fact, with deep scepticism, and then we end up with a situation of anarchy in the field of knowledge. I am particularly talking about laypeople here.
How do we determine what is too far?
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BM: I think that, for laypeople, there is the fear of relativism, so everything becomes flat because it is equally accessible and there are competing narratives, and so on.
But ultimately, it is the human mind that needs to make the judgment. We develop all these matrices and indices to evaluate standards – they help us to make decisions, not to decide for us.
AM: In the context of the fear about relativism, I offer the idea of the “workable epistemology”. Practising mathematicians, take a financial mathematician, for instance, who does not constantly question the ontological status of the numbers on their desk during their job. But does that mean they are not qualified enough to reflect on numbers? Not at all. They certainly are qualified, if they wish to. So I think there is a certain level of workable realism when it comes to facts. It is like the weather service: when it tells you the weather in the morning, you tend to believe it. If it rains, you do not sue them.
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The problem arises when facts are treated as sacred and immutable. As long as we understand the relativism of the fact that it can be reinterpreted again in the current moment, there is room for movement. This is the method of standpoint epistemology, in a sense: you believe in something for the moment, and that has the opportunity of changing later.
JM: But I often ask myself this question: for the lay public, how many narratives can be held simultaneously? I think it is important, because we are all inveterate classifiers and librarians, right? In some sense, we say, all right, beyond a particular point, when there is a profusion of narratives, it becomes really difficult to be able to talk about something.
So even if you say there are other ways of looking at things, is there a limit to how many of these narratives can be kept in mind at the same time?
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AM: In certain situations where a fact has a direct implication for society, like the recent rise in the measles epidemic in the US because people are vaccine-resistant, despite a long history of proving how effective vaccines have been, and despite a mongered fear of vaccines essentially having caused autism without any substantial basis, we have created a complex social situation.
This harks back to that very problem again: we have created an alienation of science in society. People have picked one narrative or another and then applied it as they want to and used their own judgement on it. But they have not been given the decision-making framework. They have never been taught how to evaluate information. So rather than simply codifying the fact that vaccines do not cause autism, it would be a better idea to train people in how to interpret the fact. So, the question is about how many narratives? There can never be an answer to that. As many as needed. Look at the idea of ritual and religion.
People come up with the same practice, the same codified mass, the same codified thing. Still, there are differences in practice everywhere. In every religion, people will practise a ritual in the way they want to ritualise it, and this allows multiplicity to survive. Yet in a common practice, if you and I constitute a temple or a mosque together, we will codify that in some kind of subjective way. How will we be doing this one?
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BM: I feel that there is a deeply human dimension to all these questions. There is a certain kind of laziness in thinking. You just do not want to apply yourself, to put yourself in your opponents’ or alternatives’ position. And I think, in our education system, there is this lack of emphasis on how to consider opinions from different points of view, and on the need for a sense of empathy in the sense of understanding things from different perspectives, whether of people with different values, different religions, different epistemologies, and so on.
DM: Perhaps the problem also lies in applying the same frameworks used to critique political or religious power to science without adjustment. Of course, training people to evaluate things for themselves would be the best-case scenario. But there are also very many times when people want to be told certain things and desire certainty. They may reject institutional expertise but accept alternative claims, such as miracle cures or confirmations of self-diagnoses, because doing so feels empowering or rebellious.
Subha Prasad Sanyal (SPS): If all claims can have truth value only in the epistemic context in which they are made, does this claim not then itself become true only in particular contexts? Is this position self-defeating?
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AM: At a meta-philosophical level, yes, such arguments can become recursive. In fact, when Longinus talked about the idea that every judgement is particular to its universe of discourse, the rebuttal was exactly the same: well, is that judgement not also saying the same thing within the discourse? So yes, at the meta-level, if you keep debating the philosophical implications of it, you will be caught in an endless loop. However, this is where the difference lies. It is not necessary to have a conversation at the meta-level to see that it is by virtue of a fact’s being based on an onto-epistemic grounding that it is called a fact.
Biju Paul Abraham (BPA): As someone who reads Bengali literature in translation, one of the things I recognise about those translations is that they are not exact translations. There is possibly some element of transgression, some element of transcreation, perhaps, which has been done in order to help me understand. So, when I read it, I understand that there could be issues with the translation. It is not exact. But as a layperson, and I consider myself a layperson in that context, I am happy to have it because I get a limited experience of it. If you worry too much about the exactness of the translation, then the problem is that you come back to the kind of issue that Nirad C Chaudhuri raised. His books have long quotations in French, so when his publisher told him, “You know, it is an English book, and there are these French quotations in it. So why don’t you provide an English translation as well?” Chaudhuri said, “If you don’t know French, you shouldn’t be reading my books.” If you adopt that kind of attitude, there is so much that is lost.
AM: This is exactly the workable epistemology I am talking about. At the level of what it functions for, it is perfectly fine. As long as we understand at what level it functions, and what we are doing, it functions. But if you build your entire belief system about Bengali literature on the basis of your reading in translation, and codify that worldview into your absolute reality, that is the problem. As long as you allow yourself to be hospitable to yourself in a recurring sense, and we understand the fact that we are only entering someone else’s space, and I am happy that I have been welcomed there, and I feel hospitable there, and I learned something, and I do understand that there are limitations, then it is perfectly fine.
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DM: This is how we work with the logic of periodisation when we teach history: dividing it up into ancient, medieval, and modern. And while you say that to first-year students, in the next class, or the next year, you say: but all of that is not really true, actually, constantly urging the questioning of those certainties.
Some things to think about, for me personally, are the questions about collective subjectivity: the kind of objectivity that is produced by that collective subjectivity; the use of personal discretion, rational discretion, both for the producers of knowledge and for the consumers of knowledge.
Doyeeta Majumder is an Assistant Professor of English at Jadavpur University.
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Anuj Misra is Professor of the History of Science and the History of Knowledge at Freie Universität Berlin and leads the Max Planck Research Group “Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia” (ASTRA).
Bill Mak is Professor of History of Science at the University of Science and Technology of China and Research Associate at the Needham Research Institute, Cambridge, with research interests in the history of science in Asia, Buddhist translation, and Sino-Indian studies.
John Mathew is Dean of the Arts and the Humanities and Professor of the History of Science at the Asian University for Women, where his work focuses on natural history, disease, and environmental history in South Asia.
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Sourav Bhattacharya is Professor of Economics at IIM Calcutta, with interests spanning the economics of organisations, political economy, and development.
Biju Paul Abraham is Professor of Public Policy in the Public Policy and Management Group at IIM Calcutta.
Subha Prasad Sanyal is a Kolkata-based Bengali literary translator and winner of the 2018 Harvill Secker Young Translator’s Prize, noted for translating Hawa Hawa and Other Stories.
Fact or Value is an online forum with a focus on philosophy, intellectual history and aesthetics. They host lectures and design books on unusual subjects."
https://amp.scroll.in/article/1091632/of-translation-transgression-and-transcreation-a-conversation-on-knowledge-across-languages
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus
"Translations of historical works into regional languages are crucial to counter misinformation on its own turf. While translations speak in the language of the people, propaganda, too, spreads most effectively in the language people consume daily, making it important that well-researched history is available in those very languages to challenge it, historian Ruchika Sharma said.
Prof. Sharma was speaking at the release of ‘Karavaliya Charitreyalli Hyder Ali Mattu Tippu Sultan’ (Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan in the History of Coastal Karnataka) by author and journalist Naveen Soorinje. IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge, among others, was also present.
“One of the key reasons for the growing communalisation of history is that good academic history is still in the shackles of English,” said Prof. Sharma, adding that freeing such work into languages like Kannada is essential to push back against distortions. Writing history in a language that people understand, she said, is a powerful way to counter “factless gibberish masquerading as history,” circulated through social media and messaging platforms.
Turning to Tipu Sultan, Prof. Sharma highlighted some of the persistent claims around his rule, particularly on forced conversions. She said historical sources offer multiple, complex, and conflicting narratives on his rule.
Beyond angles & demons
She said Tipu Sultan was no exception and while, like other rulers of his time, he used force where he felt it was necessary, he also navigated a diverse society through patronage and political calculation.
“The problem with popular history today is that it looks for angels and demons,” she said, stressing that monarchs must be understood within the nature of monarchy itself, with all its grey shades.
While there were instances of forced conversion, Tipu’s engagement with Hindu institutions offers a sharply different narrative, she said. Prof. Sharma referred to the ransacking of the Sringeri Mutt by Maratha forces, and said it was Tipu who later extended financial support for the restoration of the shrine and the reinstallation of the idol. He also sought prayers for his reign at a time when Mysore faced multiple adversaries, including the British, the Marathas, and the Nizam of Hyderabad.
Prof. Sharma further argued that present-day religious identities cannot be simply applied to the past. The term “Hindu,” she said, was not used in the way it is understood today and emerged later as a broad, external categorisation. At a different time in history, communities were divided along sectarian and caste lines in conflict with one another.
Beyond social media
Speaking at the event, Mr. Kharge said there is a growing trend of reshaping history to suit political narratives. Referring to Prof. Sharma’s point on misinformation circulating in WhatsApp groups, he said this has now expanded into mainstream platforms like cinema.
“Earlier it was one forward in a resident welfare group. Now it is amplified through films and large-scale productions,” he said, citing Dhurandhar 2, The Kerala Story, and The Kashmir Files, among other recent movies based on historical themes.
He added that he had no objection to individuals watching or appreciating such content, but is only worried about the larger concern of influence.
Mr. Kharge said initiatives are under way to promote serious writing. Over the past two years, he said, efforts have been made to support new journals and publish books by young writers, with plans to expand this into an annual exercise. The aim, he said, is to build a body of credible, research-based work that can serve as a counter to “distorted history.”
Published - March 30, 2026 12:27 am IST"
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/translations-of-historical-works-into-regional-languages-are-key-to-counter-misinformation-says-historian-ruchika-sharma/article70799904.ece
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus
"Elon Musk announced that Grok has started automatically translating and recommending posts from other languages on X. The new capability is already delivering content from around the world directly into users’ timelines, with many English-speaking accounts noting a surge of engaging Japanese posts. Mr Musk wrote on X: “Grok automatically translating and recommending 𝕏 posts from other languages is starting to work.” The feature builds on X’s switch to Grok as its sole translation engine last year and aims to create a truly global conversation. Early reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, with users praising the fresh perspectives now appearing in their feeds. No further technical specifications have been released, but the rollout signals continued investment in breaking down language barriers on the platform."
https://share.google/azJTvoLxp1mng3fFE
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"By Jennifer Zhan, a Vulture social editor who also covers music, TV, and online culture
Mar. 27, 2026
Grammy-winning composer Lebohang Morake, known professionally as Lebo M, is suing a comedian who he claims was lyin’ about Lion King lyrics. The pair brought this matter to the court of public opinion earlier this month by posting Instagram videos to share their sides of the story. Will this battle now end up in an actual court? Here’s what to know about the $27 million lawsuit that comedian Learnmore Jonasi is crowdfunding to fight.
How did this start?
While appearing on the February 25 episode of the One54 Africa podcast, comedian Learnmore Jonasi (born Learnmore Mwanyenyeka) said that the chant in “Circle of Life” translates to “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my God.” When asked if he was joking, he doubled down: “That’s exactly what it means.” In a federal lawsuit filed in California on March 16 and reviewed by USA Today, Morake states that the chant — “Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba” — is a line written in isiZulu and isiXhosa that actually translates to “All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king.” The lawsuit notes that ingonyama can translate to “lion” in Zulu but that this specific lyric is written in a form of royal-praise poetry that gives it a different significance.
Although Jonasi is not the first person to suggest that Morake’s lyric offers a very literal description of what’s happening in the opening scene of Disney’s 1994 animated classic, clips of his translation — which One54 Africa shared alongside the caption “POV: childhood ruined” — have gone viral over the past month and given the claim new life online. Morake alleged in his complaint that Jonasi has been performing this joke for the past eight years, continued to do so at comedy clubs after the clip went viral, and tried to monetize the bit with merch. Morake’s attorneys are arguing that all of that points to “actual malice” on Jonasi’s part. The lawsuit calls his translation “a fabricated, trivializing distortion, meant as a sick joke for unlawful self-profit and destruction of the imaginative and artistic work of Lebo M.” Morake is seeking $20 million in alleged damages and around $7 million in estimated disgorgement of profits.
How has Learnmore Jonasi responded?
Jonasi slammed the complaint as “unjust” in a GoFundMe campaign calling on supporters to donate so he can afford legal representation. “I am a passionate creator who never intended harm, but I now face overwhelming legal fees just to defend my right to speak and tell jokes,” he said in the crowdfunding campaign’s description. He is also selling “Look It’s a Lawsuit” merch depicting the moment he got served with lawsuit papers while recently performing onstage at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles. (“Get your T-shirt now, You can really help me pay these legal fees 😅,” he wrote on Facebook.) In footage he shared on Instagram, Jonasi explains to the audience that he is being sued over a “joke” and adds, “Fuck The Lion King.” He ultimately finds some humor in the situation, quipping, “Listen, I now have a gluten allergy, anxiety, I got served … I’m now American!”
As of publication, Jonasi’s GoFundMe campaign has reached more than $16,000 of its $20,000 goal. “I am truly grateful for all your support and kindness,” he wrote in a March 26 thank-you message on the crowdfunding page. “Because of you, I now have a fighting chance with this lawsuit.”
Could this not have been resolved in a private conversation?
The pair already had a tense back-and-forth online earlier this month that clearly didn’t lead to any resolution. In a March 13 video, Jonasi claimed that Morake had reached out to say that he was disrespecting his work. According to Jonasi, he told Morake that he is a fan of his and that this was “just a joke.” The comedian recalled being ready to create a video with Morake about the lyric, admitting, “Personally, I had no idea that it had a deeper meaning.” However, he said his attitude changed after Morake allegedly called him a “self-hating Negro,” an “idiot,” and a “wannabe comedian.” After that, Jonasi said he felt there was no room for constructive conversation and affirmed that he has no interest in apologizing to someone he doesn’t believe he ever insulted.
Morake responded in a March 14 video which he began by apologizing “if anyone was offended” by the language he used to describe Jonasi. However, he maintained that the comedian had disrespected his work and his culture, claiming that Jonasi is continuing to chase virality “at my expense.” Morake added that hundreds of thousands of people did not take Jonasi’s translation as a joke, noting that the comment was made on a podcast while he did not appear to be doing stand-up. “[If] it was not meant to land that way, then that’s what you should have clarified instead of continuing to insult me and [encouraging] people to divide,” Morake said. “Comedy is to unite.”"
https://www.vulture.com/article/lion-king-comedian-circle-of-life-translation-lawsuit.html
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
Ce compte-rendu d’Expressionismus im internationalen Kontext. Studien zur Europa-Reflexion, Übersetzungskultur und Intertextualität der literarischen Avantgarde de Mario Zanucchi (2023) met en lumière sa relecture des aspects internationaux de l’expressionnisme allemand au prisme de la traduction. Mario Zanucchi s’appuie sur une version complétée et corrigée de la bibliographie de Paul Raabe pour documenter l’auctorialité subversive de l’avant-garde allemande. Si la traduction est le vecteur d’une identité supranationale, elle témoigne également d’un idéal d’union des cultures européennes menacé par les nationalismes et la montée des fascismes. "expressionnisme allemand Translating Europe. International Politics and Poetics of the German avant-garde DOI: https://doi.org/10.58282/acta.20644 Mario Zanucchi, Expressionismus im internationalen Kontext. Studien zur Europa-Reflexion, Übersetzungskultur und Intertextualität der literarischen Avantgarde, Berlin : De Gruyter, coll. « Spectrum Literaturwissenschaft », 2023, 598 p., EAN 9783111010021. 1Mario Zanucchi, professeur à l’université de Fribourg-en-Brisgau, a fait paraître en 2023, chez l’éditeur berlinois De Gruyter, un essai intitulé Expressionismus im Internationalen Kontext. Studien über Europa-Reflexion, Übersetzungskultur und Intertextualität der literarischen Avantgarde [L’Expressionnisme en contexte international. Études sur la réflexion européenne, la culture de la traduction et l’intertextualité dans l’avant-garde littéraire]. Ce travail représente une contribution majeure pour l’étude des aspects internationaux de l’expressionnisme poétique, et ses nombreuses trouvailles bibliographiques devraient représenter des ressources précieuses pour toutes celles et ceux qui s’intéressent aux rapports entre littérature et politique au temps des avant‑gardes. 2La critique a en effet très tôt relevé la nature profondément internationale du mouvement expressionniste, qui s’étend à l’ensemble du monde germanophone jusqu’aux pays slaves, et qui s’est construit à travers ses rapports et échanges intenses avec le « réseau » (« Netzwerk », p. 1) européen des avant‑gardes du début du xxe siècle1. Tout en s’inscrivant dans la continuité de ces travaux, Mario Zanucchi met en valeur l’absence d’étude portant sur les formes de l’« intense réflexion » que la « génération expressionniste » (« die intensive Europa-Reflexion der expressionistischen Generation », p. 4) a menée sur l’Europe, et sur l’idée d’identité européenne, dans le creuset de la Première Guerre mondiale. Le chercheur ouvre une perspective nouvelle sur la question des aspects transnationaux de l’expressionnisme, en l’envisageant à travers l’étude des phénomènes de traduction et d’intertextualité constitutifs de sa poétique, domaine en effet peu exploré (p. 99). L’écriture de la traduction, qui se trouve à la source d’une poétique située entre les langues et les cultures, est le vecteur d’une identité supranationale, européenne, qui consiste en l’application esthétique d’un programme aux accents philosophiques et politiques, ancré dans une rhétorique antibourgeoise. Cette réflexion collective demeure néanmoins indissociable des tensions et affrontements qui traversent alors le continent et qui se reflètent dans les discours parfois contradictoires des membres de l’avant-garde expressionniste. En effet, ces contradictions — ou du moins cette hétérogénéité des opinions radicales, souvent teintées d’anarchisme, des écrivains étudiés — sont bien inhérentes à l’avant-garde allemande : certains chercheurs, comme Sébastien Hubier, préfèrent ainsi parler d’une multitude d’« expressionnismes », afin de mieux décrire ce qui est non pas « un mouvement unifié, mais bien plutôt un phénomène à la fois dynamique et polymorphe2 », dont les bornes chronologiques sont par ailleurs sujettes à débat3. Or c’est justement selon une démarche non systématique, à la croisée des approches théoriques, entre traductologie, stylistique et sociologie, que se construit l’objet de la recherche de Mario Zanucchi : soit la projection littéraire de rapports et échanges internationaux au sein d’un espace national contesté, appuyée sur une croyance en la capacité agissante de l’écriture, et matière à création esthétique. Le texte poétique lui-même, lieu où se construit et se consolide l’identité supranationale des expressionnistes, intègre l’idéal d’une communauté humaine. Par‑delà les frontières, une identité européenne 3Le prisme de la traduction permet au chercheur de relire et d’actualiser des aspects de l’expressionnisme par ailleurs bien connus. Le premier chapitre présente ainsi une mise au point sur les principaux traits de cette avant-garde, qui vise autant à s’adresser à un public de lecteurs et lectrices non‑initiés, qu’à en mettre en valeur la nature essentiellement subversive, et marginale — un effet concret de l’adhésion de ses membres à une identité internationale, sur lequel le chercheur reviendra tout au long de sa réflexion. Il convient de rappeler ces aspects en quelques mots. L’expressionnisme est une « contre‑culture » qui s’apparente à un mode de vie, et qui se caractérise par le jeune âge de ses participants ainsi que par leur posture contestataire (p. 9). L’essentiel de ses membres, nés entre 1885 et 1896, — sans oublier certaines figures tutélaires, plus âgées d’une dizaine d’années, comme les poètes Else Lasker‑Schüller ou Theodor Däubler — sont issus de milieux éduqués et ont eux-mêmes fait des études, pour la majorité en droit ou en médecine (p. 20). Cet arrière‑plan académique est important, non seulement en raison de la culture littéraire des membres de l’avant‑garde, ouverte sur l’étranger et attentive à certaines figures encore confidentielles, comme Rimbaud, qu’ils contribueront à faire connaître par leurs traductions en Allemagne, mais aussi par leur ralliement à un état d’esprit commun reposant sur des références partagées : la littérature française fait ainsi figure d’étendard générationnel dans l’Allemagne du début du siècle, encore profondément marquée par le souvenir de la guerre de 1870. Selon Mario Zanucchi, la francophilie des membres de l’avant-garde allemande, conjuguée à la judéité d’une large partie d’entre eux, renforce un sentiment de cohésion sociale et intellectuelle (p. 22) ; ce sentiment s’avère d’autant plus fort que ces individuso demeurent relégués à une marge, du fait de leur appartenance, en grande partie, à une minorité discriminée. Ces éléments expliquent leur commun rejet de l’État allemand récemment unifié, conduit sous la férule autoritaire de Guillaume II, et l’entretien d’une « distance critique » (« kritische Distanz », p. 23) à l’égard des normes dominantes. 4Contre la politique nationaliste menée par l’empereur, les expressionnistes revendiquent une appartenance internationale, qui se situe par‑delà les frontières et les langues. En s’appropriant néanmoins la langue allemande, ils subvertissent les fondements du discours nationaliste : une « Mischkultur » (p. 40), soit une société métissée, multiculturelle et polyglotte, se construit entre ces jeunes gens originaires de Hongrie, de Bohême, d’Ukraine, de Russie, ou encore d’Alsace et de Lorraine annexées, à l’image du mélange des cultures régnant alors dans le monde germanophone. L’idée même de frontière séparant les êtres et enfermant chaque individu dans sa spécificité culturelle et linguistique est réfutée. Comme l’écrit le poète bilingue, d’origine lorraine, Yvan (Iwan) Goll : « j’écris en allemand et en français mais je n’appartiens qu’à l’Europe » (lettre du 5 juin 1924 à Vladimir Maïakovski, citée p. 41). La revendication d’un statut d’étranger au sein de leur propre nation est par ailleurs intrinsèquement liée à l’affirmation d’une forme d’étrangeté esthétique dans le paysage culturel allemand, ce qu’évoque le terme « expressionnisme » lui‑même, un emprunt à la langue française et au lexique de la critique d’art du début du siècle (p. 9). Parler d’expressionnisme, dans l’Allemagne des années 1910, revient donc à désigner une esthétique qui s’oriente d’emblée vers la culture française — une subversion tout autant artistique que politique. 5En effet, l’ouvrage de Mario Zanucchi prend le soin de toujours souligner la nature effective du programme expressionniste, en raison de son inscription au sein d’un régime littéraire où l’écriture porte l’élan d’une force collective visant à bouleverser politiquement et esthétiquement le réel qui lui fait face4. La revendication d’une identité internationale est ainsi systématiquement perçue comme un élément de leur rhétorique contestataire, qui a depuis longtemps été étudiée par la critique5. Si les expressionnistes, par leur simple présence, incarnent une opposition aux discours nationalistes et antisémites dominants, leur poétique représente également une réaction au « canon officiel de la littérature » (« der offizielle Literaturkanon », p. 27) allemande et à la tradition. Des analyses particulièrement denses sont consacrées à la réinterprétation des figures d’écrivains, comme Homère, Schiller et Hölderlin, dans la poésie expressionniste, par ailleurs souvent réduite à sa description négative de la modernité et de l’environnement étouffant de la « grande ville » (« Großstadt »). Ces écrivains canonisés, passés au « filtre expressionniste » (« expressionistische Filter », p. 132) prennent eux-mêmes l’apparence d’étrangers, de figures aliénées et rejetées par la masse. Novalis est ainsi qualifié de « saint étranger » (« heiliger Fremdling ») par Georg Trakl, dans son poème « An Novalis » [« À Novalis »] (p. 30). Les poètes romantiques sont également associés à un imaginaire subversif : dans le poème de Gottfried Benn, « Der Räuber-Schiller » [« Schiller le Brigand »], Schiller apparaît comme un « monstrueux syphilitique » (« monströsen Syphilitiker », p. 35), qui évoque le portrait de Karl Moor, personnage de sa pièce Die Räuber [Les Brigands] (1782). Ces réinterprétations expressionnistes de la tradition littéraire allemande scellent un contre-panthéon national, tourné du côté de l’étranger, qui sert de fondement à une généalogie de la modernité. Si Jean‑Michel Gliksohn avait fait de l’expressionnisme, en raison de son ancrage international, un « élément constitutif de la poésie moderne en Europe6 », l’Europe apparaît ici comme un élément constitutif de la poétique et de l’identité expressionnistes. Luttes littéraires pour une Europe commune : les défis de l’unité 6Bien que les premières pages de l’ouvrage de Mario Zanucchi visent à donner un portrait‑type, donc synthétique et unifié, de l’écrivain expressionniste, la suite de l’argumentation donne la part belle à toutes ces nuances qui, dans leur diversité, constituent une pensée collective et « partagée7 ». Les chapitres se lisent ainsi comme des successions d’études de cas qui visent à montrer l’hétérogénéité des opinions et la multiplicité des réponses discursives et poétiques apportées aux problématiques abordées. Ce n’est que dans la troisième et dernière partie de l’ouvrage, consacrée au « dialogue intertextuel et intermédial » (« intertextuelle und intermediale Dialoge », p. 365) de la poétique expressionniste, découlant de l’activité de traduction, que ces études de cas seront traitées avec l’approfondissement et l’attention qu’elles méritent. 7Car en effet, l’enjeu du livre est bien de donner à lire à toute personne intéressée par ces questions un aperçu du bouillonnement artistique et intellectuel éprouvé par la génération expressionniste. La succession de ces (courtes) études crée un dialogue problématisé, nuancé, entre des figures dont le lien et la proximité ne sont pas toujours précisés, évitant la cacophonie des discours d’antan. Dans le cas de l’expressionnisme, cette cacophonie s’incarnait sans aucun doute dans la radicalité des discours partagés, mais aussi dans les circonstances historiques qui les ont provoqués. Un exemple intéressant de cette lutte discursive se situe dans les deux derniers chapitres de la première partie, successivement consacrés à la réception du modèle nietzschéen du « bon Européen » (« gute Europäer ») et à l’actualisation du concept de « Weltliteratur » [littérature monde] de Goethe8 dans le contexte de la Première Guerre mondiale et de ses suites. La guerre apparaît en effet comme un moment névralgique des débats sur l’identité européenne, en raison de la tension qu’elle opère au sein de l’idéal d’union internationale défendu par les avant‑gardes, mais aussi de la désunion interne qu’elle accentue. Le positionnement pacifique des revues, comme Die Aktion [L’Action] ou Der Sturm [La Tempête], qui s’insinue dans les mailles de la censure au nom du maintien d’un idéal fraternel entre les nations belligérantes, coexiste avec des lectures apologétiques de la guerre, comme dans certains écrits de Rudolf Leonhard, qui voit dans le conflit destructeur une force de régénérescence indispensable à un monde moderne en pleine décadence — sans exclure non plus une issue pacifiste. Mario Zanucchi nous révèle néanmoins que, par-delà la « polyphonie » (« Polyphonie », p. 40) de ces opinions, se pose en réalité la question du rôle de l’écrivain d’avant-garde, de la portée concrète de ses écrits et de sa responsabilité à l’égard de l’Europe : doit‑il s’affirmer en contre‑pouvoir, en prise avec les événements, ou maintenir une distance élitiste, inspirée notamment de la pensée de Nietzsche ? La réflexion sur le sort de l’Europe sert donc une expérience de définition de soi (« Selbstverständnis », p. 40) fondamentalement équivoque, que révèle par ailleurs la difficile définition du concept d’avant‑garde. 8Malgré l’ambivalence des discours que les expressionnistes portent sur l’Europe, leurs réflexions demeurent animées par une préoccupation commune. Une question sous‑jacente ressort en effet de la lecture de l’ouvrage : par quels moyens unir les nations européennes, par‑delà les nationalismes et leurs intérêts divergents ? Les analyses menées par Mario Zanucchi montrent que la littérature se voit conférée pendant la guerre une capacité agissante, chargée de réparer le lien rompu entre les nations européennes. Or la signature du Traité de Versailles semble remettre en cause la force performative de la littérature expressionniste. Les extraits du chapitre que nous traduisons sont intéressants pour, en filigrane, faire lire la désillusion qui semble progressivement s’emparer des avant‑gardes et mettre à mal leur parole poétique. En effet, si l’étranger demeure pour Franz Pfemfert, le directeur de la revue Die Aktion, un horizon concret qu’il s’agit de maintenir vivant malgré le conflit mondial, il redevient après‑guerre ce qu’il était autrefois aux yeux des écrivains du xixe siècle, soit une fiction teintée d’orientalisme, ce qui, pour Edward Said, rappelons‑le, est « une manière de s’arranger avec l’Orient fondée sur la place particulière que celui-ci tient dans l’expérience dans l’Europe occidentale9 ». Le poète Klabund entrevoit ainsi dans l’Asie, sur le modèle du philosophe Theodor Lessing, un « antipode pacifiste à un Occident belliciste » (« idealisierte Lessing […] Asien als friedlichen Antipoden des bellizistischen Westens », p. 91) et un remède mystique au désenchantement caractéristique des sociétés européennes modernes. Ses écrits, qui appellent ses compatriotes défaits et humiliés à se tourner vers un Extrême‑Orient miraculeux, résultent d’un processus d’interprétation chimérique qui fait l’impasse sur les tiraillements et conflits propres à ce continent. Cela a une double conséquence : si Klabund refuse de contempler l’Autre dans son altérité, c’est-à-dire selon ce qui lui est propre, il renonce également à y reconnaître les maux qui font écho à la propre réalité de l’Allemagne de l’après‑guerre. L’étranger est idéalisé au point de devenir un rêve, de nature toute intellectuelle, dont l’anthologie de 1922 Geschichte der Weltliteratur in einer Stunde [Histoire de la littérature mondiale en une heure] offre la mise en scène10. Cette virtualité de l’étranger n’ouvre pas la perspective d’un salut collectif qui unirait Orient et Occident ; au contraire, elle se tourne vers l’Allemagne elle‑même, dont elle vise le sursaut spirituel. L’immatérialité de la fiction asiatique de Klabund révèle ainsi un abîme : l’absence de toute solution concrète, possible, à la question de l’avenir de l’Allemagne que la parole poétique pourrait mettre en œuvre. La littérature perd dès lors sa capacité à faire acte et à fonder une réalité alternative — que ce soit par l’établissement d’un lien altruiste entre les individus ou par l’appel à la révolution, comme le tentèrent les expressionnistes internationalistes, à l’instar d’Yvan Goll (p. 69). 9Malgré l’intérêt de ces sources méconnues, qui sont lues pour elles seules, il convient de souligner que l’analyse aurait pu gagner en profondeur par le renvoi à des sources secondaires explicitant le contexte idéologique dans lequel ont été produits ces textes, qui déterminent le positionnement de leurs auteurs au sein d’un ordre international troublé. Le lecteur ressent en effet une certaine frustration face à la seule lecture des sources primaires, l’analyse manquant par endroits d’un arrière-plan critique solide, notamment sur la question de l’orientalisme. En tant qu’aspect important de la poétique des avant‑gardes11, qui engage un processus d’interprétation fondé sur un rapport de domination, elle ne peut se passer d’un commentaire dans le cadre d’une réflexion sur les échanges culturels internationaux réalisée d’un point de vue européen. De plus, il aurait certainement été judicieux, dans ce contexte, de renvoyer à la situation similaire des avant-gardes européennes, notamment russes12, qui, à la même époque, voient également se contredire sous leurs yeux impuissants utopie politique et réalité historique. Mario Zanucchi a néanmoins confiance en l’éloquence des textes et dans leur capacité à montrer que, comme dans la pensée freudienne de l’« inquiétante étrangeté » (« Unheimlichkeit »), la recherche de l’Autre menée par les expressionnistes n’aboutit finalement qu’à soi. Il suffirait ainsi de lire ces textes pour déceler « le rôle toujours dominant des discours nationaux, qui, même après la guerre, ont continué à teinter de nationalisme le concept transnational d’avant-garde » (« die weiterhin dominante Rolle der nationalen Diskurse, welche gerade auch in der Nachkriegszeit selbst die transnationalen Konzepte der Avantgarde im nationalen Sinne färbten », p. 95) : un risque majeur encouru par toute activité littéraire en temps de crise et dont la documentation et l’explicitation critique demeurent encore et toujours décisives. Un continent inexploré 10Un lien littéraire tangible demeure cependant, même après‑guerre, entre les langues et les cultures : la traduction qui, malgré les désillusions, permet de maintenir une relation tout sauf symbolique avec l’étranger. Mario Zanucchi se charge ainsi de relire, au prisme de cette écriture, qui débouche naturellement sur une poétique, la question des échanges culturels et littéraires entre avant‑gardes allemandes et européennes. Or son travail offre également un commentaire de ce qui apparaît bien comme tout un pan méconnu de la bibliographie expressionniste : les écrits traduits. 11En effet, cet ouvrage, qui se présente, nous l’avons dit, comme une étude de la réflexion européenne de l’expressionnisme à travers le prisme de la traduction, doit également être lu pour ce qu’il semble au premier abord : c’est-à-dire le dévoilement des résultats concrets d’une recherche d’une ampleur et d’une ambition remarquables, qui fait advenir aux lecteurs et lectrices des textes pour la plupart oubliés. Comme l’annonce le chercheur au début de la deuxième partie, la visée de son travail est bien de compléter un champ lacunaire, résultant du manque d’attention porté jusqu’alors sur les pratiques des traducteurs, à l’aide d’« une vue systématique (« systematische Sichtung ») et d’« un développement bibliographique » (« bibliographische Erschließung ») (p. 99). Mario Zanucchi s’octroie ainsi la tâche de corriger, d’actualiser et de commenter la bibliographie du chercheur Paul Raabe, établie en 198513. S’ajoute désormais aux 222 textes imprimés mentionnés dans cette bibliographie de référence une cinquantaine de titres, ce qui en porte le total à 275 (p. 124), auxquels il faut également ajouter les centaines de textes parus dans les revues expressionnistes et qui n’avaient encore jamais fait l’objet d’une recension complète (p. 285). Autrement dit, c’est un double continent inexploré que Mario Zanucchi nous donne à voir : au cours de la traversée d’une Europe en traductions jusqu’alors ignorée (et par-delà, l’analyse s’étendant en effet aux continents asiatique et nord-américain), se révèle une masse bibliographique commentée pour la première fois, qui vient documenter un aspect déterminant de l’« auctorialité » (« Autorschaft ») expressionniste (p. 99). 12La critique avait visiblement négligé le fait qu’auteurs et traducteurs expressionnistes partagent une même posture subversive et contestataire, fondée non seulement sur le rejet des discours nationalistes mais aussi sur la remise en cause d’un esprit bourgeois, conservateur et capitaliste instauré comme norme morale et politique. Ce partage d’éthos14 n’a rien d’étonnant, si l’on considère le fait que de nombreux écrivains expressionnistes, qui publient en livres ou en revues des textes signés en leur nom propre, sont également traducteurs : c’est notamment le cas de figures tout à fait majeures de l’avant-garde comme Albert Ehrenstein, Max Brod, Stefan Zweig, Yvan et Claire Goll, Klabund, Franz Werfel ou encore Alfred Wolfenstein. Mario Zanucchi souligne ainsi que les titres traduits par les expressionnistes constituent un « contre‑canon » (« Gegen‑Kanon ») qui est aussi, d’après les mots d’Adorno, un « canon des interdits » (« Kanon des Verbotenen », p. 118). Ces titres, pour la plupart issus des littératures de langues française et anglaise, mais aussi tchèque et russe, sont destinés à subvertir l’idée d’une « belle littérature » (« Schönen Literatur », p. 118) bourgeoise et formatée. Cela s’illustre par la traduction et la valorisation de « figures auctoriales rebelles » (« rebellischer Autorschaft », p. 214) comme Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Voltaire ou Péguy côté français, mais aussi Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, ou encore Percy Shelley pour les anglo‑saxons : tous ces écrivains possèdent un potentiel critique dans l’Allemagne du début du siècle. L’aspect subversif des traductions expressionnistes ne se justifie ainsi pas seulement par la nature contemporaine des auteurs traduits, voire par leur appartenance aux avant‑gardes européennes qui, de Marinetti à Apollinaire, font l’objet d’une soigneuse diffusion dans l’espace germanophone15. Les expressionnistes jouent également sur la vie et l’aura scandaleuse de certains écrivains traduits susceptibles, comme Wilde, de choquer un lectorat conservateur (p. 192). De façon générale, la traduction permet d’actualiser et d’inscrire les combats exprimés par les auteurs étrangers dans le contexte national allemand : le traducteur fait dès lors office de porte‑voix aux causes dans lesquelles il se reconnaît et adapte en ce sens le texte original à son présent. C’est ainsi que des textes anciens obtiennent une résonnance contemporaine, dans le contexte de la guerre et de ses suites notamment, et ne passent pas inaperçus des autorités. Mario Zanucchi évoque par exemple une traduction censurée du dialogue « Du Droit de la guerre16 » de Voltaire due à Alfred Wolfenstein en 191617 (p. 150). De la même manière, les textes extra‑européens sont dotés d’une coloration contestataire qui leur accorde la forme de paraboles destinées à être lues entre les lignes, ce qu’illustrent les traductions de la poésie chinoise par Klabund ou encore par Albert Ehrenstein18 (p. 264). 13Bien que la quantité de références bibliographiques traitée empêche la lecture suivie et attentive de l’ensemble des sources, qui sont pour la plupart survolées, Mario Zanucchi prend le temps de s’arrêter sur certains textes afin de mieux faire ressortir la poétique de la traduction mise en œuvre par les expressionnistes. Un exemple tout à fait parlant réside dans l’étude de trois traductions de Baudelaire par Hans Havemann (1920), Franz Hardekopf (1915) et Wilhelm Klemm (1916), qui entendent chacune constituer une « actualisation avant-gardiste » (« avantgardistische Aktualisierung », p. 104) des poèmes en jeu19. Le chercheur les compare avec les fameuses traductions des Fleurs du Mal publiées par le poète symboliste Stefan George en 1901. Les traducteurs visent en effet à « déconstruire » (« dekonstruieren », p. 109) l’idéalisme que S. George avait insufflé dans ses traductions de Baudelaire en faisant ressortir au sein du texte traduit les stylèmes propres à l’expressionnisme, caractérisé par une parole poétique violente et par la récurrence de motifs comme le cri, la solitude, l’aliénation métaphysique. Adapté à l’esthétique des avant-gardes, Baudelaire devient un « poète de la grande ville » (« Großtadt Dichter »), mais aussi un « ancêtre » (« Anherrn ») qui s’inscrit dans la tradition alternative, francophile, européenne, de l’expressionnisme (p. 111). Par‑delà ce geste généalogique, qui associe traduction et récriture du passé, se révèle l’auctorialité affirmée des traducteurs expressionnistes. Les interventions auctoriales dans le texte traduit prennent parfois des formes extrêmes : pensons au poème de Shelley, intitulé « Liberty » [« Liberté »], que traduit Alfred Wolfenstein en 10 vers, sur les 21 originaux, dans un style très proche de ses propres écrits20 (p. 217). Loin d’être une pratique mineure et secondaire, la traduction se révèle une modalité inhérente à la diction et à l’action expressionnistes : elle est constitutive d’une identité et d’une poétique qui se construisent à travers les langues et les cultures. Ainsi elle s’envisage également comme un paradigme du poème de la modernité, conscient de son appartenance transnationale et porteur d’un idéal d’union au sein de la communauté européenne des avant‑gardes. Une poétique internationale 14Alors que la guerre scelle l’échec du projet politique de l’expressionnisme, c’est dans l’œuvre d’art que se réfugie le rêve d’internationalisme poétique des avant-gardes. Le poème, mais aussi le film ou la pièce de théâtre, apparaissent comme autant d’espaces concrets dénués de frontières. C’est ainsi que Mario Zanucchi consacre la dernière partie de son ouvrage à des phénomènes d’intertextualité et de transmédialité propres à la poétique expressionniste à travers une série de cinq études de cas. Ces études sont d’abord consacrées à des exemples qui se situent dans la droite ligne des analyses précédentes, soit les réminiscences de l’œuvre d’Émile Verhaeren dans le célèbre poème « Der Krieg » [« La Guerre »] de Georg Heym et les sources baudelairiennes et nietzschéennes du poème « Untergrundbahn » [« Métropolitain »] de Gottfried Benn. Suivent ensuite des cas moins attendus, à travers lesquels la thématique de la traduction est traitée de manière secondaire, comme les mises en scène du théâtre de Strindberg et les adaptations graphiques et cinématographiques des romans de Dostoïevski. Dans ces pages se retrouve en effet l’ambition paradoxalement synthétique du livre qui, à travers la multiplicité des cas isolés, entend quadriller l’ensemble des pratiques poétiques de l’expressionnisme. 15Ce sont sur ces différents cas, qui se succèdent dans un ordre chronologique sans entretenir de lien thématique entre eux, que se clôt le livre. L’absence de conclusion, dommageable, accorde par conséquent à la réflexion générale l’apparence d’une série d’« études » (« Studien ») dont la cohérence globale est atténuée, et qui était peut-être déjà annoncée dans le titre. Si l’on devait néanmoins retenir un cas étudié au cours de la troisième partie qui synthétise la majeure partie des enjeux du livre, et qui aurait pu faire office de conclusion, ce serait la nouvelle méconnue d’Alfred Lemm, « Der Herr mit der gelben Brille » [« L’Homme aux lunettes jaunes »]21, étudiée pour son imprégnation des thèses du français Gustave Le Bon — mais aussi de Freud — sur la psychologie des foules. Ce court récit évoque le lynchage d’un homme ayant refusé de prendre part à l’ivresse patriotique des premières semaines de la Grande Guerre. Alfred Lemm, écrivain par ailleurs engagé au côté de Martin Buber dans le mouvement sioniste (p. 416), y convoque les principaux combats de l’expressionnisme. Le personnage principal, dont on sait seulement qu’il est jeune, et porte des lunettes jaunes, est en effet doublement visé par la foule : en raison de son rejet de la ferveur nationaliste mais aussi pour sa judéité supposée. Le positionnement pacifique d’Alfred Lemm s’associe ainsi à une critique de l’antisémitisme, qui se double à celle du capitalisme, laissant entrevoir une foule manipulée autant par la propagande belliciste que par la publicité (p. 437-438). Mario Zanucchi révèle la nature parodique de cette scène de lynchage, malgré sa démesure, en tournant en ridicule la dynamique nationaliste et son effet manipulateur sur la foule (p. 437). Abandonnant sa position de marginal, de « corps étranger » (« Fremdkörper », p. 428), qui l’identifiait au personnage principal de la nouvelle, l’écrivain adopte, par son ironie, une posture surplombante. Il s’érige comme le dernier « voyant » d’une société caractérisée par sa cécité (p. 426) — un voyant dont le lecteur perçoit néanmoins qu’il est prêt à payer cher sa lucidité. 16On ne peut par ailleurs s’empêcher de déceler dans la conclusion de cette nouvelle des échos tragiques. Mario Zanucchi rappelle en effet la postérité des thèses de Gustave Le Bon, sur lesquelles Alfred Lemm s’appuie dans sa description du mécanisme de la foule en furie, sur Mussolini et Hitler (p. 414). Cette référence française, qui deviendra l’argument des bourreaux, anticipe l’idée d’une culture européenne à laquelle il n’est plus possible d’accorder sa confiance et dans laquelle le lien à autrui est écrasé sous la pression des nationalismes. Ce que l’Histoire montrera en effet, contraignant la majeure partie des écrivains expressionnistes à fuir, ou à mourir, du fait d’une Allemagne hostile et de ses alliés, dont la nouvelle d’Alfred Lemm laisse déjà planer la menace. notes 1 Voir ainsi, parmi les travaux fondateurs cités par le chercheur : Jean-Pierre Meylan, « Les expressionnistes allemands et la littérature française : la revue Die Aktion », Études littéraires, no 3, 1970, p. 303-328 ; Helmut Gier, Die Entstehung des deutschen Expressionismus und die antisymbolistische Reaktion in Frankreich : die literarische Entwicklung Ernst Stadlers, Munich, Fink, 1977 ; Lothar Jordan, « “À travers l’Europe”. Französische Literatur in der Zeitschrift Der Sturm (1910-1920). Ein Abriß », dans L. J. und Bernd Kortländer (dir.), Interferenzen Deutschland-Frankreich. Literatur, Wissenschaft, Sprache, Düsseldorf : Droste, 1982, p. 104-110 ; Peter Demetz, Worte in Freiheit. Der italianische Futurismus und die deutsche literarische Avantgarde (1912-1934), Munich : Piper, 1990 ; Walter Grünzweig, Walt Whitman : Die deutschsprachige Rezeption als interkulturelles Phänomen, Munich : Fink, 1991 ; Valentin Belentschikow, Russland und die deutschen Espressionisten, Francfort sur le Main : Lang, 1993. 2 Sébastien Hubier, « Les Expressionnismes, entre modernité et avant-garde », dans Isabelle Krzywkowski, Cécile Millot (dir.), Expressionnisme(s) et avant-garde, Isabelle Krzywkowski, Cécile Millot (dir.), Expressionnisme(s) et avant-garde, Paris : L’Imposture, 2007, p. 284. 3 Il est en effet difficile d’établir les bornes chronologiques d’un « mouvement » qui est par essence mouvant, changeant et insaisissable. Si les premiers pas de l’expressionnisme poétique sont généralement associés à la fondation du Neue Club de Kurt Hiller à Berlin en 1909 (cercle qui deviendra l’année suivante le Cabaret néo-pathétique — Neo-pathetisches Cabaret — et qui réunit entre autres, autour de son créateur, les poètes Georg Heym et Jakob van Hoddis), sa date de fin demeure sujette à débats. Doit-on accepter 1921, comme le proposent Yvan Goll et Paul Hatvani, qui ont l’avantage de représenter un point de vue interne à l’avant-garde ? 1923, année de la tentative de putsch ratée d’Hitler ? 1924, comme l’indiquent les bornes chronologiques de la bibliographie de référence du chercheur, spécialiste de l’expressionnisme, Paul Raabe ? Dans tous les cas, la fin de l’expressionnisme est causée par un changement de mentalité dans l’Allemagne post‑Traité de Versailles, corrélative à l’échec des révolutions, à l’avènement du régime de la République de Weimar et à la consolidation de la société mécanisée. Ces temps de mutations, dans la première moitié des années 1920, donneront naissance à une sensibilité artistique nouvelle, la Nouvelle Objectivité (« Neue Sachlichkeit »). 4 En effet, pour Vincent Kaufmann, les avant-gardes, « loin de constituer un phénomène naturel, infiniment reproductible, sont, au contraire, l’effet ou la mise en acte d’une poétique spécifique du partage, historiquement datée. [Ses principaux aspects] procèdent d’une esthétique communautaire passée dans la réalité, ou cherchant du moins à y passer, à devenir effective. » (Poétique des groupes littéraires, Paris, P. U. F, 1997, p. 4) 5 Voir ainsi Thomas Anz, Literatur der Existenz : literarische Psychopathographie und ihre soziale Bedeutung im Frühexpressionismus, Stuttgart : J. B. Metzler, 1977. 6 Jean-Michel Gliksohn, L’Expressionnisme littéraire, Paris : P.U.F, 1990, p. 57. 7 Vincent Kauffmann, Poétique des groupes littéraires, op. cit., p. 4. 8 Voir ma traduction du chapitre. 9 Edward Said, L’Orientalisme. L’Orient créé par l’Occident [1978], Paris : Seuil, 2005, p. 30. 10 Pourtant fondée sur la connaissance profonde des littératures asiatiques, et notamment de la poésie chinoise, acquise par Klabund à travers son activité de traducteur, qui fait l’objet d’un long développement aux pages 267-281. 11 Pour une étude de l’intérêt que le surréalisme a porté à l’orientalisme, voir Guillaume Bridet, « Les avant-gardes françaises de l’entre-deux guerres face aux civilisations extra‑occidentales », Itinéraires, no 3, 2009, p. 57‑74. Disponible en ligne : https://doi.org/10.4000/itineraires.536 (consulté le 11 février 2026). 12 Voir ainsi Luba Jurgenson, « Les avant-gardes littéraires à l’épreuve de la Révolution », Revue des études slaves, vol. 90, no 1-2, p. 231‑239. Disponible en ligne : https://doi.org/10.4000/res.2700 (consulté le 11 février 2026). 13 Paul Raabe, Die Autoren und Bücher des Literarischen Expressionismus. Ein bibliographisches Handbuch [1985], Stuttgart : J. B. Metzler, 1992, p. 729-733. 14 Sur la question de l’éthos du traducteur, voir Pascale Roux, Éthos et style chez les traducteurs de poésie : Keats, Leopardi et Heine en français, Paris : Classiques Garnier, 2024. 15 Voir notamment le chapitre consacré aux traductions des futuristes italiens, aux pages 318-361. 16 Onzième dialogue de L’A, B, C, ou Dialogues entre A, B, C [1768]. Voir Voltaire, Œuvres complètes, tome 27, Paris : Garnier, 1879, p. 368-375. 17 François Marie Arouet de Voltaire, Vom Kriegsrecht, Iéna : Eugen Diederichs Verlag, 1916. 18 Voir ainsi Klabund, Dumpfe Trommel und berauschtes Gong. Nachdichtungen chinesischer Kriegslyrik, Leipzig, Insel, 1915 ; Albert Ehrenstein, China klagt. Nachdichtungen revolutionärer chinesischer Lyrik aus drei Jahrtausenden, Berlin : Der Malik-Verlag, 1924. 19 Il s’agit de « Correspondances », « Crépuscule du matin » et « L’Amour et le crâne ». 20 Percy Bysshe Shelley, Dichtungen, traduit par Alfred Wolfenstein, Berlin : Paul Cassirer, 1922, p. 69. En plus de ses nombreuses traductions des littératures anglaise (Poe, Shelley, Brontë…) et française (Nerval, Rimbaud, Hugo, Feydeau, Flaubert…), Alfred Wolfenstein est l’auteur de deux recueils de poèmes, Die Gottlosen Jahre [Les Années sans dieu] (1914) et Die Freundschaft [L’Amitié] (1917), ainsi que de plusieurs anthologies, de pièces de théâtre et d’un roman inachevé, Frank. Roman einer Jugend [Frank. Roman d’une jeunesse] (1937). Né en 1883 à Halle, il émigrera à Prague en 1934 avant de rejoindre la France. Réfugié tout d’abord en zone sud au début de l’Occupation, contraint à se cacher en raison de sa judéité, il mourra seul, dans l’indigence, à Paris en 1945. Son œuvre, très discutée dans les années 1910 et 1920, est aujourd’hui à redécouvrir. Voir Bernhardt Spring, Alfred Wolfenstein Lesebuch, Halle : Mitteldeutscher Verlag, 2011. 21 Alfred Lemm, « Der Herr mit der gelben Brille », Die Weißen Blätter, vol. 2, no 12, 1915, p. 1494–1501. résumés Ce compte-rendu d’Expressionismus im internationalen Kontext. Studien zur Europa-Reflexion, Übersetzungskultur und Intertextualität der literarischen Avantgarde de Mario Zanucchi (2023) met en lumière sa relecture des aspects internationaux de l’expressionnisme allemand au prisme de la traduction. Mario Zanucchi s’appuie sur une version complétée et corrigée de la bibliographie de Paul Raabe pour documenter l’auctorialité subversive de l’avant-garde allemande. Si la traduction est le vecteur d’une identité supranationale, elle témoigne également d’un idéal d’union des cultures européennes menacé par les nationalismes et la montée des fascismes. This review of Mario Zanucchi’s Expressionismus im internationalen Kontext. Studien zur Europa-Reflexion, Übersetzungskultur und Intertextualität der literarischen Avantgarde (2023) highlights his reinterpretation of the international aspects of German Expressionism’s through the lens of translation. Zanucchi relies on a corrected and expanded version of Paul Raabe’s bibliography to demonstrate the subversive authorship of the German avant-garde. Translation thus esthablishes a supranational identity bearing the ideal of a European cultural union, which remains under the threat of nationalism and the emerging fascisms. plan Par‑delà les frontières, une identité européenne Luttes littéraires pour une Europe commune : les défis de l’unité Un continent inexploré Une poétique internationale mots clés avant-gardes littéraires, expressionnisme allemand, nationalisme, Première Guerre mondiale, traduction german expressionnism, literary avant-gardes, nationalism, translation, World War I" https://www.fabula.org/revue/document20644.php #metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Each year, only one in six Canadians read a book originally written in another language. As a majority English-speaking market, it’s not surprising that most of the books available to us are written by anglophone voices. However, it is a missed opportunity for many who never venture beyond that. Translated works open doors to worlds shaped by different cultures, histories, and ways of thinking. There are many amazing stories that have been told outside of the English language. Below are several outstanding novels available at Belleville Public Library, translated into English.
We are a bilingual country, yet most English-speaking readers do not read French literature. One timeless read is Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo. Do not be turned away by its age and length, this is a thrilling adventure tale. Betrayed, imprisoned, and left for dead, Edmond Dantès overcomes hardship and loss to patiently and methodically extract revenge. The Count of Monte Cristo is available in print, eBook, and audiobook at the library.
Spanish is a rich and diverse language that is spoken in most of Central and South America, along with Mexico and Spain. One of the most celebrated and influential short story writers of the twentieth century was the Argentinian writer Jorges Luis Borges. What makes him great is his ability to write complex, philosophical ideas into very concise narratives. In just a few pages, Borges can create a world as rich and immersive as most full-length novels. Try one of his best story collections, Ficciones, available in eBook at the library.
Haruki Murakami is a Japanese author, with global popularity. One of his most acclaimed novels is The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. The novel, it is a surreal tale, follows Toru Okada, an ordinary man whose quiet life in Tokyo begins to unravel when his wife disappears. As he searches for her, Toru is drawn into a strange, dreamlike world populated by enigmatic neighbors, psychic figures, and unsettling memories that blur the line between past and present. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle is available on eBook and as a CD audiobook at the library.
The Italian novel, My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante was named in 2024 as the best book of the twenty first century by the New York Times. The novel follows the lifelong friendship between two girls growing up in a poor Naples neighborhood. Through Elena’s eyes, the brilliant and unpredictable Lila becomes both her closest companion and fiercest rival, shaping her identity as they navigate ambition and class in the 1950s. My Brilliant Friend is available in print, eBook, and CD audiobook.
Polish author Olga Tokarczuk hit mainstream popularity in 2018 when she won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her most accessible novel Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is a fantastic murder mystery. Janina is an eccentric, astrology-obsessed woman living in a remote Polish village. When a series of mysterious deaths begins, she becomes convinced the animals are taking revenge. Blending dark humor with philosophical mystery, the novel is a page turning read..."
Published Mar 26, 2026
https://www.intelligencer.ca/opinion/columnists/beyond-english-reading-in-translation
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
That is exactly what the novel is: an ongoing exchange of reciprocal dialects, an interlingual and nonlinear demonstration of these women and their stories,” writes Johnson.
"UMass Translation Center discusses third novel in the Translated Book Club
Cecelia Johnson
By Cecelia Johnson, Collegian Staff
March 26, 2026
After walking into Herter Hall’s Translation Annex, you are greeted by a small metal book cart, sidelined in between the two double doors and filled to the brim with translated novels, short stories and poems.
One day, Ilse Meiler, a UMass graduate student with a Ph.D. in comparative literature, decided to stop and browse the shelves. On Mar. 10, she led the University of Massachusetts Translation Center’s third book club meeting based on a title she had picked up.
“Trash,” written by Sylvia Aguilar-Zéleny, has been translated into Spanish, English and French. Meiler’s favorite is the English version translated by Jadine Pluecker, but not for its lack of Spanish — rather, the very opposite.
“It shouts at you,” Meiler says. “You are constantly reminded of the fact that you’re reading a translation and that you’re not getting unmediated access to the text.”
The book club was co-founded earlier this year by Regina Galasso, Associate Director of the UMass Translation Center, and Breanna Lynch, a project manager at the center. The two aimed to shed light on the importance of translated works — which account for only three percent of the U.S. publishing market — through monthly meetings to read and discuss translated novels.
“It’s a good excuse to bring people together and help readers become more conscious of translation,” Galasso said. She described conversations she’d had in the past with people who loved to read but were unaware of the magnitude of translated works. “They’ll be reading Murakami, I’ll bring up something about translation and they’ll say, ‘Oh, I never really thought of it that way.’”
The club’s last book, “Human Acts,” touched on the topic of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising in South Korea. Lynch recalled being stunned by how direct the parallels felt to modern-day America, reading this around the time that Minnesota protests were occurring in response to ICE.
The leader of the last session, Toki Lee, provided her own personal translation of the first page, for readers to then compare to what the author had written. “The nice thing about these sessions is the people who lead them all speak the language,” Lynch added.
This month’s read, “Trash”, is set in Ciudad Juárez, a Mexican city that borders El Paso, Texas. Meiler, who has family from both regions, said this is what initially caught her eye and described her delight at finding a book that spoke to her, not just in terms of theme and language but also geography.
“So much of what’s talked about in Juárez is that it’s one of the most dangerous cities in North America to be a woman,” Meiler said, referring to the drug and gang violence that is prevalent within the region. “But the fact that [‘Trash’] makes it into something that is a secondary and not a primary plot is quite exciting to me.”
At the start of the meeting, each attendee was asked to rate the novel. Many agreed that it was interesting in terms of storyline, but what really distinguished it was the choices made in translation.
Characters are often referred to as mija (darling) and chiquitita (little one), or pendejas (stupid b*tches) and putas (whores) — often used interchangeably, as either a rebuke or term of endearment, which speaks to the complexity of these character dynamics. Natural fillers and sentence starters — mira (look), oye (hey), pues (well) — are interwoven within bouts of English exchanges. That is exactly what the novel is: an ongoing exchange of reciprocal dialects, an interlingual and nonlinear demonstration of these women and their stories.
“[‘Trash’] is an activist translation,” said Meiler. “It’s not pretending not to be. The translator is present and what they have done is make the book more accessible and rich and beautiful.” She describes it as a book that has “gained in translation.”
One member commented that she’d had to look multiple phrases up while she was reading, while another, Dona Kercher, flipped through pages and read passages she’d analyzed throughout the book, with flawless pronunciation and wore a name tag that read “I speak: Spanish/English.”
Kercher spoke about going abroad in college and falling in love with language. She has been teaching Spanish, film and women’s studies for over thirty years at Assumption University.
She was surprised that much of the discussion revolved around the book’s translation and was excited by the club’s premise. “It could really go either way. You could talk about politics and the border, femicides, class structure, the trans women, the marginality of the characters.”
Dalia Cristerna-Román, another attendee, is originally from Mexico City and recently moved to Amherst after living in Canada for eight years. She now works as a linguist with heritage Spanish speakers and families who have moved to the United States. Oftentimes, she says, families find themselves contending with the adjustment of learning English while trying to keep the Spanish alive at home.
“Their relationship with language is more emotional, but it’s also at odds with the majority,” Cristerna-Román said. “If you are in Mexico, it’s a given that English is what you should learn — it is what gets you further, gets you opportunities. But with a book like [‘Trash’], it’s almost a rebellion,” she added. “You have to put in some effort. It’s a symbolic border.”
After reading the Spanish translation first, she was interested in what people had to say about the English version. “Even people that haven’t read both come with a lot of knowledge,” she commented, which is a phenomenon that she describes as linguistic intuition. “You can learn some Spanish just from reading translated books.”
The club will host two more meetings: one in April, on the book “Neighbours,” written by Lília Momplé and translated by Richard Bartlett and Isaura de Oliveira, and one in May, “Heart Lamp: by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi.
Cecelia Johnson can be reached at ceceliajohns@umass.edu."
https://dailycollegian.com/2026/03/why-translated-literature-matters/
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"AI didn’t kill creativity. It raised the bar
As AI use becomes ubiquitous, the real competitive edge shifts to human judgment, craft and context that make creative work truly resonate.
by Brian Carley, chief creative officer at Razorfish March 26 2026
For the past few years, the conversation around AI and creativity has been dominated by speed. Faster content. Faster iteration. Faster ways to fill feeds, banners and screens. The promise was efficiency at scale, and for a while, that was enough to get everyone’s attention. Across our work with global brands, we’ve seen this play out firsthand: AI initially arrives as a production accelerator before it fundamentally reshapes how creative teams think and operate.
But as the novelty wears off, a more interesting shift is underway. AI is no longer just accelerating creativity. It’s exposing where creativity actually comes from and why human craft, context and connection matter more than ever.
In 2026, the creative industry will stop asking how fast we can make things and start asking how well we understand the work we’re making.
From volume to value
AI has undeniably lowered the barrier to entry for creative execution and production workflows. Tools that once required specialized teams are now accessible to almost anyone. That democratization is powerful, but it also creates a paradox: When everyone can produce content quickly, speed stops being a differentiator.
Many of the brands we partner with are already confronting this shift. The conversation has moved quickly from “How do we use AI to produce more?” to “How do we ensure what we produce actually matters?”
What separates great work from forgettable work isn’t output. It’s judgment. In 2026, excellence will matter more than volume.
AI can generate options, remix patterns and surface probabilities. What it can’t do on its own is understand the nuance of a business, the unspoken tensions inside a brand or the cultural context that makes an idea resonate rather than simply exist. As production becomes easier, the value shifts to the people who know what to make, why to make it and when not to make anything at all.
The future of creativity isn’t about replacing humans with machines. It’s about using machines to raise expectations for human thinking.
Craft becomes the differentiator
As machines take on more executional tasks, creative roles expand upstream and downstream. The skill set shifts from making everything to knowing what matters.
At Razorfish, we increasingly see AI functioning as a creative partner, helping teams explore territories quickly while freeing up time for the deeper strategic work that gives ideas their meaning. It will help teams explore territories faster, test narratives earlier and pressure-test ideas before they ever reach an audience. That’s not a threat to creativity. It’s an invitation to be more intentional.
The real opportunity is craft.
Craft isn’t just how something looks. It’s how clearly an idea reflects an understanding of the brand behind it. That understanding often comes from being embedded deeply with client teams, connecting creative thinking to real business challenges. It’s the difference between work that feels interchangeable and work that feels inevitable. As AI handles more of the exploratory and repetitive tasks, creative teams will spend more time refining, editing and elevating ideas rather than racing to produce them.
This is where excellence becomes the differentiator, not as a buzzword, but as a standard. In a market saturated with AI-generated content, excellence becomes visible.
Why proximity matters more than ever
As creative ecosystems have become more distributed, teams often assemble fluidly across disciplines, partners and briefs, sometimes with little continuity or shared history. Without strong alignment and shared context, the work can struggle to compound.
AI won’t fix that problem. In fact, it makes it more visible.
As tools become more powerful, the teams that get the most value out of them will be the ones closest to the business. Proximity isn’t just about collaboration but about having access to the strategic context that allows creativity to compound over time. That context allows AI to function as a decision-support system rather than a decision-maker, strengthening judgment instead of bypassing it.
Creativity thrives on context. When teams understand not just what a brand does, but how it thinks, the work gets sharper. Ideas move faster, not because they’re rushed, but because fewer assumptions have to be made.
In an AI-enabled world, proximity isn’t inefficient. It’s leverage.
The new creative equation
At Razorfish, we believe the next phase of AI in creativity won’t be defined by novelty. It will be defined by orchestration — designing creative systems where different tools, teams and data signals work together across the entire lifecycle of an idea.
The brands that stand out won’t be defined by how much AI they use, but by how deliberately they guide it. They will be the ones designing systems where different tools work together across the creative lifecycle. One tool may help generate scripts or early concepts. Another may explore visual territories. Another may curate, adapt or refine content for different audiences. The value does not come from any single tool, but from how those tools are connected and guided by human intent.
Creativity has always been a balance between instinct and insight. AI doesn’t tip that balance. It sharpens it.
As the industry moves forward, the question won’t be whether AI can make creative work faster. It already can. The real question is whether we’re willing to slow down enough to make that work better.
Because in a world where anything can be made, what matters is why it should exist at all."
https://www.campaignlive.com/article/ai-didnt-kill-creativity-raised-bar/1952498
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Les outils d’intelligence artificielle (IA) disponibles en Afrique fonctionnent presque tous en anglais ou en français ; ce décalage laisse des millions de locuteurs de langues locales, comme au Burkina Faso, sans accès aux technologies numériques. Le Burkina Faso engage désormais des travaux pour combler cette lacune.
Le 24 mars 2026 à Ouagadougou, un atelier organisé par le ministère en charge du numérique a réuni experts et praticiens autour de la formalisation linguistique et de la constitution de corpus en langues nationales. Quatre langues sont au centre des discussions : le mooré, le dioula, le fulfuldé et le gulmancema. La rencontre rassemble des enseignants-chercheurs, des linguistes, des journalistes et des spécialistes de l’IA. L’objectif est de produire des ressources structurées permettant d’entraîner des modèles capables de reconnaissance vocale, de traduction automatique et de synthèse vocale.
Le projet est mené en collaboration avec la Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina et plusieurs structures de recherche. Le ministère a précisé que l’atelier vise à bâtir « une intelligence artificielle inclusive, accessible et adaptée au contexte socioculturel » du pays. Les travaux s’inscrivent dans les douze chantiers de la transformation digitale à l’horizon 2030, notamment le chantier dédié à « une intelligence artificielle au service de tous les Burkinabè ».
Ce mouvement ne s’arrête pas aux frontières du Burkina Faso. D’autres pays africains avancent sur un terrain similaire. En septembre 2025, le Nigeria a officiellement lancé N-ATLAS v1, un modèle de langage open source construit sur l’architecture Llama-3 de Meta et entraîné sur plus de 400 millions de tokens multilingues. Ce modèle prend en charge le yoruba, le haoussa, l’igbo et l’anglais avec accent nigérian. Selon Dr Bosun Tijani, ministre nigérian des Communications, N-ATLAS « place les voix et la diversité africaines au fondement de l’IA ». Au Bénin, le projet JaimeMaLangue poursuit un travail analogue pour donner aux langues béninoises une existence dans les environnements numériques.
Les géants technologiques s’intéressent aussi à ce chantier continental. En février 2026, Google a lancé WAXAL, un programme de collecte de données vocales couvrant 21 langues africaines, dont le haoussa, le yoruba, le swahili, le luganda et le peul. Les données appartiennent aux institutions partenaires africaines, notamment l’université Makerere en Ouganda et l’université du Ghana, ce qui pose un modèle plus équitable de développement de l’IA.
Pour le Burkina Faso, la production de corpus fiables répond à une réalité démographique concrète. Le mooré est parlé par plus de la moitié de la population. Le dioula, le fulfuldé et le gulmancema couvrent l’essentiel des autres locuteurs. Sans données locales en quantité suffisante, aucun modèle d’IA ne peut produire des résultats utilisables dans ces langues. C’est précisément ce vide que les travaux engagés à Ouagadougou cherchent à combler.
Selon We Are Tech Africa, ce mouvement marque une rupture dans la posture des gouvernements africains face à l’IA. Le continent ne se contente plus de consommer des technologies conçues ailleurs. Il commence à les façonner selon ses propres réalités linguistiques et culturelles."
https://yop.l-frii.com/ia-en-afrique-apres-le-benin-le-burkina-faso-veut-lui-developper-son-propre-modele/
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Début février, chez Arte, des représentants du collectif de traducteurs et traductrices qui travaillent aux sous-titres de la chaîne franco-allemande étaient venus sonner l’alerte : depuis le début de l’année 2025, leurs revenus étaient en forte baisse.
Depuis plus d’une décennie, la chaîne recourt à leurs services pour adapter les magazines et documentaires vers l’anglais, l’espagnol, le polonais, l’italien et le roumain.
Sur place, les responsables du programme multilingue de la chaîne ne s’en sont pas cachés, rapporte Mediapart : ils sont très satisfaits des résultats de leurs expérimentations de traduction automatisée, menées à partir de mai 2023 et généralisées un an plus tard. À terme, le recours à l’intelligence artificielle devrait devenir « inéluctable ».
Concrètement, cela leur permet de réduire de moitié la facture actuelle versée au prestataire d’Arte Transperfect. Pour un traducteur humain, cette facture s’élève à 10 euros la minute, dont 4 à 5 euros sont finalement reçus par le ou la traductrice. Pour ces derniers, en revanche, cela réduit la qualité du travail tout en réduisant les revenus.
Comme nous l’expliquait Margot Nguyen Béraud, membre du collectif En chair et en os, dans le dernier épisode d’Entre la chaise et le clavier, à l’ère de l’IA, le travail demandé aux professionnels de la traduction n’est plus de partir du texte initial pour l’adapter, mais d’une version « pré-mâchée » par le robot, qu’il s’agit ensuite de « post-éditer ».
L’effet sur les revenus est direct : quand bien même les principaux concernés estiment que ces post-éditions ne leur font pas tellement gagner de temps, Transperfect ne paye plus la minute que 2 ou 2,5 euros lorsqu’un système d’IA (ici, Claude d’Anthropic) est mobilisé.
Côté Arte, en revanche, l’économie permettrait de multiplier les traductions vers vingt-quatre langues à terme, et de mettre ces traductions à disposition en moins de 24 h pour les programmes d’actualité.
Pour les représentants de plusieurs syndicats et collectifs de traducteurs et traductrices, l’affaire est malheureusement « banale », le symptôme d’une tendance qui conduit de plus en plus de professionnels à quitter le métier.
Le public n’y gagne pas forcément, pointe la présidente de l’Association des traducteurs adaptateurs de l’audiovisuel (Ataa), avec des traductions médiocres dans lesquelles des marqueurs comme le tutoiement ou le vouvoiement sont mélangés, des mots intervertis, ou encore l’intégralité du texte retranscrite, alors que les experts du sous-titre tendent à proposer des élisions pour permettre au public de suivre."
Mathilde Saliou
Le 24 mars à 09h49
https://next.ink/brief_article/chez-arte-les-revenus-des-traducteurs-chutent-a-mesure-que-lia-est-adoptee/
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"L’impact du français du théâtre populaire au Cameroun sur le vivre-ensemble : enjeux et perspectives
Le français utilisé dans le théâtre populaire camerounais francophone constitue un phénomène linguistique particulier qui mérite une certaine attention. Le présent article examine comment les spécificités linguistiques de ce théâtre contribuent à la construction du vivre-ensemble au Cameroun. À travers une analyse sociolinguistique du langage théâtral, nous explorons les relations entre les variations linguistiques du français camerounais et la consolidation des liens sociaux dans un contexte multiculturel. Dans le contexte actuel où le vivre-ensemble constitue désormais une prescription gouvernementale, notre hypothèse est que l’usage d’un français « camerounisé » dans le théâtre populaire facilite la communication interculturelle et renforce la cohésion sociale.
Mots-clés éditeurs : français camerounais, impact, théâtre populaire, vivre-ensemble
Date de mise en ligne : 23/03/2026
https://doi.org/10.3917/oep.ndibn.2025.01.0197";
Par Marie-Thérèse Betoko Ambassa
Pages 197 à 205
Résumé
Auteur(e)s
Sur un sujet proche
https://shs.cairn.info/les-francais-dans-un-monde-multilingue--9782492327377-page-197?lang=fr
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Premium search service Kagi has launched a humorous AI translation tool that converts everyday English into the distinctive self-promotional language commonly found on LinkedIn.
Mashable reports that Kagi, a paid search service that positions itself as an ad-free, privacy-focused alternative to Google, has introduced an English-to-LinkedIn translator as part of its free AI-based language translation offerings. The tool, launched on Wednesday, has gained significant attention on social media for its ability to transform ordinary statements into the earnest, jargon-heavy posts typical of the professional networking platform.
The translator is part of a broader collection of humorous internet subculture language options Kagi has added to its service. Other available translations include Reddit speak, which incorporates phrases like “weird-ass,” “cringe,” and “banana for scale,” as well as Pirate Speak and fictional languages such as Klingon. However, the LinkedIn translator has resonated particularly strongly with users, touching a nerve about the proliferation of artificial-sounding corporate speak in digital communication.
The translation service works in both directions. Users can convert plain English into LinkedIn-style language or decode lengthy LinkedIn posts back into straightforward English. For example, spending an afternoon in bed becomes “decided to prioritize a strategic recharge to optimize cognitive performance and long-term productivity” in LinkedIn speak. The tool can even transform critical feedback into professionally palatable language, converting “I hated this and I am dumber for reading it” into “While I’m always looking for ways to challenge my current mindset, this particular content reminded me of the importance of being intentional with the information we consume. Grateful for the learning opportunity!”
The translator serves as both entertainment and practical utility. It lampoons the tendency of LinkedIn users to frame every minor career development in hyperbolic, buzzword-laden language while simultaneously offering a genuine service for those who need to navigate or create content in this particular communication style.
The LinkedIn translator’s popularity reflects broader concerns about authentic human communication in an era increasingly dominated by AI-generated content. The tool connects with similar cultural commentary, including the “Your AI Slop Bores Me” phenomenon, which criticizes generic AI-generated text that lacks genuine human perspective or value.
LinkedIn’s distinctive communication style has long been a source of commentary and parody. The platform has developed its own vocabulary filled with terms like “thought leaders,” “growth mindset,” “personal branding,” and “hustle culture.” Users frequently celebrate minor professional achievements with earnest posts that employ specific linguistic patterns and hashtags, creating a recognizable dialect that the Kagi translator successfully mimics.
The game-like quality of the translator invites experimentation. Users have tested whether any human activity, no matter how mundane or inappropriate, can be reframed in positive LinkedIn language. The results suggest that the platform’s communication style can theoretically transform any scenario into an opportunity for professional growth and learning.
Wynton Hall, author of the new book Code Red: The Left, the Right, China, and the Race to Control AI, argues that it is vital for conservatives to avoid “cognitive offloading,” by handing over all thinking to AI. The fact that people are utilizing AI to poke fun at the peculiar language of LinkedIn, which itself is filled with AI slop posts, is an encouraging sign.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, praised CODE RED as a “must-read.” She added: “Few understand our conservative fight against Big Tech as Hall does,” making him “uniquely qualified to examine how we can best utilize AI’s enormous potential, while ensuring it does not exploit kids, creators, and conservatives.” Award-winning investigative journalist and Public founder Michael Shellenberger calls CODE RED “illuminating,” ”alarming,” and describes the book as “an essential conversation-starter for those hoping to subvert Big Tech’s autocratic plans before it’s too late.”
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship."
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2026/03/22/learn-to-speak-corporate-ai-translator-converts-english-into-satirical-linkedin-jargon/
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"€6.2m pledge to support Irish and Ulster Scots languages
THE Irish Government has confirmed funding of €6.2m for projects which support Irish and the Ulster Scots languages in Northern Ireland.
Minister for Rural and Community and Gaeltacht Development, Dara Calleary confirmed the amount this week, which comes under the government’s Shared Island Initiative.
“I am delighted to announce this significant capital funding today as part of the Government’s Shared Island Initiative to enhance co-operation, relationships and mutual understanding on the island of Ireland,” Minister Calleary said.
Minister Dara Calleary announced the government funding this week
“The funding will contribute to a range of projects that create lasting community and cultural benefits for the Irish-speaking and Ulster-Scots communities in Northern Ireland and the border counties.”
The announcement includes capital funding of up to €4.8m for An Ciste Infheistíochta Gaeilge.
That money, which will be rolled out over four years, will co-fund Irish-language community projects across Northern Ireland.
Also included in the total is over €1.4m for the North West Cultural Partnership, to co-fund delivery of the Cultural Embrace capital project in Derry City.
“It is important that we support organisations across the island who are working to bring people and communities together, including through the Irish language and Ulster Scots language, culture and heritage traditions,” Minister Calleary explained.
“I look forward to seeing the projects being developed by An Ciste Infheistíochta Gaeilge and North West Cultural Partnership come to fruition, enhancing local communities and our cultural connections across the island,” he added.
Projects due to be be progressed with the funding will support the “linguistic, social, economic and cultural enhancement of Irish language and Ulster-Scots communities in Northern Ireland and in border counties” a spokesperson for Minister Calleary’s office confirmed."
BY: Fiona Audley
March 24, 2026
https://www.irishpost.com/culture/e6-2m-pledge-to-support-irish-and-ulster-scots-languages-306328
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Gibraltar launches round-the-clock British Sign Language interpretation service
New 24/7 video link service means deaf residents can access any government department within minutes using just a smartphone
SUR in English
Gibraltar's deaf community now has access to a round-the-clock British Sign Language interpretation service, following the launch this week of a new video interpretation platform by the Supported Needs and Disability Office (SNDO).
The service, introduced to coincide with BSL Week, is delivered in partnership with Convo, a UK-based company whose platform allows deaf users to connect via video call to a qualified BSL interpreter - typically within one minute - using nothing more than a smartphone or tablet and a QR code.
A built-in telephone directory feature allows users to select the department they need, with the interpreter then facilitating a three-way call: the user signs via video while the interpreter relays the message by voice to the relevant department. The key improvement over previous services available in Gibraltar is the 24/7 availability.
QR codes will shortly be distributed across all government departments, including public counters and meeting rooms, and staff training covering both technical support and deaf awareness will follow in the coming weeks.
Representatives from Convo visited Gibraltar this week to meet with key stakeholders, including the Gibraltar Health Authority's Neurodevelopment and Disability Office, Director General Paul Bosio and Medical Director Mark Garcia. Separate talks were also held with emergency services - including Civil Contingencies, 999, 111, Police, Fire and Ambulance - to explore integrating Convo into critical response pathways.
Importantly, the SNDO also held a dedicated session with BSL users and members of the Gibraltar Hearing Issues and Tinnitus Association (GHITA), giving people with lived experience the chance to learn about the service and feed back their views.
Minister for Equality Christian Santos said the launch represented "the next step in empowering deaf individuals to communicate independently and advocate for themselves, without relying on others." He added that the SNDO had already introduced SpeakSee in December and continues to work with SignCode, who provide in-person interpreters and pre-recorded BSL content for Gibraltar."
Monday, 23 March 2026 | Updated 24/03/2026 10:34h.
https://www.surinenglish.com/gibraltar/gibraltar-launches-roundtheclock-british-sign-language-interpretation-20260323131613-nt.html
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Irish EU Presidency is opportunity to address lack of Irish interpreters in Brussels - MEP
One MEP wants the Irish government to increase the number of Irish language interpreters when Ireland holds the presidency of the EU Council this year.
A HIGH LEVEL EU delegation of officials is coming to Galway today with a mission – find conference interpreters with Irish to address a shortage in the EU Parliament in Brussels and its powerful committees which is leaving Irish speaking MEPs tongue-tied.
The delegation led by Juan Carlos Marin Jiminez, the Director General of the Directorate for Logistics and Interpreting or DG LINC, will visit the MA Course in Conference Interpreting in the University of Galway as well as pay visits to the Coimisinéir Teanga’s office in An Spidéal and Údarás na Gaeltachta in Conamara.
The shortage of interpreters at the European Parliament in Brussels is leaving Irish-speaking MEPs unable to use their language during important meetings.
Although Irish has been an official working language since 2022 - a development that came after a long campaign – it has yet to be placed on an equal footing with the other official working languages. The only other language in this situation is Maltese.
Interpretation is provided for the other 22 other working languages at every forum, but the same service is not available for Irish or Maltese. This stems from a vote taken during the European Parliament’s last mandate between 2019 and 2024.
As a consequence of that vote, Irish and Maltese will remain without an interpretation service on a par with the other languages until the end of the current mandate in 2029 at the earliest.
When Irish became a full official working language in 2022, the EU welcomed it, saying at the time that Irish was ‘at the same level‘ as other EU languages. While this is the EU’s official position, it is not what Irish-speaking MEPs such as the Ireland South representative are experiencing.
21:38According to Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, Fianna Fáil MEP for Ireland South, the shortage of interpreters is affecting her work as she represents her constituents across various committees and when speaking in parliament during its sittings in Brussels.
She is able to speak in Irish when parliament is meeting in Strasbourg — during plenary sessions — but this only occurs one week per month. Interpreters are provided for the one-minute speeches that MEPs deliver in the debating chamber on those occasions.
EU officials maintain, however, that the extension of the derogation was put in place due to a shortage of interpreters. Ní Mhurchú, for her part, believes that extending the derogation is failing to attract Irish speakers to pursue careers in interpretation.
“In practical terms, what this derogation means is that there is no team of interpreters employed in the Parliament for either Irish or Maltese,” the MEP said. “However, interpreters are employed in both the Council and the Commission.”
There is only one interpretation course in Ireland, at the University of Galway, and it accepts fifteen students each year. For many years there were difficulties in attracting Irish-speaking interpreters, as the existence of the derogation meant that their services were not considered necessary.
She acknowledged, however, that the Directorate-General responsible for ensuring the full Irish language service in the Parliament — DG LINC (Logistics and Interpretation for Conferences) — was doing its utmost to resolve the problem, a problem that Ní Mhurchú had raised as soon as she was elected in 2024, but that progress had not yet been made.
“I feel this shortage most acutely at committee level, because it is within the committees that legislation is scrutinised, examined and amended.
“I am very active on powerful committees such as IMCO (Internal Market) and TRAN (Transport).
“Committees hold enormous power as they are drafting and reforming legislation, and challenging the Commission.
“We receive legislation and proposals from the Commission and we must debate them, scrutinise them, examine them, critique them constructively, pull them apart and put them back together again as alternative proposals and legislation — to ensure that the new rules and laws are fit for our voters.”
She said it was deeply disappointing that matters stood as they did, given that Ireland would hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union later this year, but that it also represented a significant opportunity. Sonnet 4.6
Ireland’s presidency falls in the middle of this term, which is deeply unfortunate given that the issues relating to the Irish language have not been resolved in any way whatsoever.
“The proposal is that interpreters could be seconded from the Commission, the Council, or the private sector (freelance interpreters) and placed in the Parliament for the duration of the Presidency.”
North's Irish language commissioner will not be distracted by efforts to undermine legislation
According to Ní Mhurchú’s own estimates, six translators and two assistants are needed, along with three interpreters.
“However, it would not be feasible to fill 11 new posts unless students, graduates and qualified professionals were aware that permanent employment would be available to them in the Parliament. They must be attracted to the roles and the pathway made easier for them to take up these newly created posts in the Parliament.”
She said she had been seeking this from various Government ministers, including Minister for Further Education James Lawless TD, Minister for the Gaeltacht Dara Calleary TD and Thomas Byrne TD, who holds responsibility for European Affairs, and had also raised it with Director-General of DG LINC Juan Carlos Jiménez Marín and Director-General of DG Translation Walter Mavrik, but that no solution had yet been found.
“I will now be making representations to Roberta Metsola — the President of the Parliament — asking her to resolve the problem.”
In response to an inquiry from The Journal, a spokesperson for the European Parliament confirmed that a majority of MEPs — 303 votes to 200 — voted to extend Rule 75, the rule which determines that an interpretation service on an equal footing will not be available for Irish and Maltese until July 2029.
“The European Parliament, along with other institutions, recognises that there are difficulties in providing language coverage for Irish due to a shortage of qualified conference interpreters and translators and, for that reason, derogations are applied to translation from Irish and to Irish interpretation,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement issued by a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs, under which Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne operates, it was said that “the Department is engaged in dialogue with the European Parliament to ensure that sufficient interpretation will be available for scheduled events during Ireland’s Presidency of the EU and will continue to engage with the European Parliament on this matter.”
The statement also noted that “guidelines have been developed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in cooperation with the Department of Rural and Community Development and Gaeltacht Affairs, regarding the use of Irish during Ireland’s Presidency of the EU.”
This was said to reflect “Ireland’s commitment to multilingualism and the full integration of the Irish language in European affairs.”
The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme"
23 Mar 2026
https://www.thejournal.ie/irish-doesnt-have-full-working-and-official-language-status-in-the-eu-yet-6989908-Mar2026/
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"...ASL is the dominant sign language in the United States, but it is far from the only one. Across the world, hundreds of distinct sign languages have developed, each shaped by culture, geography, and community. A person who grew up in North Africa almost certainly did not grow up signing in ASL. Placing an ASL interpreter in front of them would be like greeting a French speaker with a Portuguese translator — technically a language, but not their language.
Our team reached out to the client’s family, both those already in the United States and those still abroad. We wanted to understand how this person communicated: Which sign language did they use? Did they lip-read? In what spoken language? What had worked for them before?
These conversations took time. They required sensitivity and humility. But they gave us what we needed: a clear picture of this individual’s unique communication needs.
Once we knew which sign language the client used, we began searching for a qualified interpreter fluent in that specific language. It wasn’t easy, but after extensive outreach, we found a university professor with exactly the expertise we needed.
By the time our client landed, everything was in place. The professor was at the airport to greet them and remained with them through their Domestic Health Assessment and their first primary care appointments. From the moment they arrived, they had someone who could truly understand them.
Inclusion is not a checkbox. It is not arranging “an interpreter” and moving on. It is asking whose interpreter, in which language, for which community. It is recognizing that disability, culture, and communication are inseparable and that no two people’s needs are the same, even when their diagnoses are.
This experience reaffirmed the core principle of our work: equity requires intentionality. Even within the disability community, communication and access needs are not uniform. Providing truly inclusive services means honoring each client’s unique cultural, linguistic, and disability-related experiences — ensuring they feel seen, understood, and supported from their very first moments in the United States."
https://refugees.org/no-two-hands-sign-the-same/
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Bizarre moment UFC boss Dana White needs interpreter to translate English question
UFC boss Dana White bizarrely needed an interpreter to translate a question from a British journalist on Saturday night.
Following the MMA promotion's latest show in London, England, White was carrying out a post-fight press conference when the viral exchange with The Sun's Chisanga Malata occurred.
Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Malata asked the 56-year-old if the UFC has any plans to cancel its upcoming shows in Saudi Arabia or Abu Dhabi.
'Are you guys continuing to monitor the situation in the Middle East? Because obviously, we know you like to go to Saudi or Abu Dhabi in June or July, and then obviously the October show,' the reporter said. 'So are you guys monitoring that and potentially thinking of changing plans?'
White then turned to his American interpreter, who repeated the question nearly word for word in a strange moment.
'No. As of right now, no,' he eventually replied to Malata.
Dana White bizarrely needed an interpreter to translate a question from a British journalist
White then admitted: 'I know it's f***ing weird that I need a translator when you speak English, but I can't hear, my hearing's so bad. And if you have a slight accent, I'm really screwed.'
Fans were left baffled by his need for a translator, with one writing on X: 'If Dana White needs a translator from English into English he shouldn't be holding the press conferences'.
'Dana hang it up bro… enjoy retirement or boxing, needing an english to english translator…' said another.
A third joked: 'Man I really want to get a job as Dana White's English to English translator'.
While a fourth commented: 'Can’t lie, Dana White needing a translator for the #UFCLondon post fight presser was hilarious to me.'"
Oliver Salt
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/bizarre-moment-ufc-boss-dana-white-needs-interpreter-to-translate-english-question/ar-AA1ZaMUV
#metaglossia_mundus #metaglossia
"Mission Increase Partners With Wycliffe Bible Translators
Mission Increase, a Kingdom impact accelerator helping nonprofit leaders, donors and churches transform more lives for Jesus, has announced a dynamic new partnership with Wycliffe Bible Translators USA. Wycliffe serves with the global body of Christ to advance Bible translation so people can encounter God through His Word. It desires that people from every language will understand the Bible and be transformed.
As it joins forces with Wycliffe from now through the end of 2027, Mission Increase will provide its biblically-based curriculum to train global leaders in Francophone and Anglophone Africa, Asia, the Greater Pacific and the Americas on vital topics such as fundraising, leadership and communications. With a keen understanding of what it takes to build sustainable mission impact, Mission Increase will ensure Wycliffe's global leaders continue to advance Bible translation projects alongside language communities worldwide.
"The work of Bible translation is being done by thousands of partner organizations across the globe, and Wycliffe desires to see each one thrive and continue building capacity to carry out the missions to which God has called them. This partnership with Mission Increase allows Wycliffe to effectively scale its organizational-strengthening support services to this end," said Andrew Flemming, Chief Global Operations Officer for Wycliffe. "Our objective is for every person to have access to Scripture in a language and format they clearly understand and for communities to flourish as they engage with God's Word. As we collaborate to accomplish that, I look forward to seeing the impact of this expanded focus on building effective teams with robust leadership skills."
Top Videos: Iran pushes back on Trump's suggestions that an end to the war is close
"Helping nonprofits figure out what it takes to grow sustainably is one of the things Mission Increase does best," remarked Dan Davis, President of Mission Increase Foundation. "The rich legacy of success Wycliffe has in the area of Bible translation makes this an easy yes for us. We know they have a solid foundation for continued growth."
Scott Harris, Vice President of Church and Global Engagement at Mission Increase, agrees. "We're eager to share our training and tools with Wycliffe's global leaders and anticipate exciting outcomes from this partnership in the months and years to come."
To learn more about how Mission Increase helps nonprofit leaders, donors and churches transform more lives for Jesus, visit https://missionincrease.org/.
Contact:
Brianna Roberson
Mission Increase
marketing@missionincreas.org
423-460-7895
SOURCE: Mission Increase"
Newswire / March 23, 2026 /
https://www.mycarrollcountynews.com/online_features/press_releases/article_e9a01d56-1559-57a7-9743-e0ae81d6e79f.html
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Porté par une dynamique démographique et éducative sans précédent, notamment en Afrique, le français s’impose désormais comme la quatrième langue la plus parlée au monde, avec près de 400 millions de locuteurs.
Une évolution qui dépasse le simple cadre linguistique pour s’inscrire dans une recomposition géopolitique et géoculturelle globale. Publié à l’occasion de la Journée internationale de la Francophonie du 20 mars 2026, le rapport quadriennal de l’Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) dresse un constat clair : le français est en pleine expansion. Il est aujourd’hui la deuxième langue étrangère la plus apprise dans le monde, avec environ 170 millions d’apprenants, preuve de son attractivité dans les systèmes éducatifs à travers les cinq continents. Mais c’est en Afrique que se joue l’essentiel de cette transformation. Le continent concentre déjà près de 65 % des locuteurs francophones, et cette proportion ne cesse de croître. D’ici à 2050, sur les 590 millions de francophones attendus, près de 90 % vivront en Afrique. Ce basculement démographique fait du continent le véritable centre de gravité de la Francophonie mondiale.
Au-delà des chiffres, cette progression traduit une mutation profonde. Le français n’est plus seulement une langue héritée de l’histoire coloniale ; il devient un outil d’intégration, d’éducation et d’insertion professionnelle. Dans de nombreux pays africains, il coexiste avec des langues nationales dans des contextes plurilingues dynamiques. Des initiatives comme les programmes éducatifs de l’OIF contribuent à renforcer cette complémentarité, en soutenant l’enseignement et la formation des enseignants. Sur le plan géopolitique, cette montée en puissance du français renforce le rôle de l’Afrique dans les échanges internationaux. Langue de travail dans de nombreuses organisations internationales, langue de diplomatie, de culture et d’affaires, le français constitue un levier stratégique. Il se classe déjà comme la troisième langue de l’économie mondiale, facilitant les échanges commerciaux et les partenariats entre continents.
Dans le domaine numérique, le français occupe également une place croissante, bien qu’il reste confronté à la domination de l’anglais. Les enjeux liés à l’intelligence artificielle et à la production de contenus numériques représentent à la fois une opportunité et un défi. Le développement de ressources francophones en ligne et leur meilleure visibilité seront déterminants pour consolider cette position. Ainsi, la renaissance du français s’inscrit dans une dynamique plus large : celle d’un monde multipolaire où les équilibres culturels et linguistiques évoluent. Au cœur de cette transformation, l’Afrique s’affirme non seulement comme un réservoir démographique, mais comme une véritable puissance géoculturelle. La Francophonie de demain sera africaine et, avec elle, une nouvelle manière de penser l’influence dans le monde.
Noël Ndong
23 Mars 2026
https://www.adiac-congo.com/content/langue-et-culture-lafrique-pilier-de-la-renaissance-du-francais-dans-le-monde-169544
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Contesting Translation, a celebratory edited volume, honours Professor Mona Baker, one of the most influential scholars in translation, interpreting, and intercultural studies. The 11 original chapters were especially commissioned from scholars who have developed enduring personal, professional, and intellectual connections with Baker through her teaching and research.
The chapters are framed by a reflective introduction, and clustered into three inter-related sections: "Trajectories and Concepts", "Narratives and Corpora", and "Activism and Solidarity", which together map the routes and approaches that characterize Baker’s oeuvre. Individual chapters offer studies on topics ranging from literary translation, knowledge translation, journalistic translation, and museum translation to political and aspirational translation. Studies are situated in diverse temporal and geographical environments, extending from the seventeenth-century Low Countries to present-day Palestine. Chapters resonate with each other through critical scholarly engagement with the history, discourse, and politics of translation, and through a shared interest in the significance of the stories we tell each other and ourselves.
Relevant for students new to translation and interpreting studies as well as established and emerging scholars more familiar with the field’s contours, Contesting Translation is a landmark contribution to a dynamic discipline that has itself been significantly shaped by one of its most forthright and creative scholars.
Chapters: Chapter 4 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license."
Contesting Translation: Studies in Honour of Mona Baker - 1st Edition https://share.google/EYJO1ceNKwbG25xxA
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
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Scoop.it!
Machine learning has significantly boosted automatic translation in recent years. Systems such as 2016’s GNMT (Google’s Neural Machine Translation System) have improved translation performance in over 100 languages. However, even today’s most advanced translation systems still lag behind human performance in almost all respects. For languages with high usage rates, plentiful data resources make it easy to improve technical capabilities. Translation improvements for low-resource languages however have not nearly come as quickly.
In a recent Google AI team blog post, researchers report on recent efforts and progress in the field of language translation, especially with resource-poor languages. Overall, the quality improvements average about five points on the BLEU (Bilingual Evaluation Understudy Score) metric for over 100 languages. The researchers also show how to apply their system to the noisy, web-mined data environment at a large scale.
Google researchers used a Hybrid Model Architecture to advance both High- and Low-Resource Language translation. They combined the transformer encoder and an RNN decoder implemented in TensorFlow framework Lingvo to replace the original RNN-based GNMT system and train the model. Results show that the final hybrid model can achieve a high level of performance with better stability and shorter delay.
To improve web crawling, researchers replaced its previous data collection system with a new data miner with more focus on precision than recall, enabling higher quality training data collection from public networks. The researchers also changed the web searcher from a dictionary-based model to an embedding-based model, which increased the amount of collected data by an average of 29 percent without reducing precision.
When dealing with limited resource languages, researchers use Back Translation and M4 Modelling techniques. Back Translation augments parallel training data with synthetic parallel data. By integrating Back Translation into Google Translate, researchers were able to train models with more monolingual text data for low-resource languages, which significantly improved the fluency of the model output.
M4 Modelling is also a particularly useful technology for languages with scarce resources. It uses a single large model to translate between all languages and English. It also enables large-scale transfer learning, so low-resource languages can be co-trained with various other languages to provide useful signals for the model.
Incorporating these new advances, Google’s latest model scores an average five-point increase on BLEU compared to the previous GNMT model — with the class of 50 low-resources languages achieving an average seven-point boost.
The researchers note that there is still much room for improvement in the quality of automatic translation for languages with limited resources, as models still struggle with the shortcomings of typical machine translation. However, with these updates, the new system provides relatively consistent automatic translation performance even with a lack of resources. Given a meaningless input, the previous model would produce nonsensical “translations.” Inputting Telugu-language characters “ష ష ష ష ష ష ష ష ష ష ష ష ష ష ష” for example, caused the old model to output “Shenzhen Shenzhen Shaw International Airport (SSH),” while the new model can learn instead to produce a more reasonable “Sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh.”
For more details on the recent advances in Google Translate, check out the official blog.
Author: Herin Zhao | Editor: Michael Sarazen; Yuan Yuan