Metaglossia: The Translation World

The Cervantes Institute in Shanghai will present next week the third edition of the Catalogue of Spanish Literature translated into Chinese.

 

"The Cervantes Institute in Shanghai will present next week the third edition of the ‘Catalog of Spanish Literature Translated into Chinese’, a publication that compiles nearly two thousand titles by authors from Spain and Latin America published in China up to August 2025.

 

The event, which will take place on December 18, will include the director of the Shanghai center, Inma González Puy; the author of the publication, Lucila Carzoglio; the translator Hou Jian; and the editor Peng Lun.

 

 

 

 

With nearly 250 pages, this publication explores those titles by Spanish-language authors that have found a place in the Chinese publishing world. For example, it shows that the most translated and cited writer is the Argentinian Jorge Luis Borges, whose fortieth death anniversary is next year and whose works are being republished in the Asian country.

 

 

 

 

Following closely behind is the Colombian Gabriel García Márquez. Both authors influenced not only the publishing world but also Chinese literature, as the impact of the Latin American Boom was “decisive” in China during the 1980s. Another prominent author in this catalog is the Chilean Roberto Bolaño, whose entire body of work has been translated.

 

 

 

 

Furthermore, between 2020 and August 2025, approximately 350 titles were published for the first time. Andrés Barba, Sara Mesa, Juan Tallón, Benjamín Labatut, Alia Trabucco Zerán, Javier Cercas, María Gainza, Agustina Bazterrica, Cristina Rivera Garza, Fernanda Melchor, Claudia Ulloa Donoso, and Pilar Quintana are some of the authors.

 

 

 

 

In this case, literature written by women is “setting trends,” with names such as Irene Vallejo, Mariana Enríquez, Samanta Schweblin, Cristina Rivera Garza, Fernanda Melchor, Sara Mesa, and Guadalupe Nettel, among others.

 

 

 

 

The document also reflects that in the 1950s and 60s, Spanish and Latin American authors whose work resonated with the political context in China, such as Federico García Lorca, Rafael Alberti, Mariano Azuela, Pablo Neruda, César Vallejo, and Miguel Ángel Asturias, began to circulate in local versions. In the early 1980s, a Spanish classic like “El Cantar de mío Cid” was translated, and “El lazarillo de Tormes” was republished.

 

 

 

 

However, it was the Latin American Boom that truly broke down literary barriers. Between 1979 and 1999, researcher Lou Yu mentions ten editions and three translations of García Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude”; six editions and three translations of Neruda’s “Confieso que he vivido”; and three editions of Mario Vargas Llosa’s “La casa verde” and “La tía Julia y el escribidor,” among others. Many of these editions had print runs exceeding fifty thousand and even reaching one hundred thousand copies.

 

 

 

 

The catalogue is being published to coincide with the 110th anniversary of the first recorded translation from Spanish to Chinese. According to researcher Hou Jian, the first translation of a literary work from Spanish was in 1915 with a book whose author was not identified, but which was titled ‘Anecdotes of the Spanish Court’. Separately, the first Chinese version of Don Quixote appeared in 1922, adapted by Lin Shu from an indirect translation from English, and it was a bestseller.

 

 

 

 

Although print runs are currently smaller than in the 1980s, current translations reach China almost simultaneously with the rest of the world, with print runs typically ranging from 5,000 to 8,000 copies.

 

 

 

 

“I can’t think of a more solid bridge than translating the literature of a people, a continent, a community of more than 600 million speakers, whose works and reference authors will be known and understood in China, thanks to the talent and effort of the translators who, in an act of pure creation, seek the right and precise word to exchange sensibilities between geographically distant countries, but increasingly united,” declared Luis García Montero, director of the Cervantes Institute, in his prologue."

 

https://thediplomatinspain.com/en/2025/12/16/cervantes-institute-compiles-nearly-2000-spanish-literary-works-translated-into-chinese/?amp=1

 

#Metaglossia 

 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is seeking a number of English to French translators for temporary positions in the lead up to, and during, the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Ensuring a successful EU Presidency in 2026 is essential for Ireland’s position, influence and reputation in the EU and for advancing the Union’s agenda against a complex geopolitical background. Ireland will assume the rotating six-month presidency on 01 July 2026.

The Irish Presidency website and social media channels will serve as the main public sources of information and news about all matters relating to Ireland’s Presidency and will be available in Irish, English and French. For many users abroad, the Irish Presidency website or social media channels will be the only contact point with Ireland’s Presidency and it is therefore essential that the online presence operates to the highest professional standards.

Successful candidates will have an exciting opportunity to be involved in the communications aspects of the work of the Department directly related to the Presidency by providing English to French translations for the Irish Presidency online content and other translation requirements as required.

For further information, (including details on how to apply) please see the attached Information Booklet.

Closing Date
The closing date for completed applications is 12 noon on Thursday 8th January 2026. Late applications cannot be accepted.

NOTE: Entry requirements/qualifications/eligibility may not be verified by the Department until the final stage of the process. Therefore, those candidates who do not possess the entry/eligibility requirements, and proceed with their application, are putting themselves to unnecessary effort/expense and will not be offered a position from this campaign. Candidates must satisfy the eligibility criteria, including the educational requirement, at the time the offer of temporary employment is made."
https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-foreign-affairs/news/french-translator-temporary/
#Metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Hannah Kauders on bypassing conventions to capture the spirit of Fátima Vélez’s “Galápagos"

 

"Fátima Vélez’s Galápagos is a plague novel unlike any other. Lorenzo’s body is disintegrating, his nails are falling off one by one. He takes this as an opportunity for one final journey, charting a course for the Galápagos Islands. His friends and lovers join him on the voyage, drinking wine and eating manchego cheese aboard the Bumfuck as their bodies decompose. Yet their creativity persists even as death presses in, and they swap stories on deck that challenge each others’ sense of love, loyalty, and mortality. In Vélez’s hands, illness is not just an affliction of the body but a force that reshapes language, desire, and art itself. 

 

 

 

 

Hannah Kauders’s English translation captures the strangeness and poetry of Vélez’s prose, which bends syntax and genre, and blurs the line between the grotesque and the sublime. Translating Galápagos required both precision and irreverence: willingness to break linguistic rules, as Vélez does, and dedication to honor the unique style of the original rather than smooth it away.

 

 

 

 

I spoke with Kauders about how she navigated the book’s queered language, the grotesque humor in her translation, and the story’s haunting themes of art making, contagion, and survival.

 

 

 

 

Shoshana Akabas: How did you first encounter this book, and what made you want to translate it?

 

 

 

 

Hannah Kauders: I first found Galápagos through the book’s agent. I was having a coffee with Maria, and she asked me what kind of book I would be interested in translating, which is not a question that anyone had ever asked me before!

 

 

 

 

I told her I really wanted a project that would be creatively challenging. At that moment in my life, I was longing for something really absorbing to translate, something that would push me to my limits. And I was also interested in working on a book that had queer narratives, or engaged with queered language. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that book actually existed. And in fact, it did!

 

 

 

 

Galápagos is very interested in the inequity that’s built into the fabric of language.

 

 

 

 

SA: You mention queered language, which I know can be a translation challenge. How did you navigate translating a gendered language like Spanish to a non-gendered language like English?

 

 

 

 

HK: What’s really helpful about the book is how interested its narrative is in the subversion of that genderedness in language. For example, Paz María, the best friend of the narrator, has boy-girl twins, and she’s very averse to labeling them in the gendered “hijos” [children] (which is gendered male in Spanish), because she has one boy and one girl. She says it’s unfair. And Lorenzo responds, “language is unfair.”

 

 

 

 

Galápagos is very interested in the inequity that’s built into the fabric of language and how language creates limits in what can be expressed. And so, thankfully, because Fátima is interested in that subversion, I felt license to break the rules in the same way she did.

 

 

 

 

But because we have more gender-neutral language in English when it comes to words like “children,” it created a new challenge, which was to use the gender-neutral language while drawing attention to the fact that the language was gendered in the original Spanish.

 

 

 

 

SA: I noticed you left “hijos” untranslated. How did you decide to do that?

 

 

 

 

HK: Oftentimes when a word gets left in the original language, it’s because, either consciously or not, there’s some desire on the part of a translator (or even an editor) to inject moments of local flair into a text. And I don’t always think that’s a responsible choice. But because Fátima was problematizing the language, I felt like I had permission to keep it that way.

 

 

 

 

00:00

 

 

 

 

00:50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SA: What were some of the other challenges that you encountered in translating this book?

 

 

 

 

Take a break from the news

 

We publish your favorite authors—even the ones you haven't read yet. Get new fiction, essays, and poetry delivered to your inbox.

 

 

 

 

Enter your email

 

Submit

 

HK: The elements that made this book so exciting were precisely what made it difficult to translate.

 

 

 

 

SA: You said you wanted a challenge!

 

 

 

 

HK: I got what I wanted, and it was more difficult than I ever expected. This is a book that defies traditional elements of narrative at every level—at a level of plot, narrative arc, but also at the sentence level. Fátima is a poet, and it’s so clear reading her work that she has a passion for the line. For me, one of the big challenges is that Spanish is so much more syntactically flexible than English. And Fátima took every opportunity to do the kind of gymnastics that Spanish allows for—and that English absolutely does not allow for, because of our subject-verb-object structure. That structure is really hard to play with in English while also keeping things relatively intelligible.

 

 

 

 

Register was also a challenge, because the work really plays with this tension between literary and colloquial language. And as “fluent” as a translator is, sometimes it can be hard to pinpoint just how colloquial something is. I found myself having to ask a lot of questions, both of the author, but also my friend—just constantly bombarding him with questions: Is this something you read in a book? Is this something that you would hear aloud? If so, who would say this, and in what context? Just to get a sense of how colloquial, then, my translation needed to be.

 

 

 

 

I realized pretty quickly that I had to just jettison all hope that I would be able to replicate the order of things, but then I realized that it was a book that doesn’t seem particularly interested in the order of things.

 

 

 

 

SA: You mentioned asking the author questions. Some translators remain totally separate from the author or aren’t able to ask questions because the author is no longer alive. How did you decide when to consult the author? What was that relationship like? 

 

 

 

 

As long as desire exists, a person will be vulnerable to contagion.

 

 

 

 

HK: I involved Fátima at the beginning when I was trying to get a vision of the book. I asked her a lot of questions about what inspired her to write it, who her references were from a literary perspective that inspired this style, but I did not ask her specific questions about my translation. I worried that I would lose my nerve if I asked her too many questions, so I saved all of my questions for the bitter end. Then I sent her a copy of the manuscript, and she went through this thing meticulously.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SA: Did you receive pushback on anything?

 

 

 

 

HK: There were some moments where my own need to try to make things seem logical was exposed. It was humbling. She had hundreds and hundreds of comments. We spent hours on Zoom, just going over every single thing. It was a team effort at the end.

 

 

 

 

EL: It’s a remarkable translation, and I found the sort of grotesque descriptions of physical deterioration quite striking. Can you talk about what role those passages play? 

 

 

 

 

HK: What’s so beautiful about what Fátima does is that she replicates the feeling of being disfigured on the level of language. And at the same time, Lorenzo as a character has to contend with the fragility of his own body that is disintegrating.

 

 

 

 

This is part of the book’s claim: that art making is an embodied practice. It’s hard to make art if your body is in pain or ailing or uncomfortable. Lorenzo is fighting against his own embodiedness, and he has this inability to reckon with what’s actually happening to his body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SA: Let’s talk about what’s actually happening to his body. AIDS is never explicitly mentioned, but there’s so much about illness in this book.

 

 

 

 

HK: Yeah, it’s definitely a plague novel. Fátima’s playing with this motif of storytelling in the time of plague, and she’s drawing that from a lot of things like The Decameron. She is very interested in what it means to tell stories in a time of plague or illness. So in some ways, it fits perfectly into what we might expect from a pandemic novel. What’s so interesting, though, is the way that desire is portrayed in relation to contagion. As long as desire exists, a person will be vulnerable to contagion.

 

 

 

 

SA: On the theme of storytelling and illness, I was really curious about the Galapagos as the backdrop. What sort of symbolic role does that play as the voyage destination in a book about storytelling and survival?

 

 

 

 

HK: The Galapagos is a landscape that is desolate if we look at it from the perspective of human habitation, but when we look at it from the perspective of a natural world that is so rich, as an environment, it puts these characters in their place and makes them feel their vulnerability. I can imagine it also felt rich to Fátima as the Galapagos has come to stand for extinction, the fragility of our ecosystem, and the fragility of human life.

 

 

 

 

SA: Aside from the setting, what else about this book feels specific to the South American landscape in which it was written?

 

 

 

 

HK: Right now in Latin America—Colombia has been my focus for the last few years—there’s been a rich wave of writers who are interested in how deeply the health of humanity and the health of the environment are intertwined. I think that this book in some ways exists in that tradition.

 

 

 

 

And I have to say, one thing I’ve noticed about the contemporary writers I’ve been reading—especially from Colombia—is a kind of openness to defying boundaries when it comes to genre, which I don’t think I’ve seen as much in contemporary literature in the US. It’s not because of a dearth of people writing that sort of work, but because of how risky it can feel to publish, and how difficult it might feel to market. So, I’m really excited that a book like this had an opportunity to find an audience in the US. Because frankly, I don’t think a lot of books like this in the US, written by writers in English, are finding a home.

 

 

 

 

SA: Situated in the tradition of the plague novel, what was it like to translate this novel during the COVID pandemic? 

 

 

 

 

HK: It’s precisely in the darkest times that we long to engage with weighty subjects in a way that feels irreverent. That irreverence was especially welcome to me. My father had just died when I translated this book. Approaching this as someone who had just lost a parent during the pandemic, not to COVID but to cancer, I came to the book in great need of that irreverence, because death was looming over my whole existence.

 

 

 

 

People who haven’t experienced that loss don’t really understand just how absurd everything feels when you’re grieving, how the texture of life itself feels like it’s been totally destabilized. So this book was a really welcome opportunity to just exist in that space of absurdity where I already found myself at that moment in time. So, in some ways, the timing made it especially difficult because of the subject matter, but the tone and Fátima’s approach stylistically to writing about death and dying felt very fresh and very free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frankly, I don’t think a lot of books like this in the US, written by writers in English, are finding a home.

 

 

 

 

SA: What is something about the translation process, either for this book, or in general, that might surprise people?

 

 

 

 

7 Genre-Smashing Horror Novels in Translation

 

Zachary C. Solomon recommends literature that defies easy categorization and pushes against the parameters of form

 

 

 

 

Apr 19 – Zachary C. Solomon

 

Reading Lists

 

HK: People think of art-making as something that we do in the mind. Translating this book was disconcerting a lot of the time because of the way that I would feel its effect in my body—and not just from hours slumped over with a red pen, but also because I had to be in this kind of consciousness where there is so much detail about how the body is breaking down, often portrayed in very unapologetic language that could not be less interested in propriety, that really embraces the scatological and grotesque. So, I felt my own embodiment all the time when I was translating. On the first page, Lorenzo gets a hangnail, and I swear to you I got a hangnail after, and I was like, “Oh my god, my body is unraveling, my skin is falling off, my body is breaking down.” And I think that’s actually what trained me to understand where Fátima’s interest lies in this book, which is precisely in the idea of contagion. I felt it in my body as a translator of the work. And more clearly than ever, I understood how fundamentally physical the activity of a book passing through the translator can be.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Shoshana Akabas is a New York based writer, teacher, and translator. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, and elsewhere, and she holds an MFA from Columbia, where she has taught writing. She is also the founder and executive director of New Neighbors Partnership, a refugee-serving nonprofit in NYC."

 

Dec 16, 2025

 

Shoshana Akabas

 

https://electricliterature.com/the-book-that-infected-its-translators-body/

 

#Metaglossia 

 

#metaglossia_mundus

"The latest wave of updates to the “General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” includes an adjustment to a portion about editions and translations of the Holy Bible.

The handbook notes that “generally, members should use a preferred or Church-published edition of the Bible in Church classes and meetings.” In English, that is the King James Version.

The adjusted handbook section also points to examples of English Bible translations that members can consider as they seek to better understand the teachings of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament...

“We can confidently gain insights from multiple translations [of the Bible], in part because ‘we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.’ Latter-day scripture, including the teachings of living prophets, is a good standard for evaluating any doctrinal discrepancies that might come up in different Bible translations.” —Elder Renlund
“The Lord said that He speaks to men and women ‘after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding’ (Doctrine and Covenants 1:24),” the Apostle says. “Clearly, God’s children are more inclined to accept and follow His teachings when they can understand them.”

This is why the Church has shared examples of translations that achieve both readability and doctrinal clarity. The list comprises (but is not limited to) the following translations:

Ages 14 and Above

English Standard Version (ESV)​
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)​
Ages 11–13

New International Version (NIV)​
New Living Translation (NLT)​
New King James Version (NKJV)​
Ages 8 and Above

New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)​
Using multiple translations of the Bible is not new for the Church. The handbook explains that the Church “identifies editions of the Bible that align well with the Lord’s doctrine in the Book of Mormon and modern revelation (see Articles of Faith 1:8). A preferred edition of the Bible is then chosen for many languages spoken by Church members.”

The Church publishes its own edition of the Bible in some languages. For example, in addition to the KJV in English, the faith publishes the Reina-Valera 2009 in Spanish and the Almeida 2015 in Portuguese.

“There’s a misconception that modern translations of the Bible are less than faithful to the ancient sources — that in modernizing the language, translators have compromised or dumbed down the doctrine,” says Elder Jörg Klebingat of the Seventy, a member of the Scriptures Committee. “In many cases, that simply isn’t true. Modern translators often have access to manuscripts that were not available to early translators. And most modern translations were produced by faithful scholars and linguists who are utterly convinced that the Bible is the word of God. The simplified language they use supports — rather than compromises — understanding of the doctrine of Jesus Christ.”

The handbook encourages Church members to “use a preferred or Church-published edition of the Bible in Church classes and meetings. This helps maintain clarity in discussions and consistent understanding of doctrine. Other Bible translations may also be used.”

“We can all benefit from translations made by our Christian brothers and sisters to enhance our study and faith as disciples of Christ,” says Sister Tamara W. Runia. “Our hope is that everyone will feel welcome and respected, no matter the translation they connect with and choose to use. What matters most is how the scriptures speak to our spirits and draw us closer to God as we read every day.”

Many Latter-day Saints have already found power in this practice. Alysia Burdge of Washington state has ADHD, which makes reading comprehension — especially of the Bible — difficult for her.

During high school, her grandmother gifted her a Bible in a modern translation that was easier to understand. That simple offering transformed her ability to grasp the meaning of the sacred text.

“Now I feel like I can really understand the word of God,” Alysia says, “and it helps me feel the Spirit more deeply. Sometimes I compare different Bible translations. It helps me notice deeper meanings and strengthen my testimony because I understand what the verses are saying.”

Marc De La Peña Barredo, an institute teacher in the Philippines, says he has found similar usefulness in exploring different Bible translations. Including them in his study has boosted his confidence as a teacher.

“Comparing Bible translations has significantly enriched the way I prepare and deliver my lessons,” he says. “It has empowered me to teach with greater clarity and purpose, helping my students draw closer to the Savior through the scriptures.”

Seth Stewart,* a parent of three neurodivergent children in Utah, says reading a more accessible Bible translation has transformed their family’s scripture study.

“For individuals with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, or other learning differences,” he says, “simpler translations can make the difference between feeling shut out of God’s word and truly connecting with it.”

For those worried about using a new Bible translation, Elder Renlund says to rely on the robust resource that is modern revelation.

“As Latter-day Saints,” the Apostle teaches, “we can confidently gain insights from multiple translations, in part because ‘we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God’ (Articles of Faith 1:8). Latter-day scripture, including the teachings of living prophets, is a good standard for evaluating any doctrinal discrepancies that might come up in different Bible translations.”

*Name changed to protect privacy"
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/holy-bible-translations-editions-church-of-jesus-christ
#Metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"The Evolution of Artificial Intelligence in the Translation Industry: Past Insights, Current Trends, and Future Prospects

In an era where communication knows no borders, the translation industry stands at the intersection of technology and human understanding. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into this sector has transformed the way we communicate across languages, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of translators. The work of researchers like M.Q. Shormani and Y.A. Al-Sohbani sheds light on this evolution, examining the contributions of AI to the translation industry and projecting its future trajectory. Their insights remind us how far we’ve come and point towards an exciting horizon in language processing.

Historically, translation relied heavily on human expertise, with professional translators painstakingly working through texts, ensuring not just accuracy but also cultural nuance. As global interactions increased, the demand for quicker, reliable translations surged. Enter AI—a game changer that bridged the gap between demand and supply. With the advent of neural networks in the 2010s, AI began to deliver translations that, while not perfect, offered a remarkable improvement over traditional machine translation systems. This has laid the groundwork for a future where AI enhances human translation rather than replaces it.

The rise of AI in translation has primarily been propelled by advancements in natural language processing (NLP). These technologies harness vast datasets, including multilingual corpuses, allowing machines to learn language patterns, idioms, and contextual meanings. For instance, Google Translate, which initially relied on statistical methods, has transitioned to neural machine translation (NMT). This approach considers entire sentences, enabling AI to capture the flow and context of text, resulting in more coherent translations. Such improvements highlight AI’s crucial role in enhancing the quality of translations across various languages.

However, the transition to AI-driven translation tools has not been seamless. While machines excel in efficiency and can process language at an unprecedented scale, they still grapple with the subtleties that only human translators navigate adeptly. For example, humor, idiomatic expressions, and regional dialects often pose challenges to AI systems, which can struggle to deliver accurate representations of tone and context. Researchers continue to explore ways to blend human intuition with AI’s speed, aiming to create systems that augment human capabilities rather than undermine them.

Another aspect to consider is the ethical implications of AI in translation. As these technologies become more prevalent, concerns about bias in translation algorithms arise. Since AI learns from existing texts, any prejudices present in the source material can be amplified in translation outputs. This issue underscores the importance of diversifying datasets used to train AI models, ensuring that translations reflect a range of perspectives and do not perpetuate stereotypes or inaccuracies. Awareness of these ethical dimensions is crucial as we navigate the potential pitfalls of technology in the translation arena.

The pandemic accelerated the demand for digital solutions, prompting many businesses to adopt AI-based translation tools to maintain communication despite physical barriers. The translation industry witnessed a surge in the use of AI-powered platforms that enable real-time translations—particularly useful in international business negotiations, global customer service, and online content dissemination. These tools empower organizations to connect with diverse markets more effectively, reducing turnaround times and enhancing customer experiences.

Despite the benefits, there is apprehension among professional translators regarding the increasing reliance on AI technology. Many fear that widespread adoption could undermine their livelihood, leading to a diminished appreciation for the art of translation. However, Shormani and Al-Sohbani emphasize that rather than diminishing the role of human translators, AI could lead to the emergence of new opportunities. Translators may shift their focus towards specialist areas, such as localization, transcreation, or culturally nuanced texts that require a human touch.

In the educational sphere, the integration of AI tools into translation curricula can equip future translators with the skills necessary to leverage these technologies. Training programs that emphasize both linguistic proficiency and technological fluency will be essential in preparing the next generation of translators. By working alongside AI tools, students can learn to maximize productivity while maintaining the critical thinking and cultural sensitivity required for high-quality translations.

Looking forward, the landscape of translation will undoubtedly be reshaped by ongoing advancements in AI. Continuous research will drive innovation, leading to more sophisticated algorithms capable of understanding and producing translations that are contextually aware and culturally relevant. As machine learning models become increasingly adept at managing diverse languages and dialects, we can expect a future where language barriers are significantly diminished, fostering greater interpersonal and international collaboration.

The future of the translation industry will likely see the emergence of hybrid models where human translators work in synergy with AI tools. This dynamic environment will usher in a new paradigm, characterized by collaborative workflows that pair human creativity with machine efficiency. Such frameworks could lead to unprecedented levels of accuracy and relevance, affirming the value of human insight while harnessing the power of technology.

In conclusion, the research conducted by Shormani and Al-Sohbani offers a comprehensive overview of the contributions of AI to the translation field. As we reflect on how far we have come, it’s essential to remain mindful of the challenges that lie ahead. The balance between leveraging technology and preserving the human element in translation will be integral to the industry’s evolution. As we navigate this unfolding narrative, the hope is to foster an environment where both AI innovations and human expertise elevate the standards of translation across the globe. Indeed, the future of translation holds endless possibilities, transforming not just language but human connections worldwide.

Subject of Research: The contributions of artificial intelligence to the translation industry.

Article Title: Artificial intelligence contribution to translation industry: looking back and forward.

Article References:

Shormani, M.Q., Al-Sohbani, Y.A. Artificial intelligence contribution to translation industry: looking back and forward.
Discov Artif Intell (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44163-025-00487-3";
Bioengineer December 15, 2025
https://bioengineer.org/ais-impact-on-translation-past-and-future-insights/

"Doctranslate.io is an AI-powered translation platform designed to handle multiple content formats, including text, documents, images, audio, and video. The platform focuses on preserving the original formatting and structural integrity of the source material, which can be critical for professional and enterprise use.

By supporting a wide range of languages and file types, Doctranslate.io aims to facilitate multilingual communication, content localization, and global collaboration. Its applications include translating corporate reports, marketing materials, multimedia content, and technical documents, allowing organizations to maintain consistency across markets. The software is intended for businesses, professionals, and enterprises that require accurate, context-aware translation without compromising layout or readability. Doctranslate.io emphasizes automation, efficiency, and scalability for multilingual workflows in diverse business environments.

Trend Themes
1. AI-powered Multimodal Translation - AI-driven platforms capable of handling text, audio, video, and document translations are revolutionizing how businesses manage multilingual communication.
2. Context-aware Localization Tools - New tools that understand context and maintain format integrity are enhancing accuracy in translating diverse content across languages.
3. Scalable Multilingual Workflows - The development of scalable multilingual solutions is facilitating seamless global collaboration, boosting efficiency in diverse business landscapes.

Industry Implications
1. Translation Services - The translation industry is transforming with AI innovations that improve the speed and accuracy of content localization across multiple formats.
2. Content Management Systems - Content management technologies are evolving to integrate AI-powered translation tools, enhancing their ability to support diverse, multilingual content formats.
3. Global Marketing Solutions - Global marketing industries can harness advanced translation software to maintain brand consistency and communicate effectively in various cultural contexts."
Ellen Smith
December 16, 2025 — Tech
Multimodal Translation Tools
https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/doctranslateio1
#Metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"Liberty professor earns Fulbright grant to teach, translate Romanian philosopher’s works
November 6, 2025 : By Logan Smith

Dr. Michael Jones, professor of philosophy in Liberty University’s College of Arts & Sciences, has been accepted as a Fulbright Scholar to Romania, where he will spend the Spring 2026 semester at Lucian Blaga University in the city of Sibiu teaching and working alongside Romanian university students to translate the philosophical writings of Blaga into English.

The Fulbright grant is a prestigious, competitive award funded by the U.S. Department of State that provides faculty members with the opportunity to research and teach in a foreign country. This trip marks Jones’ third Fulbright grant — and second as a Liberty faculty member — and aids his decades-long endeavor to introduce Blaga’s philosophical works to America. It will be his 15th visit to Romania.

The esteemed Romanian philosopher Lucian Blaga (1895-1961), rose to prominence in the 20th century for his works in poetry, theatre, and philosophy. He was censored shortly after World War II by the Romanian People’s Republic, a communist regime influenced by the Soviet Union. Because Blaga was not a communist philosopher, he was blacklisted by the regime and prohibited from speaking, publishing, and teaching. However, Blaga continued writing philosophy manuscripts, which were later published in Romanian following his death in 1961.

Jones said the Soviet Union’s suppression prevented Blaga from potentially gaining major international notoriety.

“It’s a shame that communism took over right when it did and prevented him from getting known outside of Romania,” Jones said. “They squashed him, and he would have been a really big name otherwise. But maybe it’s not too late.”

The esteemed philosopher Lucian Blaga was censored after WWII by the Romanian People’s Republic, a communist regime heavily influenced by the Soviet Union.
Jones will spend the first few weeks of the semester lecturing about Blaga’s key philosophical concepts and training students how to approach translation theory. He will then work with his team, who speak both Romanian and English, to interpret Blaga’s philosophy line by line and translate his work into an accurate representation of the fluent English language. Depending on the number of students enrolled, the class may be able to translate an entire book in one semester.

“I want it to be translated into good English, not a very wooden literal translation, but fluent so it’s easy for Americans to read,” Jones said.

Jones spent his first Fulbright in 2000 researching his doctoral dissertation, which he later published as a book. He also received a Fulbright in 2014, his first as a Liberty faculty member, to teach courses in philosophy of religion and ethics at the University of Bucharest. He has organized LU Send Study Abroad trips to Romania, accepted speaking engagements at conferences, and taught at multiple universities.

These opportunities to network, teach, and research, Jones said, would not have been possible without the Fulbright grants and the support from Liberty.

“I’ve had all kinds of academic and ministry opportunities as a result of my trips to Romania, some of which were funded by Fulbright,” said Jones, noting that submitting strong applications for the program requires rigorous and time-consuming focus. “It’s had a huge and positive impact on my life, and it’s been so beneficial to me.”

While in Romania next semester, Jones plans to connect with and serve in a local church, a priority he set for each of his trips abroad.

“Most of us at Liberty who receive Fulbright grants, whether we’re students or faculty, view it as an opportunity for ministry,” said Jones, whose wife, education professor Dr. Laura Jones, also received a Fulbright grant in 2022 to research and teach in Romania. “We want to do our research, but while we’re over there, we also want to serve the Lord. We view ourselves as tentmakers. We’re going over to teach and do research, but we want to minister while we’re there. For us, that’s a really big thing.”

The university’s Fulbright committee, led by Professor of Government and Fulbright Program Advisor and Scholar Liaison Dr. Edna Udobong, has consistently helped students and faculty apply for and receive prestigious scholarship opportunities to study, teach, and research abroad.

Jones poses beside a statue of Lucian Blaga, who continued writing philosophical manuscripts after being blacklisted by the Romanian communists. Blaga’s works were later published after he died in 1961.
Liberty’s applicants, who work through a laborious three-stage application process alongside the committee, are competing with students and faculty from distinguished institutions like UCLA, Harvard, Yale, MIT, and more.

“I’m thrilled that we have, almost every year now, students who are successful,” said Jones, a member of Liberty’s Fulbright committee whose key responsibilities within the committee involve mentoring students and assisting with applications.

Jones said he is looking forward to visiting Romania once again, reconnecting with friends, plugging into a church family, being the ‘hands and feet’ of Jesus, and illuminating Blaga’s philosophical work for a global audience.

“My life project is making (Blaga) no longer unknown and bringing him out into the light,” Jones said. “If we translate his work into English, he will be accessible to virtually the whole world.”

Each year, Liberty students and faculty apply for and obtain Fulbright grants. Earlier this year, two graduates, Samuel Heath and Evelyn Loftin, earned grants to research and teach in Europe; rising senior Tyler Kerr received the competitive Boren Scholarship to master Portuguese in Brazil; and Liberty hosted Dr. Hilly Moodrick-Even Khen, an expert on genocide and a senior lecturer of public international law at Ariel University in Israel, as its first Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence."
https://www.liberty.edu/news/2025/11/06/liberty-professor-earns-fulbright-grant-to-teach-translate-romanian-philosophers-works-2/
#Metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

In courtrooms across Wisconsin, the use of interpreters could shift to AI under a bill that would make English the state’s official language. 

"GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - A bill to make English the official language in Wisconsin is now another step closer to becoming law on Thursday after advancing in the assembly.

 

However, some of the language in the bill might be surprising in what it would do for those who can’t speak English.

 

When people who can’t speak English show up for a court hearing, the state is required to provide an interpreter.

 

In some cases, it can be expensive.

 

While this bill makes English the official language, it also goes a step further by removing that requirement and allowing ai technology to be an option instead.

 

That’s now the biggest source of controversy.

 

In courtrooms across Wisconsin, the use of interpreters could shift to AI under a bill that would make English the state’s official language.

 

“That is an outrageous idea, because AI is not good enough to replace a trained certified interpreter, especially when there’s different nuances with that technology and that human aspect, that cultural aspect is necessary,” says Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the executive director of Voces de la Frontera.

 

Supporters of the bill, including State Senator Andre Jacque, a De Pere Republican, say the use of AI would especially benefit rural counties, where local governments may have to spend considerable money to accommodate immigrants not yet fluent in English.

 

“I think it would reduce costs for municipal and county government when your dealing with interpretation, the printing of ballots would be another significant one, but also that awareness, there is going to be an expectation of learning English,” says Sen. Jacque.

 

Jacque says the bill isn’t about exclusion and encourages immigrants to better integrate within the community.

 

“Something multiple polls have shown well above 70% support and really support across all ethnic groups,” says Jacque.

https://www.wbay.com/2025/11/07/new-bill-that-would-make-english-state-language-allow-ai-translations-court-passes-assembly/

#Metaglossia 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"La Asociación Cultural Iberoamericana (ACI) ha celebrado el reconocimiento otorgado en Buenos Aires a Juan Ramón Fariña, distinguido con el premio 'Andresito' por la versión en guaraní de 'Platero y yo'.

Este galardón pone en valor la proyección iberoamericana de la obra del Nobel moguereño Juan Ramón Jiménez y reafirma la importancia de este proyecto cultural, coeditado con la Diputación Provincial de Huelva y con el apoyo de la Fundación Caja Rural del Sur y la Universidad Internacional de Andalucía (UNIA).

El premio 'Andresito' es un galardón del legado de Andrés Guacurarí, líder guaraní considerado como el máximo símbolo histórico de la provincia argentina de Misiones y un referente de identidad regional, que en esta primera edición distingue a personalidades vinculadas a la cultura y los derechos humanos.

La distinción a Fariña fue concedida específicamente "por el trabajo de traducción al idioma guaraní de la obra literaria de Juan Ramón Jiménez Platero y yo (Platero ha che)" en un acto celebrado en el histórico Café Tortoni de Buenos Aires.

La edición en guaraní de 'Platero y yo' fue una iniciativa de la ACI, desarrollada dentro de sus líneas de acción para la preservación, promoción y difusión del patrimonio cultural iberoamericano, con el propósito de acercar obras universales a nuevas comunidades lectoras a través de sus lenguas de identidad.

El presidente de la ACI, Jaime De Vicente, hizo también un reconocimiento a Gudelio Ignacio Báez Benítez, quien junto a Fariña fue responsable de la traducción al guaraní, así como las ilustraciones de Alfonso Aramburu y el trabajo del maquetador Juan José Antequera. Subrayó, además, la colaboración y generosidad de los herederos de Juan Ramón Jiménez y la Fundación Zenobia-Juan Ramon, fundamentales para que este proyecto viera la luz.

En octubre, la ACI y la Diputación de Huelva presentaron esta edición bilingüe en el Centro Cultural de España Juan de Salazar en Asunción (Paraguay) y en el Centro Cultural de España en Montevideo (Uruguay). Las actividades incluyeron la distribución gratuita de 1.000 ejemplares, con especial atención a comunidades donde el guaraní es lengua cooficial junto al español. El objetivo es acercar la literatura universal a niños y niñas desde su propia identidad lingüística, promoviendo el respeto a las lenguas originarias y el acceso a la lectura en contextos bilingües.

Considerada una de las obras universales más publicadas y leídas, 'Platero y yo' posee un profundo carácter educativo, social y simbólico, erigiéndose como un puente literario y cultural entre Andalucía e Iberoamérica y fortaleciendo el diálogo entre lenguas, territorios y tradiciones compartidas.

Antes de las presentaciones en Paraguay y Uruguay, 'Platero ha che' se dio a conocer en la Feria Internacional del Libro de Villa Carlos Paz (Córdoba, Argentina) y en la Feria del Libro de Posadas (Misiones, Argentina), donde se destacó el carácter iberoamericano del proyecto y el papel de Misiones en la difusión de la obra.

La edición fue presentada también en Huelva y Sevilla, en la sede de la Universidad Internacional de Andalucía, y está siendo distribuida en instituciones educativas de la provincia de Misiones en Argentina, donde la lengua guaraní forma parte del patrimonio cultural vivo de la región.

La ACI reafirma su apuesta por la cultura como herramienta de entendimiento mutuo y su confianza en el trabajo de Juan Ramón Fariña y Gudelio Ignacio Báez Benítez, cuya labor de traducción y mediación lingüística permite que la voz de Juan Ramón Jiménez dialogue con el guaraní contemporáneo."
https://www.notimerica.com/cultura/noticia-huelva-asociacion-cultural-iberoamericana-aplaude-reconocimiento-otorgado-traductor-platero-yo-guarani-20251213160101.html
#Metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"Harlequin a contacté en novembre les traductrices et traducteurs de la collection « Azur » pour leur annoncer la fin de leur collaboration, rapportent l'Association des traducteurs littéraires de France et le collectif En chair et en os. En difficulté, la collection de romances courtes sera désormais traduite par l'agence de communication Fluent Planet qui s'appuie notamment sur des outils d'intelligence artificielle, confirme HarperCollins France, maison mère d'Harlequin..."

https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/harlequin-souvre-la-traduction-automatique-par-ia-des-traducteurs-denoncent-un-plan-social

#Metaglossia 

#metaglossia_mundus 

Une traduction rigoureuse du Coranpour lutter contre l’islamophobie...

"IQNA-Dans un contexte marqué au Danemark par des débats tendus autour de l’islam et par la montée de l’islamophobie, la traduction du Coran en langue danoise par une universitaire non musulmane a suscité un large écho.

 

Selon Al Jazeera, Elin Wolf, orientaliste danoise titulaire d’un doctorat en langue arabe, a consacré plusieurs années de travail à la traduction du Coran avec l’objectif explicite de présenter l’islam de manière fidèle et compréhensible au public danois.

 

Publiée dans un format académique soigné, cette traduction se veut un outil de connaissance et de dialogue, mais elle a également donné lieu à des débats et à des critiques au sein de la communauté musulmane du pays.

 

Une traduction académique au service de la connaissance de l’islam

 

La traduction du Coran réalisée par Elin Wolf a été publiée en langue danoise dans un volume de 544 pages, rédigé dans un langage universitaire précis et rigoureux. La traductrice explique avoir consacré plus de trois années à ce travail exigeant, qu’elle qualifie elle-même de difficile et éprouvant. Selon elle, l’objectif principal de cette publication est de permettre aux Danois de mieux connaître l’islam et de corriger les malentendus, les fausses informations et les accusations qui ont contribué à ternir l’image de cette religion dans la société danoise.

 

Elin Wolf considère également son initiative comme une réponse intellectuelle et culturelle aux discours portés par les partis d’extrême droite de son pays. Elle estime qu’un accès direct au texte coranique, dans une langue claire et maîtrisée, peut favoriser une approche plus juste et plus apaisée de l’islam. Contrairement à de nombreuses traductions publiées dans d’autres pays, son travail ne juxtapose pas le texte arabe et le texte traduit. Ce choix repose sur la conviction que la lecture dans une seule langue permet au lecteur de se concentrer pleinement sur le sens, sans être distrait ou désorienté par la confrontation de deux systèmes linguistiques différents.

 

Malgré une volonté affichée d’utiliser une langue accessible, la traduction d’Elin Wolf se distingue par sa qualité littéraire et sa force d’expression. Toutefois, certains choix ont suscité des réserves, notamment l’absence de références aux causes de la révélation des versets, jugées essentielles par de nombreux spécialistes pour une compréhension approfondie du message coranique. De plus, le terme « Allah » n’est pas employé dans le corps du texte, remplacé par le mot « God », alors même que certaines expressions arabes figurent sur la couverture de l’ouvrage.

 

Réactions et critiques au sein de la communauté musulmane danoise

 

La publication de cette traduction a été accueillie avec un certain soulagement par l’importante minorité musulmane vivant au Danemark, tout en suscitant des débats. Abdelwahid Pedersen, imam d’origine danoise, a souligné que ce travail ouvre la voie à une meilleure compréhension du Coran pour le grand public danois et contribue à nourrir une réflexion collective sur les enseignements de l’islam. Il a également noté l’utilité de cette traduction pour les jeunes générations de musulmans danois, souvent confrontées à des difficultés dans la lecture et la compréhension du texte arabe.

 

Cependant, Pedersen a exprimé des réserves quant à la valeur religieuse de cette traduction, estimant que le fait qu’elle ait été réalisée par une personne non musulmane en limite la portée spirituelle. Selon lui, l’absence de références à la tradition prophétique et à l’exégèse coranique rend difficile son adoption comme source officielle et complète.

 

Ce point de vue est partagé par Jihad Al-Farra, président du Centre islamique du Danemark, qui considère que l’absence de traductions réalisées par des musulmans disposant des compétences scientifiques et des moyens financiers nécessaires constitue une lacune à combler. Il exprime néanmoins l’espoir que de tels projets se multiplient et gagnent en maturité, afin de devenir des références fiables pour les musulmans du pays.

 

Al-Farra souligne aussi que le caractère académique, non partisan et dénué de préjugés de la traduction d’Elin Wolf peut favoriser son acceptation par le public danois. Selon lui, une traduction des sens du Coran, sans entrer dans l’interprétation, peut représenter un outil utile pour les personnes abordant l’islam avec équité. Cette initiative s’inscrit enfin dans l’histoire des traductions coraniques au Danemark, la première datant de 1967, et marque une étape importante dans la diffusion du texte sacré dans ce pays."

https://iqna.ir/fr/news/3494279/l%E2%80%99initiative-d%E2%80%99une-chercheuse-danoise-pour-lutter-contre-l%E2%80%99islamophobie-par-une-traduction-rigoureuse-du-coran

#Metaglossia 

#metaglossia_mundus 

Axon Assistant can translate speech into more than 50 languages during traffic stops, calls for service and other interactions. When translation is activated, the body camera records audio and video, which are uploaded to Axon Evidence and can be automatically transcribed...

 

"Flagler County sheriff’s deputies are adding new technology to help improve communication with residents who do not speak English.

 

The sheriff’s office is equipping deputies with Axon Assistant, a tool integrated into body-worn cameras that can translate conversations in real time into more than 50 languages...

 

Officials said the technology will allow deputies to communicate more effectively during calls for service without relying on phone-based translation services or other officers.

 

Sheriff’s officials said the tool is especially useful in a diverse community where deputies frequently encounter language barriers. The cost of the software will be covered for five years through a state grant, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

 

The system allows officers to ask questions verbally in the field and receive real-time responses through the camera, including general reference information, department policy guidance and live language translation. 

 

Axon said the goal is to provide critical information without requiring officers to look away from unfolding situations.

 

Axon Assistant can translate speech into more than 50 languages during traffic stops, calls for service and other interactions. When translation is activated, the body camera records audio and video, which are uploaded to Axon Evidence and can be automatically transcribed. 

 

Axon said certified human translators can review transcripts for accuracy, helping ensure transparency and maintain a secure chain of custody."

 

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/flagler-county-deputies-use-new-translation-technology-field

#Metaglossia 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"An interpreter's assault by an in-custody defendant prompted court staff to call for tighter security as they questioned the sheriff's office security protocols.

A San Francisco courtroom interpreter was beaten and hospitalized after being attacked by an in-custody defendant last month, raising concerns about safety measures in another public space monitored by the Sheriff's Office.

The alleged Nov. 3 incident, which has not been previously reported, came just weeks before a hospital patient allegedly fatally stabbed a social worker at San Francisco General, where sheriff's deputies also provide security.

In a letter to court and sheriff officials following the alleged Hall of Justice attack, Kenneth Wright's fellow interpreters said they were "dismayed" by courtroom procedures that made the security breach possible.

Alleged assailant Gerardo Contreras, who was already facing charges of felony assault with a deadly weapon and child endangerment, was not shackled or handcuffed in the courtroom when officials say he turned to Wright and punched him twice in the face.

"Despite a documented history of violence requiring psychiatric hospitalization from which he was only recently released, Mr. Contreras was brought into the courtroom without adequate security measures," the 21 staff interpreters said in the letter. "Four sheriff deputies were in the courtroom at the time of the assault but did not respond in time to prevent the attack."

The letter went on to say it was Contreras's own public defender who intervened to separate her client from Wright.

Court spokesperson Ann Donlan said the Sheriff's Office is responsible for court security and was investigating the incident. The court had no further comment. Spokespeople from the sheriff's office and the public defender's office could not immediately provide responses to questions from the Chronicle about the incident.

In a Friday interview, Wright said the incident took place during another defendant's hearing in the same courtroom, just after he sat down next to Contreras to translate a discussion between Contreras and his attorney.

Wright recalled he didn't say anything to Contreras other than "I am the interpreter," when something set him off.

"He all the sudden got up and said, ‘I'm out of here,'" Wright said. "I heard the deputies say something like ‘sit down,' and the next thing I remember I just felt this blow – at least two blows to my face."

Wright fell to the floor, and said he may have briefly lost consciousness. By the time he looked around, the attacker was also on the floor, in handcuffs.

A San Francisco deputy's incident report confirmed Wright's recollection of events. The deputy stated that Wright had a cut on his eyebrow and blood on his face, nose and shirt.

After backup deputies arrived, Contreras was moved to a holding tank and Wright was taken to the hospital by ambulance. He was treated for cuts and bruises, and for a few days suffered from blurred vision, he said.

Wright identified his attacker as the same Gerardo Contreras who was seen on video attacking a female Asian police officer in 2021, in what San Francisco police at the time described as a hate crime. Contreras, now 37, was arrested at the scene, but it was not immediately clear whether he was charged in that case.

San Francisco court records show charges of misdemeanor battery and child endangerment in 2023, in addition to the felony charges he was arrested for in 2024, which are still pending. Contreras last month was also charged with felony assault and inflicting injury on an elder or dependent adult, in connection with the attack on Wright.

Wright said when he learned about Contreras' history, "I realized he should have been shacked and cuffed."

In their Nov. 12 letter, interpreters said that while violence against court staffers was rare, they would like to see "concrete steps" to better protect court staff and the public.

"While we have every belief that the Court and the Sheriff's Office will dutifully conduct all necessary investigations and take corrective action," they said, "input from interpreter staff on the way we work in and around the courtroom must inform this process."
Story by Megan Cassidy
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/after-brutal-sf-courtroom-assault-interpreters-urge-sheriff-s-office-to-tighten-safety-measures/ar-AA1SfM9a
#Metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

A written interview between Henry Widener, Portuguese Language Reference Librarian in the Hispanic Reading Room, and Brazilian author and translator Vanessa Bárbara on the author’s lifelong engagement with translation, both through translating authors like Lewis Carroll, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Virginia Woolf, and her own award-winning novel Noites de Alface.

 

"Through its blog series Conveyances, the Library of Congress’ International Collections explore the ways in which the translated words held in the Library’s collections link us across continents, cultures, and centuries. The following is a written interview between Henry Widener (HW), Portuguese Language Reference Librarian in the Hispanic Reading Room, and Brazilian author and translator Vanessa Bárbara (VB) on the author’s lifelong engagement with translation.

 

 

 

 

HW: How did you get into working as a translator? How long have you worked with translation?

 

 

 

 

VB: I was a fact-checker for the publisher Companhia das Letras, but I always enjoyed working with translation. I started out translating children’s literature for CosacNaify and then I took a test to start translating adult literature for Companhia das Letras. The first title I translated was The Raw Shark Texts (Cabeça Tubarão) by Steven Hall, in 2007.

 

 

 

 

HW: Many people say translation is an art, something which involves the creativity of the translator. How does your voice or your hand appear in your translations?

 

 

 

 

VB: Translation is not a mechanical act. It’s not like you can send a text through a machine and get a result that is always the same. My concern is always achieving a balance between loyalty to the work itself, solidarity with the reader, and containing my own creative impulses, which can run totally wild.

 

 

 

 

In the end, I am a very slow translator because it takes me a long time to assimilate the voice of the author. This can only happen as the work progresses, which is why I often have to revisit the initial chapters to correct my initial lack of familiarity. Despite all that, my voice always comes through in translation, one way or another. I try to at least make sure that the final product is a duet.

 

 

 

 

HW: You have translated the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Art Spiegelman, Virginia Woolf, Lewis Carroll, and Gertrude Stein, among others. What ties together these authors or your translations of them? Were there any particular challenges?

 

 

 

 

VB: Lewis Carroll was the most difficult, though, of all the works I’ve translated, his was the most similar to my own style of nonsense humor. Translating his poetry was quite nearly impossible. I think that, more towards the end of my life, I can try again, and I will find better solutions.

 

 

 

 

Translating The Great Gatsby was like traveling in the novel: full of pain yet delightful. I even made a map to help locate and guide myself through the story’s setting. It was very difficult to find Gertrude Stein’s voice.

 

 

 

 

Something that links all these authors is they all demanded a lot of research, finding references and studies on which to base my own choices of translation – most of all with Virginia Woolf. I really enjoy this part of the work, which I think speaks to my fact-checking spirit.

 

 

 

 

HW: Your book Noites de alface (The Lettuce Nights) has been translated into six languages. What about this book has enabled it to speak to audiences across languages and cultures? Has the reception of this book differed according to the language of translation?

 

VB: I think the story is almost universal – it’s about relationships, neighbors, grief, introversion. It’s also pretty crazy, with elements of suspense and strange characters. I would like to acknowledge the French translation by Dominique Nédellec, which was exceptional and crucial for the book to win the Prix du Premier Roman Étranger, in 2016. (One example: he translates the phrase “cansada para burro”, which closes the novel, to “vachement fatiguée”, which I thought was genius.)

 

 

 

 

HW: Many people prefer to read works in their original language as they feel it brings them closest to the author and their work. What would you say to someone who can only engage with an author through translation? Are there any authors you love whom you have only engaged in through translation?

 

 

 

 

VB: Ah yes! All of the Russians (I love Tolstoy), as well as some French authors: I fell in love with Flaubert through the Portuguese translations. I think something will always be lost when reading a work in translation, but you also gain something: the translator’s work of cultural mediation is rich and beneficial to the reader in many ways. For instance, a translator’s hand takes a reader to a universe that is so different from their own.

 

 

 

 

I grew up reading old translations that were full of old-fashioned syntax and spellings. This more antiquated language engaged the text in a certain way, as if I were really reading in another language, though it was my own. Literature is like this, too, I think. You arrive at the book with a desire to dive into another universe, even if it seems out of place in relation to your own."

 

https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2025/12/conveyances-vanessa-barbara/

 

#Metaglossia 

 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"Behind the Glass Booth: The Realities of Being a Simultaneous Conference Interpreter

 

When the audience sits back and listens to a seamless stream of speech — whether in Polish, English, or any other language — it is easy to forget that behind the transparent booth, someone’s mind is working at full capacity. Simultaneous conference interpreting is one of the most cognitively demanding professions in the world. It requires linguistic precision, deep subject-matter understanding, technical mastery, and nerves of steel. The recent Jubilee Gala celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Medical University of Lublin, held on 21 November, offered a perfect illustration of how vital — and how challenging — this role can be.

 

Reflections inspired by the Jubilee Gala of the Medical University of Lublin, 21 November 2025.

 

The Interpreter’s Task: More Than Just Words

At first glance, interpreting seems simple: listen, understand, and repeat the message in another language. But simultaneous interpreting requires doing all three at the same time, with only a two-to-three-second delay. The interpreter must understand the speaker’s intention, tone, and emotion, not just the vocabulary. Every sentence becomes a puzzle solved in real time.

 

Interpreters at academic and medical events, such as the MU Lublin Jubilee Gala, must often navigate:

 

Complex terminology

Long technical sentences

Discipline-specific abbreviations and acronyms

Cultural references

Formal protocol and ceremonial language

This means being excellent in both languages is not enough. One must also be prepared for specialised content ranging from medical achievements to academic reforms and institutional history.

 

At the Jubilee Gala (21 November)

Ceremonial speeches included academic titles, medical terminology, and historical references—a challenging combination for interpreters.

Multiple international guests required real-time interpretation for inclusivity and protocol.

The interpreters’ work ensured that the 75-year history of the Medical University of Lublin was accessible to everyone in the hall.

 

Equipment: The Invisible Partner

Modern conference interpreting relies heavily on technology. At the Gala, as at any major academic event, interpreters work with:

 

Soundproof booths

High-fidelity microphones

Noise-cancelling headsets

Receiver systems for the audience

When the equipment works perfectly, the interpreter becomes almost invisible—an ideal outcome. But even minor technical issues can turn the job into a high-pressure crisis. A crackling microphone, delayed audio feed, or poor acoustics can make comprehension nearly impossible. In simultaneous interpreting, every fraction of a second counts.

 

Why Speakers Make the Interpreter’s Job Hard

It is a truth known to all conference interpreters: even the most experienced professionals struggle when speakers unintentionally sabotage the process. Common difficulties include:

 

1. Speaking too fast

Some speakers accelerate when excited, emotional, or pressed for time. Interpreters then must condense content while trying to preserve meaning.

 

2. Poor articulation or accent issues

Mumbling, unclear diction, or heavy accents can severely hinder comprehension.

 

3. Reading written speeches at high speed

A speaker reading from paper tends to use unnatural pacing and dense phrasing, making it harder to follow.

 

4. Using humour, idioms, or wordplay

These rarely have direct equivalents across languages. Interpreters must decide instantly whether to explain, adapt, or omit.

 

5. Diverting from the script

Improvised additions, personal anecdotes, and last-second changes are common at gala events—and difficult to predict.

 

6. Using technical terminology without context

This is especially significant at medical celebrations. Even a skilled interpreter may need to rely on prior preparation or on-the-spot inference.

 

At the MU Lublin Jubilee Gala, the combination of ceremonial speeches, academic terminology, historical references, and expressions of gratitude created a rich but demanding environment for any interpreter.

 

The Mental Effort Behind the Scenes

Simultaneous interpreting is often compared to performing music, solving puzzles, and doing live broadcasting—simultaneously. Cognitive research shows that interpreters use working memory, long-term memory, multitasking skills, and rapid decision-making continuously during a session.

 

To prevent fatigue, interpreters typically work in pairs, switching every 20–30 minutes. Even short intervals can feel like marathons when they involve complex medical terms or long, protocol-heavy speeches like those heard during the MU Lublin celebration.

 

Why the Interpreter Matters

An anniversary gala such as the 75-year celebration of the Medical University of Lublin brings together international guests, partner institutions, and dignitaries. Without professional interpreters:

 

Non-Polish-speaking guests would miss crucial parts of the ceremony

The university’s achievements could not be communicated effectively

Collaboration and international relations would suffer

Interpreters enable institutions to present themselves confidently on the global stage. Their work ensures that the message is conveyed accurately, respectfully, and in real time.

 

A Profession Built on Excellence

Being a simultaneous conference interpreter requires not only bilingual proficiency but near-native command of both languages, superb listening skills, cultural sensitivity, and emotional resilience. Events like the Jubilee Gala are a reminder that the quality of interpretation shapes audience experience, international visibility, and even institutional reputation.

 

Behind the dignified speeches, ceremonial music, and celebratory atmosphere, the interpreter’s work remains largely unseen—but absolutely vital.

 

What the Photos Reveal: A Glimpse Into the Booth

 

The images from the gala offer a rare look into the interpreters’ environment. They show a portable simultaneous interpreting booth, the standard for events hosted in venues without built-in infrastructure. The booth is:

 

sound-insulated to prevent external noise from entering

compact, often warmer than the rest of the room

equipped with transparent panels to allow a view of the hall

furnished with two chairs and minimal desk space

Inside, two interpreters work side by side—also standard practice. They switch every 20–30 minutes, because the mental load is too heavy for one person alone.

 

On the desk are the essential tools of the trade:

 

an interpreting console with volume, channels, and microphone controls

headsets delivering the speaker’s voice

a desk lamp, because booths are typically dim

laptops and display monitors with a video feed of the stage

printed scripts, notes, terminology lists, and event programmes

From these details alone, one can see the professionalism required: interpreters prepare in advance, organise their materials, and rely on technology to keep up with speakers they cannot always see directly.

 

Simultaneous interpreters listen and speak at the same time, with only a 2–3 second delay—one of the most complex mental tasks measured by cognitive science.

Professional interpreters switch every 20–30 minutes to avoid mental fatigue.

The booth used at university galas is soundproof and often kept at a cooler temperature—interpreters heat up quickly from the mental effort!

On average, interpreters process 120–160 words per minute. Some speakers go beyond 200.

Interpreters hear everything through headphones—even pages turning or someone tapping their pen near the microphone.

Before events like university jubilees, interpreters often prepare by reading programmes, biographies, academic abstracts, and even scanning the campus website for terminology.

 

Quotes from the Booth

“Please, slow down—my brain can only sprint for so long!”

—Every simultaneous interpreter at least once in their life

 

“Interpreting is like dancing: the speaker leads, the interpreter follows.”

 

“A good interpreter is invisible. A great interpreter makes the speaker sound brilliant.”

 

“When the microphone crackles, we pray. When the speaker improvises, we improvise too.”

 

Written by Katarzyna Karska (Departmet of Foreign Languages, UMLub)"

https://umlub.edu.pl/reports/reports_item/behind-the-glass-booth-the-realities-of-being-a-simultaneous-conference-interpreter

#Metaglossia 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"Traduire la bande dessinée : entre bulles, cultures et contraintes en Asie orientale

10 et 11 avril 2026, université Paris Nanterre, CRPM (en hybride)

Organisation :

Marie LAUREILLARD (Université Paris Nanterre), Jaqueline BERNDT (Université de Stockholm) avec l’aide de XIANG Wenlan (Université Paris Nanterre)

Langue de communication : anglais (français possible avec PPT en anglais)

—

La bande dessinée, par sa forme hybride mêlant texte et image, constitue un terrain de réflexion particulièrement stimulant pour les traducteurs et traductologues. Cette journée d’étude se propose d’explorer les spécificités de la traduction de la bande dessinée, à l’intersection du littéraire, du visuel et du culturel. Quels sont les défis liés à la spatialité du texte ? Comment rendre l’humour, les jeux de mots, les références culturelles ou les effets typographiques dans une autre langue ? Quels rôles jouent les normes éditoriales ou la censure dans certaines aires géographiques ?

Nous accueillons des propositions portant sur les traductions des langues asiatiques ou vers les langues asiatiques, avec une attention particulière portée aux bandes dessinées issues de l’espace sinophone, japonais et coréen (manhua, manga, manhwa). L’adaptation d’œuvres littéraires nationales ou étrangères sera également considérée comme une forme de traduction. On pourra aussi réfléchir à l’aspect éditorial des traductions : quelles sont les œuvres japonaises traduites en chinois, par exemple, ou inversement ?

Les contributions pourront aborder, entre autres :

La traduction du texte dans ses différentes composantes (dialogues, onomatopées, titres…)
L’adaptation culturelle et les stratégies de localisation
Les contraintes éditoriales et graphiques (format, sens de lecture, lettrage…)
Les enjeux spécifiques à certaines traditions graphiques (manga, manhua, webtoon…)
Des études de cas de traductions publiées ou en cours
La place du traducteur dans la chaîne de production
La question de l’adaptation
La sélection éditoriale

—

Date de la journée : 10 et 11 avril 2026

Lieu : Université Paris Nanterre, CRPM

Modalité : Hybride

Envoi des propositions (300 mots + bio-bibliographie de 5 lignes) avant le 15 janvier 2026 à marie.laureillard@parisnanterre.fr et  44020957@parisnanterre.fr

—
Call for Papers – International Conference

Translating Comics: Between Bubbles, Cultures, and Constraints in East Asia

April 10, 2026, Paris Nanterre University, CRPM (in a hybrid format)

Organizers: Marie LAUREILLARD (Paris Nanterre University), Jaqueline BERNDT (Stockholm University), assisted by XIANG Wenlan (Paris Nanterre University)

Communication language: English

As a hybrid form that merges text and image, comics offer a particularly stimulating field of inquiry for translators and translation scholars. This study day aims to explore the specific challenges of comic translation, at the intersection of literature, visual semiotics, and culture. What are the difficulties posed by the spatial layout of text? How can humor, puns, cultural references or typographic effects be rendered in another language? What roles do publishing norms or censorship play in different cultural areas?

We welcome proposals focusing on translations from or into Asian languages, with particular attention to comics from the Sinophone, Japanese, and Korean spheres (manhua, manga, manhwa). The adaptation of national or foreign literary works will also be considered a form of translation. We can also consider the editorial dimension of translations: for example, which Japanese works have been translated into Chinese, and which Chinese works into Japanese?

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

Translation of the various textual components (dialogue, onomatopoeia, titles…)
Cultural adaptation and localization strategies
Editorial and graphic constraints (format, reading direction, lettering…)
Specific issues in various graphic traditions (manga, manhua, webtoon…)
Case studies of published or ongoing translations
The translator’s role in the production chain
The issue of adaptation
The editorial selection.

—

Date of the event: April 10 and 11, 2026

Location: University of Paris Nanterre, CRPM

Format: Hybrid.

Submission deadline: Proposals (300 words + 5-line bio-bibliography) to be sent before January 15, 2026, to marie.laureillard@parisnanterre.fr and : 44020957@parisnanterre.fr

—

Some bibliographical references

BERNDT, Jaqueline & KÛMMERLING-MEIBAUER, Bettina (ed.). Manga’s Cultural Crossroads. Routledge, 2013.

BORODO, Michał  (ed.). Reimagining Comics: The Translation and Localization of Visual Narratives, inTRAlinea, 2023.

BORODO, Michał et DIAZ-CINTAS, Jorge (ed.). The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Young Audiences, Routledge, 2025.

BOUVARD, Julien ; DANYSZ, Norbert ; LAUREILLARD, Marie (ed.). La bande dessinée en Asie orientale : un art en mouvement, Paris : Maisonneuve & Larose / Hémisphère, 2025.

HUTCHEON, Linda. A Theory of Adaptation, 2ᵉ éd., Routledge, 2013.

KAINDL, Klaus. « Comics in Translation ». In Handbook of Translation Studies, vol. 1. John Benjamins, 2010.

MARTINEZ, Nicolas. Reframing Western Comics in Translation: Intermediality, Multimodalities & Cultural Transfers. Routledge, 2022.

MITAINE, Benoît ; ROCHE, David ; SCHMITT-PITIOT, Isabelle (dir.). Bande dessinée et adaptation : littérature, cinéma, TV. Clermont-Ferrand : Presses universitaires Blaise-Pascal, 2015.

VENUTI, Lawrence. The Translator’s Invisibility, Routledge, 2008 (1995).

ZANETTIN, Federico (ed.). Comics in translation, Routledge, New York, 2016.

Responsable :
Marie Laureillard, CRPM
Url de référence :
https://ceei.hypotheses.org/26465
Adresse :
Université Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France"
https://www.fabula.org/actualites/131623/traduire-la-bande-dessinee-entre-bulles-cultures-et-contraintes.html
#Metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"L’Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) et la Direction des services linguistiques du Gouvernement du Vanuatu (DSL) ont signé une convention de collaboration visant à professionnaliser et à renforcer les capacités des traductrices, traducteurs et interprètes au service de l’administration vanuataise.  

 

L’accord, signé le 11 décembre 2025 par M. Nicolas Mainetti, directeur régional de l’AUF – Asie-Pacifique, et par M. Stewart Garae, directeur de la DSL, marque une nouvelle étape dans l’appui de l’AUF aux politiques publiques en faveur du multilinguisme et de la bonne gouvernance.  

 

Cette convention définit le cadre d’un programme de formation ambitieux à destination des personnels en charge de la traduction et de l’interprétation au sein des services du Gouvernement du Vanuatu. L’AUF apportera son expertise pour la conception pédagogique, la coordination et la mise en œuvre des modules, ainsi que pour l’évaluation des activités. De son côté, la Direction des services linguistiques assurera l’identification des bénéficiaires, l’organisation logistique sur le terrain et le suivi de l’impact des formations dans le fonctionnement quotidien de l’administration. 

 

Le programme prévoit l’intervention de plusieurs formatrices et formateurs internationaux sur des thématiques variées : techniques de traduction spécialisée, interprétation de conférence et de liaison, terminologie juridique et administrative, outils numériques et bonnes pratiques professionnelles. Des sessions d’interprétation seront également organisées afin de permettre aux participantes et participants de se confronter à des situations réelles de travail et de consolider leurs compétences. 

 

Au-delà du renforcement des compétences individuelles, cette collaboration vise à structurer un véritable pôle de services linguistiques au Vanuatu, capable d’accompagner les réformes, les coopérations internationales et les échanges avec les partenaires régionaux. Elle s’inscrit pleinement dans la mission de l’AUF, opérateur de la Francophonie, qui soutient les politiques éducatives et linguistiques dans l’espace francophone, en particulier dans la région Asie-Pacifique. 

 

Par cet accord, l’AUF et le Gouvernement du Vanuatu réaffirment leur volonté commune de promouvoir le plurilinguisme, de faciliter l’accès à l’information et de renforcer la qualité de la communication institutionnelle. Les premières activités de formation seront déployées dès 2026, avec l’objectif de constituer un réseau durable de professionnels de la traduction et de l’interprétation au service du développement du pays."

https://www.auf.org/lauf-et-le-gouvernement-du-vanuatu-sassocient-pour-renforcer-les-competences-des-services-de-traduction-et-dinterpretation/

#Metaglossia 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"The 8th Inter­na­tional Con­fer­ence of the Inter­na­tional Asso­ci­ation for Trans­la­tion and Inter­cul­tural Stud­ies (IATIS) con­cluded at Sul­tan Qaboos Uni­versity under the pat­ron­age of Prof. Amer bin Saif Al-hinai, Deputy Vice-chan­cel­lor for Post­gradu­ate Stud­ies and Research.

The event brought together schol­ars, prac­ti­tion­ers and stu­dents from around the world to explore sus­tain­able trans­la­tion in the con­text of know­ledge extrac­tion, tech­no­lo­gical change and global chal­lenges.

Prof Kyung Hye Kim of Dong­guk Uni­versity, chief of the IATIS con­fer­ence, praised the organ­ising com­mit­tee and volun­teers for their efforts, high­light­ing the con­fer­ence’s focus on inclus­iv­ity and “lived exper­i­ence, not just second­hand know­ledge.”

Host­ing the con­fer­ence in the GCC for the first time, Prof. Kim said the gath­er­ing allowed par­ti­cipants from diverse regions to exchange ideas, build net­works, and carry for­ward a spirit of dia­logue. She noted that “con­ver­sa­tion does not require visas” and looked ahead to the next IATIS meet­ing in New Zea­l­and in 2027.

Prof Julie Boéri, the new pres­id­ent of IATIS, described the Mus­cat event as a defin­ing moment for the asso­ci­ation. She emphas­ised the eth­ical and polit­ical respons­ib­il­ity of trans­la­tion and inter­cul­tural stud­ies in a frac­tured world, not­ing that humil­ity, solid­ar­ity and care are cent­ral to address­ing con­tem­por­ary chal­lenges.

The con­fer­ence con­cluded with recom­mend­a­tions reaf­firm­ing trans­la­tion’s role in know­ledge pro­duc­tion, social justice and envir­on­mental respons­ib­il­ity. Key points included pro­tect­ing trans­lat­ors’ well-being, valu­ing less widely spoken lan­guages, pro­mot­ing open­ac­cess know­ledge, and address­ing the envir­on­mental impact of emer­ging tech­no­lo­gies, includ­ing AI."
8th IATIS con­fer­ence con­cludes at SQU
https://www.pressreader.com/oman/muscat-daily/20251215/281724095884330

"Science communicator and journalist Sibusiso Biyela says the future of inclusive science on the continent depends on whether scientific knowledge can be meaningfully communicated in African languages – not as a symbolic gesture, but as a necessity.

Inside Education spoke to Biyela about his dedication to making science accessible beyond the confines of English.

Biyela’s commitment to African-language science journalism took shape in 2017, while he was attempting to write a science news article about the discovery of Ledumahadi mafube, a newly identified dinosaur species found in South Africa.

Although the dinosaur’s name was scientifically derived from Sesotho, which he said he found interesting, the process exposed a deeper problem.

“I found it difficult to write much about the discovery when every second scientific term needed translating without any Zulu language counterparts,” Biyela said.

Growing up, Biyela learned science exclusively in English, while isiZulu remained the language of his cultural and everyday life.

He describes this linguistic and cultural divide as more than an inconvenience, creating a lasting barrier between science and his identity.

“As I immersed myself further into the universe science opened for me, I found that barrier existing between myself and the rest of my cultural and linguistic identity as a Zulu,” he said.

“Having benefitted so much from the satisfaction of my curiosity that science provides, it pains me to not be able to share that joy with others through my mother tongue.”

He said the lack of scientific discourse in African languages contributes to the perception that science and technology are foreign or inaccessible to African communities.

He added that the loss is mutual: African-language speakers miss out on science, and science misses out on their perspectives, including the dignity of engaging in institutions through a language they are proud of.

Biyela placed these challenges within a broader discussion about decolonising science communication. He said this does not mean rejecting science, but rather acknowledging its complex and often violent colonial history, while opening scientific inquiry to new voices and ways of knowing.

“Decolonising science means that we understand that what we understand about science today is coloured by colonial history of violence and the many excuses that justified the Atlantic Slave Trade and Apartheid, and continues to justify many people’s understanding of human history that justifies black people’s lot in life in the present day,” he said.

He said wider participation in scientific discourse — particularly beyond a small group of dominant global languages — could fundamentally expand what questions science asks and what knowledge is valued.

Reflecting on the impact of writing about dinosaurs in isiZulu, Biyela said it changed how audiences engaged with and talked about these ancient creatures, making them more responsive and culturally connected in ways English-language communication never could.

Despite growing interest, Biyela acknowledged that many African researchers and communicators he has spoken to still face structural barriers — particularly limited access to resources — which often pushes them to seek opportunities abroad.

Although some governments have promised increased research funding, he said the long-term impact remains uncertain.

While progress has been slow over the past decade, Biyela sees more African-language science discussions emerging through community radio, social media, and podcasts.

“If I could predict the future, I would quit my job as a journalist and become a stockbroker or crypto-bro, but my best would be that in ten years’ time, there will be a lot more people like myself doing this kind of work,” he said.

“That can only happen if we all stay motivated to continue this work. And that can happen with support from the government and other institutions, not for handouts, but for the value that we continue to demonstrate comes from this kind of work”.

One of the most ambitious aspects of his work involves explaining complex concepts, such as particle physics terms like “flavour,” “colour,” and “spin”,  in isiZulu. He said these concepts are challenging because their scientific meanings differ entirely from everyday English usage.

“I do not want to be the next clever science communicator or linguist to create terms that no one else uses, so the best way to balance scientific accuracy with cultural relevance would be to create these terms publicly with the help of the very people who would be making use of these terms,” he said.

He said that rather than imposing scientific terminology, he and his team — through the iLukuluku podcast — co-create new isiZulu scientific terms with linguists and listeners in public, drawing on existing but underused words and leaving room for community feedback.

For Biyela, African-language science communication is not about translation alone, but about participation — ensuring that African languages are not only vehicles for culture, but also for curiosity, inquiry, and discovery itself.
https://insideeducation.co.za/why-africas-science-future-must-speak-african-languages/
#Metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Google Translate now supports real-time Gemini audio translation, bringing us one step closer to Star Trek's universal translator.

 

"In Star Trek, it took until the year 2151 for a functional universal translator to come into existence, but Google is leveraging Gemini to accelerate that timeline. The company is offering real-time speech-to-speech translation via Google Translate, using your existing phone's audio hardware. It's hard not to be critical of generative AI and its content and copyright abuses, but employing AI for real-world use-cases like live translation is great—and based on Google's demo, it seems to work quite well. Google Translate has already proven capable of translating text in real-time, and 

 

can even identify food and products in photographs, so this is a natural expansion of Gemini's feature set.

 

 

 

 

While there are bound to be errors and hiccups for various reasons (for example: translating audio in a crowded room, from a poor-quality mic, or both), technology like this is as impressive as it is useful. Though not the same as actually learning a different language, this is still a great tool for travelers hoping to conversate with folks that speak a different language.

 

 

 

 

Does Google's new feature achieve the same things as Star Trek's universal translator? Of course not—that fictional technology is real-time, functions on brain waves, and is most importantly a plot tool that explains how characters from different planets seemingly speak perfect English. But seeing real-world technology inch closer and closer to that goal is a welcome development, and it should bode well for the future of both casual communication and education, despite language barriers.

 

 

 

 

Google's official blog post states that the feature is now available for testing across the United States, Mexico, and India, and supports 70 languages. The feature will also expand to iOS in 2026."

 

by Chris Harper — Saturday, December 13, 2025, 02:12 PM EDT

 

 

 

 

https://hothardware.com/news/google-translate-now-turns-your-earbuds-into-a-real-time-interpreter

 

#Metaglossia 

 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"Google annonce l’arrivée de nouvelles fonctions liées à la traduction. L’une d’elles est la compatibilité de la traduction en temps réel à l’ensemble des accessoires audio et à tous les smartphones. Si le déploiement initial est limité, elle s’étendra bientôt à de nombreux pays et à plusieurs systèmes d’exploitation. Voici comment en profiter.

 

Ces dernières années, la traduction en temps réel est presque devenue une réalité. En s’appuyant sur Gemini, deux interlocuteurs parlant deux langues (plus de 70 langues sont prises en charge) différentes peuvent se comprendre. Il suffit pour cela d’un smartphone et d’une paire d’écouteurs. Le smartphone écoute l’interlocuteur et traduit ses paroles en temps réel dans les écouteurs de l’utilisateur. Et inversement. À l’occasion du lancement des Pixel 10, nous avons assisté à une démonstration assez bluffante.

 

Lire aussi – Vous avez l’impression que vos émojis Gboard sont devenus énormes ? Ne changez pas de lunettes : c’est la faute de Google et ça pourrait encore évoluer

 

La traduction en temps réel, qui va certainement briser certaines barrières linguistiques, ne va pas rester cantonnée à l’écosystème de Google. Elle va être étendue à l’ensemble des smartphones et à tous les écouteurs et casques audio. En effet, Google annonce l’extension de cette fonction à tous les casques et écouteurs Bluetooth du marché. Vous n’aurez donc plus l’obligation d’utiliser des Pixel Buds. Et cela marche lors d’une conversation, mais aussi tout autre contenu, comme un film, une série, ou une conférence.

 

Il est désormais plus facile d'utiliser la traduction temps réel de Google

Pour en profiter, il y a plusieurs conditions. La première est l’installation de la version bêta de l’application Google Traduction. Cette fonction n’est actuellement pas disponible dans sa version « publique ». Ensuite, il faut utiliser un smartphone sous Android. Google promet toutefois que les propriétaires d’iPhone en profiteront en 2026, sans plus de précision. Enfin, la fonction n’est accessible que dans trois pays seulement : les États-Unis, le Mexique et l’Inde. Le déploiement dans les autres pays sera progressif.

 

La traduction en temps réel avec n’importe quel smartphone Android et n’importe quel accessoire audio n’est qu’une des quelques nouveautés annoncées pour Google Traduction. Google confirme également la prise en charge des expressions, du contexte et des tics de langage courant par Gemini, pour une compréhension plus naturelle des propos. Enfin, le mode d’apprentissage des langues est étendu non seulement en nombre de langages disponibles, mais aussi en nombre de pays où ce mode est disponible."

 

https://www.phonandroid.com/google-etend-la-traduction-temps-reel-a-tous-les-casques-et-tous-les-smartphones.html

#Metaglossia 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"L’UNESCO célèbre le 18 décembre la Journée mondiale de la langue arabe, en organisant à son siège parisien un événement consacré aux voies innovantes pour un avenir linguistique inclusif.

 

Cette rencontre, qui se tiendra de 10h45 à 16h30 (GMT+2) dans la salle IV, se déroulera en français, arabe et anglais.

 

Placée sous le thème « Voies innovantes pour l’arabe : orientations et pratiques pour un avenir linguistique plus inclusif », l’édition 2025 mettra en avant le rôle de l’innovation et de l’inclusion dans le développement de la langue arabe. Éducation, médias, technologies numériques et politiques publiques seront au cœur des discussions visant à renforcer la présence de l’arabe dans les systèmes éducatifs, les plateformes numériques et l’espace public, en particulier dans les contextes multilingues ou à ressources limitées.

 

Au fil des siècles, la langue arabe a joué un rôle central dans la création de liens entre les sociétés et la promotion du développement culturel, scientifique et intellectuel. Aujourd’hui, elle est parlée par 450 millions de personnes, coexiste avec de nombreux dialectes et figure parmi les six langues officielles des Nations Unies. Sa calligraphie est inscrite au Patrimoine immatériel de l’UNESCO et son influence se retrouve dans plus de 50 langues à travers l’Asie, l’Afrique et l’Europe. Des générations de scientifiques et de penseurs ont également produit des découvertes majeures en arabe, illustrant son rôle durable dans la transmission du savoir et des valeurs à l’échelle mondiale.

 

Depuis 2016, l’UNESCO s’engage à renforcer l’usage de l’arabe en son sein, avec le soutien de la Fondation Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saoud, partenaire clé de l’événement. La Fondation contribue à la promotion de la langue arabe, à la transmission du patrimoine linguistique et à l’innovation dans l’éducation, et considère la langue comme un vecteur de cohésion, d’autonomisation des communautés et d’inspiration pour les générations futures.

 

Selon Gabriela Ramos, Sous-Directrice générale pour les Sciences sociales et humaines de l’UNESCO, « La langue arabe joue un rôle majeur dans la promotion de la compréhension mutuelle et de la création de connaissances. Sa contribution à l’humanité ne peut être réduite à un seul peuple, car elle est un héritage civilisationnel destiné au monde entier ».

 

Organisée en collaboration avec la Délégation permanente du Royaume d’Arabie saoudite auprès de l’UNESCO, la célébration met également en lumière le Programme Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saoud pour la langue arabe, qui soutient la recherche, la formation et la coopération internationale pour renforcer la place de l’arabe dans les milieux académiques et scientifiques.

 

L’événement se veut une plateforme internationale de dialogue, d’innovation et de promotion de la diversité linguistique, réaffirmant le rôle de la langue arabe comme patrimoine universel et vecteur de savoir et de culture."

https://www.webmanagercenter.com/2025/12/15/557623/journee-mondiale-de-la-langue-arabe

#Metaglossia 

#metaglossia_mundus 

Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 110-year archive of POETRY magazine.

 

"Sometimes, choosing the “wrong” word can reveal what the “right” one can’t.

 

 

 

 

By Yuki Tanaka

 

Originally Published: December 15, 2025

 

Poets on Translation is a series of short essays in which poets examine the intersections of poetry and translation in relation to questions of language, identity, authorship, and more.

 

 

 

 

When I was a child in a small Japanese fishing town in the 80s, translation didn’t seem to exist. Whenever foreign words entered Japanese, they’d become fully domesticated: from shirt to shatsu, from elevator to erebētā. They sounded as if they had been part of the language forever. I grew up watching American sitcoms like Full House and Alf, all dubbed, often by well-known Japanese actors or voice actors. Luke Skywalker spoke perfect Japanese and even looked Japanese, dressed in a white robe that resembled a judo uniform.

 

 

 

 

The first time I became conscious of language differences, I was six or seven. English had been in the air at home since I was little, as my mother enjoyed studying it and encouraged me to learn. Each night, when she tucked me into bed, she’d say, “Have a nice dream,” in English. One night, I asked her why milk was called milk. She was smoking on the stairs after our family inn had closed for the night. When I asked, she exhaled smoke and said nothing. I continued: the Japanese word gyūnyū has two characters, one meaning “cow” and the other meaning “milk,” so it all made sense, but m-i-l-k had none of that cow-ness. She said, “It’s just the way it is in English.” I refused to accept that. She explained again and again until finally she stubbed out her cigarette, released one last puff, and walked away. I wanted milk to match gyūnyū exactly, and the realization that it didn’t frustrated me.

 

 

 

 

Years later, after I’d moved to the United States for college and was traveling back to Japan each summer, I began to see the gap between languages differently. One afternoon in Japan, I went to a small neighborhood rice shop and asked if they had rice that didn’t require rinsing. “We don’t rinse rice,” the owner said, “we sharpen it.” In Japanese, to sharpen rice is an idiom for rinsing rice, a phrase that once referred to rubbing the grains together to polish away the bran. The verb togu (“to sharpen,” “to hone”) still carries that trace of abrasion, long after modern rice no longer needs it.

 

 

 

 

I’d never thought about this etymology before: after years of speaking, reading, and writing in English, the phrase reached me as if for the first time. My unwitting mistranslation made me aware of what I’d forgotten, “to sharpen” sleeping inside “to rinse.” That mistake was accidental, but it taught me something I’ve since tried to do on purpose, in both my poems and my translations: to keep shifting between my native language and my adopted language until they become defamiliarized. While my slip at the rice shop revealed the semantic possibilities of togu, my later translations would explore how choosing the “wrong” word might reveal what the “right” one can’t.

 

 

 

 

The novelist Yoko Tawada, who writes in both Japanese and German, has said she would rather fall into the valley between two languages than master either one. When we travel between two or more languages, each language drifts into the orbits of the others, producing a new language that feels fresh and full of possibility. I see the gap between languages not as a translator’s nightmare but as a field of creative agency. 

 

 

 

 

Translating a tanka by the contemporary poet Shizuka Omori, I encountered the word mizu aoi (水葵), which, translated literally, means “water hollyhock,” and is the name for a plant with bluish-purple flowers. But I didn’t like the sound—the h’s in “hollyhock” huffed like a horse. Aoi is also a homonym for “blue,” and when I hear mizu aoi, I picture blue water. I chose a mistranslation: “water hyacinth.” Hollyhocks and hyacinths are different plants though both have bluish flowers, but “hyacinth” avoids the huffing in “hollyhock,” and has a softness that feels true to the poem’s mood. 

 

 

 

 

If all I wanted was pure accuracy, AI could do the work. But I’m more interested in replicating the mood and feeling a poem creates. Because one-to-one correspondence is impossible, especially between languages as different as Japanese and English, sometimes what’s required is willful mistranslation.

 

 

 

 

Once, while my mother was visiting me in St. Louis, we were walking along a gray, worn intersection on our way to a coffee shop when she suddenly asked me to stand beside a traffic light pole, before taking a photo of me. When I asked why, she pointed to a sign above that read: “Photo Enforced.” She thought it meant, “You must take a photo here.” My mother’s misreading turned a bureaucratic warning into an invitation. She stripped away the threat in favor of something playful, even friendly. In that moment, dictionary definitions loosened, and we stepped into the fluid in-between space where words float free, up for grabs..."

 

 

 

 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/1758992/poets-on-translation-huffing-like-a-horse

 

#Metaglossia 

 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"Reference and Beyond
JR: Moving on, you have a new book that’s just come out, Professor Devitt: Reference and Beyond: Essays in Philosophy of Language (Oxford 2025): ”a selection of published papers in philosophy of language, accompanied by many new footnotes and postscripts,” like the abstract has it. Could you shed light on these footnotes and postscripts? Do they include any key changes to your existing views?

MD: The postscripts seemed like an obvious thing to do when producing a collection of old papers. You don’t mess with the papers themselves, that’s just going to confuse everyone. You confine the minor things into the footnotes, and there’s a lot of that. If you’ve got something major to say, put it in the postscript. I did enjoy writing them.

Take the oldest article in the collection, ”Singular Terms” (1974).1 It wasn’t my first publication, but it was the first in a proper place, as it were. I’m still quite proud about a lot of it, but it suffered from something which a lot of work in those days suffered from, including the work of Keith Donnellan. We didn’t acknowledge this crucial Gricean distinction between speaker-meaning or speaker-reference and semantic meaning or semantic reference.2 So, you can read ”Singular Terms” with that distinction in mind and wonder which of these meanings and references I’m talking about, and the unhappy truth is I’m sometimes almost talking about them both at once. Mostly I’m talking about semantic meaning and reference though. The failure to make that distinction was a flaw, so, in the footnotes, I’ve made clear when the distinction is important to make, and in the Postscript I present a theory of speaker-meaning. I reject the Gricean theory of speaker-meaning which, as you know, is a very complicated theory based on the speaker’s communicative intentions. That is a mistake already, but it is compounded by the incredible complexity of the intentions.

In my dissertation I made the first attempt to give a unified account of what are often called ”singular referring expressions”, like proper names and demonstratives, and arguably, following Keith Donnellan, referential descriptions as well. I prefer calling them designational expressions. I gave a sort of causal theory of them all. In the first Postscript, I really wanted to clarify that theory. ”Singular Terms” was predominantly about names, so I wanted to be absolutely clear where I stood with demonstratives. In recent years, I have come to think of demonstrations as an independent referential device; I’m talking about gestures, pointings, and so on, which often accompany referential phrases, most notably demonstratives. So, I might say, ”that is a cat” while pointing at a cat, and in my view what you’ve got here are two linguistic devices both of which designate the cat, if all has gone well. There’s the demonstrative ”that” and then there’s the demonstration. I wanted to give a theory of demonstrations too, and since I’d recently written about that I wanted it extracted and put in the Preface. So, my unified theory of referential devices now covers proper names, definite descriptions, demonstratives and demonstrations.

Another postscript that I had wanted to write for 50 years originates from the time when I was so influenced by Saul Kripke, the first time I heard him lecture in Harvard in 1967. Around that time, Gareth Evans came to Harvard too. We were friends and associated with each other quite a lot. Gareth had of course heard all about Kripke’s ideas3, and wrote a very excellent, very insightful paper criticising Kripke. Panu, you know the name, what was it called?

PR: ”The Causal Theory of Names.”4

MD: This was after he and I had left Harvard. At the time Evans was writing that, I was writing my ”Singular Terms”. My paper is presented as a development of Saul’s, and Evans’ paper is presented as a critique of Saul’s views. What had always struck me from the start was that quite independently Evans and I had come up with quite similar ideas. So, what I wanted to do in the first Postscript, what I had in a way wanted to do for fifty years, was to draw out the similarities and resemblances between Gareth’s 1973 paper but also his 1982 book5, where he went much more against Kripke. I did enjoy doing that. That covers the Postscript for that era.

Another thing that I like doing in the volume is giving the broad outline of the views that pop up in the book, to gather them together. Other Postscripts deal with criticisms that some of the papers have met. Take the paper ”Rigid Application”. Saul famously introduced the notion of rigid designation which he explained like this. A term is a rigid designator if it designates the same object in every possible world in which that object exists. (Actually, there are a lot more subtleties going on here as became clear when Saul and David Kaplan started arguing about it, but that’s a clear enough basic idea.) Saul then extended in his Naming and Necessity lectures the use of this term to what he called natural kind terms like ”gold” and ”yellow”, ”heat” and ”tiger”. So just as proper names were rigid, so were many sorts of general terms. But how could they be rigid designators? They don’t seem to be designators at all!6

That was a problem everyone faced, and there is quite a literature trying to deal with this. Some people tried to accommodate Saul’s original idea by saying that the general terms are rigid designators, but what they designate are abstract entities. I thought that’s a very bad idea, and it was criticized by a number of people in the literature; this criticism I endorsed and added on.

So, how can we extend Kripke’s idea of rigidity to general terms and mass terms? Well, we move away from designation to application, I thought that is the way to go. A singular term like a proper name or a demonstrative designates a certain object, but general terms like ”tiger” or ”atom” apply to many objects. Application is a one-many relationship. That seemed to me like helpful terminology for semantics generally. The good idea, or truth, behind Saul’s notion of the rigidity of general and mass terms could be captured with the idea of rigid application. If a term rigidly applies to an object, it applies to that object in every possible world in which the object exists. Even if Saul didn’t have that in mind, it seemed to me like something he should’ve had in mind, because that would be the sort of notion of rigidity that could serve his theoretical purposes. What were his theoretical purposes? He wanted to use rigidity as another weapon to beat description theories, and rigid application does that job just as effectively for general and mass terms as rigid designation does for singular terms. Of course, there has been a lot of disagreement about this; in the Postscript to ”Rigid Application”, I took up some criticisms of this suggestion. But that is probably enough about the Postscripts.

JR: That is plenty indeed. May I ask what you would consider to be your most important, or favourite, idea in this book?

MD: Oh, I’ve got to tell you, Jaakko, ever since I was a child I’ve hated questions with superlatives, like ”who’s your best friend?”. So, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to answer.

Naturalism
JR: Perhaps a more encompassive question, then. You have become a famous defender of naturalism in many, if not all, areas of philosophy, most importantly in the methodological sense. But how far and deep does naturalism reach? Is it really the only game in town?7

MD: I wish!

JR: Perhaps it’s better to ask whether naturalism should be the only game in town for philosophy? Are there other legitimate methodologies beyond naturalism?

MD: This raises a very interesting general question which I’ve had to confront over my career. I do believe in naturalism and think it’s the right way to do philosophy. Do I think therefore that it’s not respectable to do anything else? I’m a great believer in the idea that you should let a thousand flowers bloom, a hundred schools of thought contend. That was Mao’s slogan which, of course, Mao didn’t follow. So, I’ve always been in favour, while pushing naturalism, for it having to exist in a dialectic with people who are not naturalists, in order to make progress. I don’t think it’s healthy that people should be cocooned from their opponents.

JR: I see. Well, moving on, you just said that you don’t like superlatives. Might I still dare to ask if there is any philosopher whom you’d consider naming as your most worthy opponent?

MD: I’m not going to do it. I mean, I’ve been opposed to some enormously important philosophers, like Noam Chomsky, one of the greatest intellectuals of the 20th century. He made these enormously important contributions to the theory of language, generative linguistics. I disagreed with him, not about the idea that generative linguistics is the way to go, but the sort of metatheory he had behind it, which was that a grammar is all about the mind – not about a system of representations that exists outside the mind like I think.8

I also argued at great length against Michael Dummett, who seemed to me obviously to be an extraordinarily smart and able philosopher who had terrific influence. Far too big an influence in my view because I basically thought his views wrongheaded, but I still have a great admiration for the seriousness of his work, the simple intellectual force with which he presented his views. Before the interview began you mentioned Davidson. I don’t have the same sort of admiration for Davidson as for Dummett.

There are a lot of people I took things from while disagreeing with them. I used to regard myself as in a way being a sort of Gricean, even though I did not go with certain important thoughts of his.

And then there’s my old teacher, Hilary Putnam. Well, there were actually many Putnams. The Putnam of my youth was a really important figure for me when I was at Harvard. He didn’t make me into a realist. I’m a Sydney boy, you know; we’re realists. Brutal realists. So, I was already a realist when I met Putnam. I hadn’t even thought about realism so much because it had always seemed so obviously true and I was worrying about more important things like epistemology and semantics and so on. I wasn’t worrying about it at Harvard, either, when Hilary was famous for his arguments to do with realism, including mathematical realism, and I was very impressed with his arguments like the inference to the best explanation for scientific realism.

It is really true to say that it was Putnam who converted me thoroughly to naturalism. It wasn’t that I wasn’t a naturalist before; I was a bit at sea. You see, I was brought up like everyone else those days, surrounded by a priorism. I mean, that’s what philosophy was. There was the Wittgensteinian a priorism, the ordinary language philosophy a priorism, the positivist a priorism… The whole history of philosophy. And so, I was sitting in an undergraduate class where Putnam was talking about epistemology and the history of philosophy from Descartes onwards. He was a wonderful teacher. And then, in a few deft strokes, after presenting what the French call the sceptical problematic, he solved it by presenting Quine, basically. I mean, I’d read Quine at Sydney, but I’d always been focused on the language stuff, and hadn’t really absorbed his naturalistic picture. When Putnam presented it, it was like a road to Damascus experience for me. Everything fell into place, I can remember.

Then, what happens in the mid 1970’s? Suddenly, Putnam goes anti-realist, abandons left-wing politics, and becomes religious all in a few weeks. It was a terrific shock to me, and I spent a lot of time, probably more time than I have spent on anyone else, arguing against Putnam’s new stuff; I was antithetical to what we might call the middle-Putnam. To give an idea of how opposed I was to what was happening then – you probably couldn’t pull this off these days – I published two critical notices9 of Putnam’s book Meaning and the Moral Sciences (1978)10. I was appalled by what was in that book. Not just by the anti-realism, but also the terrible mess that was made of what realism was. It just seemed to me to be spreading confusion around. I was absolutely, terribly bothered by what had happened to Hilary. A lovely man, but not reliable in keeping his views. Surely a worthy foe if there ever was one.

Quine, of course, is an interesting case. Like I said, thanks to Hilary I went and read Quine very carefully, and did my dissertation with Quine. But I don’t agree, as many people don’t, with his behaviourism about the mind or his deflationary view of meaning and reference.

Friendship with Kripke
JR: Moving on to the end of the interview, I was hoping you might shed some light on Saul Kripke, from whom you’ve not only gathered inspiration for your work but whom you also knew as a friend. For example, there is a nice anecdote that I learned from Panu related to what you have called ”the shocking idea about meaning”. Briefly, the idea is that at least for some theoretical purposes, the notion of Fregean sense could be identified with a certain non-descriptive, causal-historical mode of presentation of a term’s referent.11 Now, in the 1972 version of Naming and Necessity, Kripke had a footnote which Panu brought to my attention. The footnote goes like this: ”Hartry Field has proposed that, for some of the purposes of Frege’s theory, his notion of sense should be replaced by the chain which determines reference.”12

This footnote, however, is missing from the 1980 book edition. Panu reports that: ”At the 2013 Buenos Aires workshop (where both Devitt and I were present), Kripke explained that he had deleted the note simply because someone had informed him that he should have credited the idea to Devitt and not to Field.”13

I always thought this anecdote gives sort of an odd picture about Kripke. Could you elaborate the context here?

MD: I don’t know why you think it gives an odd picture about Kripke. Actually, there is a lot in this. First of all, notice that it is Panu who had to point this out. You’d think that I’d know about Kripke’s stuff, having thought about it from the 1960’s onwards, yet that footnote had never registered with me. But Panu is so much a better scholar than I am, so he drew my attention to it as well.

So, Saul said that. First, let me be clear about my view on the ”shocking idea”. I think the meaning of every expression – barring perhaps some syncategorematic expressions14 – should be understood as the mode of presentation of the reference. In the traditional Fregean view, the mode was descriptive. Sometimes it may indeed be. But what I think we should learn from Kripke is that the mode is not descriptive for many terms, like proper names. So, if Kripke’s ideas about borrowing are right, then the meaning for these terms is a certain type of causal chain. Something like that has got to be right. We can’t simply suppose that the meaning is the reference, because then we’re unable to explain a whole lot of things, most strikingly the informativeness of identity statements, the truth of negative singular existence statements and so on. We can’t explain them with direct reference. We’ve got to have something richer as the meaning than reference, and Frege got it right – it’s the way the reference is presented. When that isn’t descriptive, it has to be something else, and it seems to me that at least sometimes the something else has to be the causal way. That will do the job that Frege rightly thought the sense, or meaning, has to do.15

So, who came up with the shocking idea? Well, I’d been urging it for forever from my dissertation onwards. The question of who originally came up with it has always been sort of uninteresting to me. Hartry and I, from the moment when we first sat in – we’d only been in Harvard for a week or so – Saul’s lectures in 1967, started talking about it. And we talked about it forever. We explored everything. So, God knows who first came up with the shocking idea.

The real truth about the shocking idea is that Saul said that I was the one who made a fuss about it. I don’t know if Hartry ever mentioned it at all except in conversations with me and Saul.

JR: So, if I get that right, the reason why Kripke omitted the footnote in the later version of Naming and Necessity is that he didn’t think much of the shocking idea?

MD: No, I think it is because he first attributed the idea to Hartry, then came to think it wasn’t Hartry’s idea. I mean, Saul hated to say anything that wasn’t right. He was obsessive about saying only things which he was certain were true. That isn’t to say it isn’t true that Hartry came up with the shocking idea; like I said, Hartry and I talked so much, I don’t know who really came up with it.

The shocking idea itself wasn’t so shocking to Saul, I think. That doesn’t mean he embraced it. But if you know the history of direct reference, you know that people influenced by Saul, notably Nathan Salmon and Scott Soames, went down this direct reference route in which the meaning of a proper name is simply its referent. The history of this idea is really weird, because many people attribute it to Saul. (For anyone who’s interested in this, I tell the history in the book.) But Saul never embraced that view. And neither did he embrace my view. He sat on the fence. And no one could get him off the fence. As you said, I was friendly with Saul, and I would tease him quite a lot. I remember one conference in the CUNY Graduate Center, sometime in 2005 or 2006, when we were all gathered in honour of Saul. Nathan was there, Scott was there, and I was up on the podium talking about something I don’t remember, and Saul was sitting there too. I said to Saul in front of everyone: “So, you’ve heard Scott, Nathan, and me. Now it’s your turn: time to get off the fence.” No response. So, no one knows where Saul stood on this.

PR: I’d like to add that I recall a discussion with Saul where he insisted that he definitely didn’t believe in direct reference in Naming and Necessity. He admitted he came at least quite close to it in the late 1970’s, but my impression is that he regretted that phase. The problem with Saul was that if he wasn’t absolutely confident that this is the way something is, if he was even a little bit uncertain, he didn’t say it.

MD: Panu is speaking words of wisdom here. If Saul wasn’t absolutely confident, he wouldn’t say his view. He was mortified at the thought of ever saying something false. He was obsessive about this. Do you want to hear a personal anecdote?

JR: Please!

MD: Saul didn’t do a great deal of travelling, but he did do a little bit, of course. And when you travel around the world, you often get presented with various forms. For example, it at least used to be that, when returning to America you have to fill in a form, and you have to say a whole lot of things about what you have and have not done. It would take Saul hours! Because he would think about every section. ”Have I been near a farm or not?” and things like that. ”Well, I did go about half a mile away from one… But on the other hand…” And so on for every single question. He just couldn’t bear to say anything false, even on those silly forms.

JR: Well, that sort of answers my second question, which was why Kripke never developed a rigorous theory of language, meaning and reference based on the many ideas he had. Instead, it was left to you, among others, to build a theory out of the ”better picture” which Kripke presented. Kripke himself says in Naming and Necessity that he was ”sort of too lazy” to do it16.

MD: That’s just a joke though. One thing Saul wasn’t, was lazy. I mean, he was thinking all the time; it was a chronic condition which prevented him from sleeping.

If you want to explore this more, you might wonder what’s the sort of personal difference between me and Saul that left me to develop the better picture into a theory, as you said. A key thing, and we’ve already touched on this, is naturalism. Now, Saul was never a naturalist. He didn’t approve of naturalism. I already said that he wasn’t shocked by my shocking idea, but he was shocked by my naturalism. And he made this very clear on many occasions. For example, I published a textbook on philosophy of language.17 You might’ve thought that Saul would really love this textbook because it’s a sort of ”hooray for Saul!” for many chapters. It’s a setting-out of the Kripkean revolution in the theory of reference in a very supportive way. But Kim and I also had to confront the awful problem of writing a textbook in the philosophy of language, and we thought right from the beginning that there was no way we could write, as it were, a neutral book. We were just going to present the philosophy of language from a naturalistic perspective, as we say in the beginning. Even the blurb on the back says this.

Saul was outraged at this. He complained about it to me – you couldn’t mention the textbook without him going ”You even say it in the blurb it’s not neutral. This is not a textbook!” He was so funny. You didn’t want to have a thin skin if you dealt with Saul.

There were only two comments that I ever got from him on the book. I never got a thanks from him for presenting the revolution, but he did criticise the naturalism. So far as I know, there was only one bit of critical stuff on Saul in the book, and that was the discussion on ”Kripkenstein”. He did not like that at all. And he would always come to that, too. ”You say I don’t have an argument?” He’s a riot; I do miss him a lot.18

JR: Was Kripke’s opposition to naturalism part of his general unwillingness to commit to a view he was uncertain about or was it something more specific?

MD: I don’t know. I mean, that’s a very deep question. Why do so many philosophers have anti-naturalist positions? We know the consequences of this: they believe in the a priori; Saul said he believed in the a priori.

JR: Really?

MD: Oh God, yes. Oh yes.

PR: He even believed in contingent a priori.19

MD: We naturalists are really a minority. So, if you ask why Saul wasn’t, you need to ask that about humans in general. The whole history of philosophy seems to me to demonstrate a tension between naturalistic approaches and a priori approaches. Right the way through you see both. You see science being brought into philosophy and then philosophers going off and doing their own thing. My favourite example of this is John Locke. See his discussion of realism. It’s just a wonderful interplay between good empirical science and old a priori philosophy. And I think this ran right through philosophy until Quine. I mean, there were always naturalistic elements and a priori elements. One of the many contributions that Quine made was to make this stark and clear, because he laid down, with his vivid metaphors, what philosophy should be. It made so well the distinction that needed to be made. I think the whole subject moved forward just by being clear about this.

I hope you don’t think this is terribly rude, but I think that if we could understand the appeal of religion, we might understand the appeal of the a priori. Do you think that’s a bit overboard, Panu?

PR: You are famous for your shocking ideas.

* * *

JR: One last question, again a personal one. Are there any research topics that you’ve wanted to pursue but haven’t found the time to? Any blind spots?

MD: I like that question. I think one of the great things about philosophy is that there’s no end to interesting topics. There are lots. There’s virtually no broad area of philosophy (except the philosophy of religion) which I don’t find interesting. Let me just take one that I’ve never done anything in. I have done a very small amount of work in moral philosophy – I wrote a paper on moral realism20 – but I’ve never done anything in aesthetics. And this doesn’t mean I don’t think that is interesting.

When I was in Maryland, I got roped at once into being on a committee for a student writing her dissertation in aesthetics. Actually, I can remember her name: Monique Roelofs. Monique’s dissertation, I thought, was fascinating. Really insightful. I got quite engaged with the issues: ”Gee, I’d love to work on this.” But I’ve never done it. That’s just one example. You just never run out of topics.

JR: That is a sentiment easy to agree with. Thank you for the interview, Professor Devitt.

References
1
Michael Devitt, Singular Terms, The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 71, No. 7, 1974, 183–205.
2
Grice distinguished between two senses of sentential meaning: what the speaker meant by the sentence and what the semantic meaning is. The semantic sense is close to the literal meaning of the sentence, whereas the speaker-meaning means the use of the sentence in context. For example, the sentence ”Grass is green” literally means that grass is green, but some speaker might use it in context to mean that the summer is not over yet.
3
Kripke’s Naming and Necessity, originally held as a series of lectures in 1970, started a revolution in the philosophy of language and beyond by criticising the previously dominant descriptivist theories of reference and meaning. According to descriptivism, the meaning of an expression, such as a proper name, are based on the descriptions commonly associated with the referent of the name. For example the meaning of ”Aristotle” would be something like ”The teacher of Alexander the Great”. Kripke showed in several ways how the name’s reference and meaning are independent of such descriptions
4
Gareth Evans, The Causal Theory of Names. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. Supplementary Volumes. Vol. 47, No. 1, 1973, 187–208.
5
Gareth Evans, The Varieties of Reference. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1982.
6
Rigid designation” was one of the key technical terms which Kripke coined in the revolutionary lectures of Naming and Necessity. Roughly, a term is a rigid designator if and only if it refers to the same thing in every possible world in which the referent exists and never refers to anything else.
7
”Naturalism” in philosophy means roughly the view that philosophical theories should not only seek to be compatible with the findings of empirical sciences but also seek to conform to their methodologies and worldview as much as possible.
8
Noam Chomsky is famous, among other things, for being for one of the founders of generative grammar theory, which displaced the previously popular behaviorist views about language. According to Chomsky, language is not only based on biology, but in a sense biology itself is linguistic, and language exists in the brain. Devitt has criticized this view by claiming that we shouldn’t confuse linguistic competence, which does require a brain, with language itself, which exists primarily outside individual minds.
9
Michael Devitt, Critical Notice of Meaning and the Moral Sciences by Hilary Putnam. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 58 (1980), 395–404; Realism and the Renegade Putnam: a Critical Study of Meaning and the Moral Sciences by Hilary Putnam. Nous 17 (1983), 291–301.
10
Hilary Putnam, Meaning and the Moral Sciences. Routledge, London 1978.
11
One of Kripke’s most famous ideas is that the meaning and reference of a proper name is not determined by an associated description, but rather by a causal-historical chain of borrowing the name from other speakers, some of whom down the chain have been in contact with the referent. Devitt has argued that it is possible to understand the meaning of the name as constituted by such a chain. Many have considered this idea shocking, and that’s how Devitt has named it in his published works.
12
Saul Kripke, Naming and Necessity. In Semantics of Natural Language. Ed. Donald Davidson & Gilbert Harman. Reidel, Dordrecht 1972, 253–355 (346n22).
13
Panu Raatikainen, Theories of reference: what was the question? In Language and reality from a naturalistic perspective: Themes from Michael Devitt. Ed. Andrea Bianchi. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020. 69–103 (99n65).
14
Syncategorematic expressions include words such as ”and”, ”or”, ”if” and ”because”. They are used to connect sentences together.
15
Frege noticed that two different names, though they refer to the same person, can have different ”meaning” in the sense that someone might not know that one name (e.g. ”Robert Zimmerman”) refers to the same as the other (”Bob Dylan”). Frege then thought that the difference in meaning must correspond to some difference in the descriptions associated with the names. Since Kripke’s criticism of this view in Naming and Necessity, Devitt urged the ”shocking idea” that the mode of presentation of the name can be non-descriptive, which is in opposition to so-called ”direct reference” theories, according to which the meaning of a proper name just is the referent. Such views have problems explaining the apparent meaningfulness of empty names and the apparent truth of negative existential statements.
16
Saul Kripke, Naming and Necessity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (MA) 1980 (93).
17
Michael Devitt & Kim Sterelny, Language and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language. Basil Blackwell, Oxford 1987.
18
The term ’Kripkenstein’ refers to Kripke’s ideas based on the thoughts of Ludvig Wittgenstein. In 1982 Kripke published a book on Wittgenstein (Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language, Harvard University Press) which is rivalled in fame only by Naming and Necessity. In the book, Kripke attributed a sceptical challenge about meaning to Wittgenstein. The textbook by Devitt and Sterelny discusses the challenge briefly and somewhat dismissively.
19
A priori knowledge means knowledge not based on empirical knowledge. Prior to Naming and Necessity¸ it was common to think that if something is known a priori, it must be necessary, and that if something is necessary, it must be knowable a priori. Kripke criticized this connection between necessity and a priori and introduced, for the first time in the history of philosophy, the notions of contingent a priori and necessary a posteriori.
20
Michael Devitt, Moral Realism: A Naturalistic Perspective. Croatian Journal of Philosophy 4 (2002), 1–15.
Numero
niin & näin 4/25"
https://netn.fi/artikkelit/interview-with-michael-devitt-on-philosophy-of-language-saul-kripke-and-naturalism/
#Metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"The Literature Translation Institute of Korea has selected three winners for this year’s translation awards.

The three are Lee Ki-hyang, Tayfun Kartav and Justyna Agata Najbar-Miller.

The LTI Korea Translation Award was established in 1993 to encourage outstanding translators who contribute to communication between Korean and world literature, and to promote Korean literature overseas.

Lee, who heads publishing house Märchenwald Verlag München, translated Bora Chung's "Cursed Bunny" into German and received critical praise for effectively conveying the book's tension and fear.

Kartav won for his Turkish rendering of Chang Kang-myoung's "Homodominans," and Najbar-Miller, an assistant professor in the Korean studies department at the University of Warsaw, won the award for her Polish translation of Han Kang's "We Do Not Part.""
https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/news_view.htm?lang=e&Seq_Code=197861
#Metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus