cfp.english.upenn.edu

Translations: Exchange of Ideas
An Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Conference
June 27th – 28th 2013
Cardiff University, Wales UK

Keynote Speakers
Dr Eileen Brennan (St Patrick’s College Drumcondra)
Dr Elizabeth Wren-Owens (Cardiff University)

“Indeed, it seems to me that translation sets us not only intellectual work, theoretical or practical, but also an ethical problem. Bringing the reader to the author, bringing the author to the reader, at the risk of serving and of betraying two masters: this is to practise what I like to call linguistic hospitality. It is this which serves as a model for other forms of hospitality that I think resemble it: confessions, religions, are they not like languages that are foreign to one another, with their lexicon, their grammar, their rhetoric, their stylistics which we must learn in order to make our way into them? And is eucharistic hospitality not to be taken up with the same risks of translation-betrayal, but also with the same renunciation of the perfect translation?”
(Paul Ricoeur, On Translation)

For Paul Ricoeur, there are two paradigms of translation: linguistic translation, or the relation between words and meanings, and ontological translation, which refers to how translation happens between one human being and another. Whilst we can separate these two approaches to translation in an abstract sense, they are in reality inseparable since issues of translation always have a social context and consequences for our shared, public world. The multiplicity of languages, media, and forms of expression and representation, creates the on-going and never-ending task of translation. One might even say that the space of creativity, exploration, interaction, and even life itself, is a space of translation, where things, people, and ideas meet.

Considering translation as both a linguistic and ontological phenomenon, this conference centres on the exchange of ideas across the humanities and social sciences. For this two-day conference we are looking for doctoral students from a variety of disciplines to consider how the theme of translation relates to their own research and how their work relates to other researchers both within their subject area and in different disciplines within the humanities and social sciences. Some of the most important intellectual ideas have emerged in the crossing of disciplinary boundaries and this conference would like to consider how this interdisciplinary exchange and translation of ideas functions today.

We can begin thinking of translation as a linguistic process and interrogate the formal relationship between two texts: an original or source text, and a translated text. When we consider the formal relationship between these two texts we might employ terms such as accuracy, fidelity, identity, equivalence, correspondence, and correctness. When we conceive of translation in this way we focus on concepts of similarity and difference, as well as open up questions such as ‘what is a translation?’, ‘what makes a good or accurate translation?’ and ‘could there be an ideal or perfect translation?’

On the other hand, we can think of translation as an ontological process and focus on the social effects released from the act of translation. Communication of information might seem the most important and obvious effect. But equally significant are the effects of translation used or exploited for social ends: religious movements/institutions, commercial enterprises, colonial projects, national languages and literatures, and literary movements. Therefore, how texts are translated and what terms we use to describe the relationship between source and destination, original and translation, must be conceived in relation to the social effects of translation.

Related to this linguistic/ontological distinction is the contrast between instrumental and hermeneutic approaches to language. The instrumental approach sees language as communication based on reference to an empirical reality, whilst the hermeneutic approach sees language as interpretation and holds that reality is shaped by meanings that are cultural and hence contingent. Clearly, whether one privileges the instrumental or the hermeneutic has important social, political and cultural implications beyond the merely formal concerns of linguistics.

For this conference, we encourage submitters of abstracts to keep the multiplicity of the concept of translation in mind. How does your own work relate to the topic of translation? How do you translate ideas, concepts, practices, and so on, from other disciplines for your own specific field? How do you work with and/or alongside researchers in different humanities disciplines? What is gained and what is lost in the translation of ideas from one discipline to another? The range of possible topics is broad and includes, but is not limited to, the following:
• Translation across disciplines – interdisciplinary studies
• Translating a message for a larger group
• Translation as adaptation
• Translation as public engagement – translating academic work for a wider audience
• Translating between cultures, across time and space
• Translation and technology – translating between different formats (books, TV, computers, mobile devices, the internet, etc.)
• The ethics of translation – how does translation affect people, what is left out, who is privileged, and who is silenced/marginalised?
• Translation methodologies.
• The aesthetics of translation – how do we translate the affective, the materiality of language, the sonority as well as the sense?
• Translation theory – what is translation? How does it work? For what ends?
Submit abstracts of no more than 300 words to TranslationsConference@cf.ac.uk by March 24th. Please include a brief biographical note. If accepted, papers should be no more than 20 minutes long. An abstract submission form and further information can be found here: www.cardiff.ac.uk/ugc/go/translationsconference

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Galw am Bapurau
Cyfieithiadau: Cyfnewid Syniadau
Cynhadledd Ôl-raddedig Ryngddisgyblaethol
27 – 28 Mehefin 2013
Prifysgol Caerdydd, Cymru, y DU

Prif Siaradwyr
Dr Eileen Brennan (Coleg Sant Patrick, Drumcondra)
Dr Elizabeth Wren-Owens (Prifysgol Caerdydd)

“Yn wir, mae’n ymddangos i mi fod cyfieithu nid yn unig yn gosod gwaith deallusol, damcaniaethol neu ymarferol i ni, ond problem foesegol hefyd. Dod â’r darllenydd i’r awdur, dod â’r awdur i’r darllenydd, gan beryglu gwasanaethu a bradychu dau feistr: hynny yw, ymarfer yr hyn rwy’n hoffi ei alw yn lletygarwch ieithyddol. Dyma sy’n gwasanaethu fel model ar gyfer mathau eraill o letygarwch sy’n ymdebygu iddo, yn fy marn i: cyffesiadau, crefyddau, onid ydynt fel ieithoedd sy’n estron i’w gilydd, gyda’u geirfa, eu gramadeg, eu rhethreg, eu harddulliau y mae’n rhaid i ni eu dysgu er mwyn i ni ymgyfarwyddo â nhw? Ac oni ddylid ymdrin â lletygarwch cymunol gyda’r un risgiau o fradychu trwy gyfieithu, ond hefyd gyda’r un ymwrthodiad o’r cyfieithiad perffaith?”
(Paul Ricoeur, On Translation)

I Paul Ricoeur, mae dau baradeim cyfieithu, sef: cyfieithu ieithyddol, neu’r berthynas rhwng geiriau ac ystyron, a chyfieithu ontolegol, sy’n cyfeirio at y modd y mae cyfieithu’n digwydd rhwng un bod dynol ac un arall. Er y gallwn wahanu’r ddau ddull hyn o gyfieithu mewn synnwyr haniaethol, ni ellir eu gwahanu mewn gwirionedd gan fod cyd-destun cymdeithasol i faterion cyfieithu bob amser a chanlyniadau i’n byd cyhoeddus a rennir. Mae lluosogrwydd ieithoedd, y cyfryngau a ffurfiau o fynegiant a chynrychiolaeth, yn creu’r dasg barhaus a diddiwedd o gyfieithu. Gallai rhywun hyd yn oed ddweud bod gofod creadigrwydd, archwilio, rhyngweithio a hyd yn oed bywyd ei hun, yn ofod cyfieithu, lle mae pethau, pobl a syniadau yn cwrdd.
Wrth ystyried cyfieithu fel ffenomen ieithyddol ac ontolegol, mae’r gynhadledd hon yn canolbwyntio ar gyfnewid syniadau ar draws y dyniaethau a’r gwyddorau cymdeithasol. Am y gynhadledd ddeuddydd hon, rydym yn disgwyl i fyfyrwyr doethuriaeth o ddisgyblaethau amrywiol ystyried y modd y mae’r thema cyfieithu yn cysylltuâ’u gwaith ymchwil eu hunain a’r modd y mae eu gwaith yn ymwneud ag ymchwilwyr eraill o fewn eu maes pwnc ac mewn gwahanol ddisgyblaethau o fewn y dyniaethau. Mae rhai o’r syniadau deallusol pwysicaf wedi ymddangos wrth groesi ffiniau disgyblaethol, a hoffai’r gynhadledd hon ystyried y modd y mae’r cyfnewid rhyngddisgyblaethol hwn a chyfieithu syniadau yn gweithredu heddiw.

Gallwn ddechrau meddwl am gyfieithu fel proses ieithyddol a chwestiynu’r berthynas ffurfiol rhwng dau destun: testun gwreiddiol, a thestun wedi’i gyfieithu. Pan fyddwn yn ystyried y berthynas ffurfiol rhwng y ddau destun hyn, gallem ddefnyddio termau fel manylder, ffyddlondeb, hunaniaeth, cywerthedd, cyfatebiaeth a chywirdeb. Pan fyddwn yn meddwl am gyfieithu yn y modd hwn, rydym yn canolbwyntio ar gysyniadau o debygrwydd a gwahaniaeth, yn ogystal â dechrau holi cwestiynau megis ‘beth yw cyfieithiad?’, ‘beth sy’n gwneud cyfieithiad da neu gywir?’ ac ‘a ellid cael cyfieithiad delfrydol neu berffaith?’

Ar y llaw arall, gallwn feddwl am gyfieithu fel proses ontolegol a chanolbwyntio ar yr effeithiau cymdeithasol sy’n codi yn sgil y weithred o gyfieithu. Gallai ymddangos mai cyfleu gwybodaeth yw’r effaith bwysicaf ac amlycaf. Ond yr hyn sydd yr un mor arwyddocaol yw effeithiau’r cyfieithiad a ddefnyddir neu a gamddefnyddir at ddibenion cymdeithasol: mudiadau/sefydliadau crefyddol, mentrau masnachol, prosiectau trefedigaethol, ieithoedd cenedlaethol a llenyddiaeth genedlaethol, a mudiadau llenyddol. Felly, rhaid meddwl am y modd y caiff testunau eu cyfieithu a’r termau rydym yn eu defnyddio i ddisgrifio’r berthynas rhwng ffynhonnell a tharddiad, y gwreiddiol a’r cyfieithiad, mewn perthynas ag effeithiau cymdeithasol cyfieithu.

Mae’r cyferbyniad rhwng ymagweddau cyfryngol a deongliadol at iaith yn gysylltiedig â’r gwahaniaeth ieithyddol/ontolegol hwn. Mae’r ymagwedd gyfryngol hon yn gweld iaith fel ffordd o gyfathrebu sy’n seiliedig ar gyfeiriad at realiti empirig, tra bod yr ymagwedd ddeongliadol yn gweld iaith fel dehongliad ac yn gweld bod realiti yn cael ei ffurfio gan ystyron sy’n ddiwylliannol ac felly’n amodol. Mae’n amlwg, p’un a yw rhywun yn cael y fraint gyfryngol neu’r fraint ddeongliadol bod i hyn oblygiadau cymdeithasol, gwleidyddol a diwylliannol pwysig y tu hwnt i bryderon ffurfiol ieithyddiaeth yn unig.

Ar gyfer y gynhadledd hon, rydym yn annog y rheiny sy’n cyflwyno crynodebau i gofio am luosogrwydd y cysyniad o gyfieithu. Sut mae eich gwaith eich hun yn cysylltu â chyfieithu? Sut ydych chi’n cyfieithu syniadau, cysyniadau, arferion, ac ati, o ddisgyblaethau eraill ar gyfer eich maes penodol eich hun? Sut ydych chi’n gweithio gydag ymchwilwyr a/neu ochr yn ochr â nhw yng ngwahanol ddisgyblaethau’r dyniaethau? Beth sy’n cael ei ennill a’i golli wrth gyfieithu syniadau o un ddisgyblaeth i un arall? Mae ystod y testunau posibl yn eang, ac yn cynnwys y canlynol, ond heb ei chyfyngu iddynt:
• Cyfieithu ar draws disgyblaethau – astudiaethau rhyngddisgyblaethol
• Cyfieithu neges ar gyfer grŵp mwy
• Cyfieithu i addasu
• Cyfieithu i ymgysylltu â’r cyhoedd – cyfieithu gwaith academaidd ar gyfer cynulleidfa ehangach
• Cyfieithu rhwng diwylliannau, dros gyfnod a gofod
• Cyfieithu a thechnoleg – cyfieithu rhwng gwahanol fformatau (llyfrau, teledu, cyfrifiaduron, dyfeisiadau symudol, y rhyngrwyd, ac ati)
• Moeseg cyfieithu – sut mae cyfieithu yn effeithio ar bobl, beth sy’n cael ei hepgor, pwy sy’n cael y fraint, a phwy sy’n cael ei ddistewi/ei wthio i’r cyrion?
• Methodolegau cyfieithu.
• Estheteg cyfieithu – sut ydym ni’n cyfieithu affeithioldeb, materoliaeth iaith, y soniarusrwydd, yn ogystal â’r synnwyr?
• Theori cyfieithu – beth yw cyfieithiad? Pa mor dda mae’n gweithio? At ba ddiben?

Cyflwynwch grynodebau heb fod dros 300 o eiriau i TranslationsConference@cardiff.ac.uk erbyn 24 Mawrth. Dylech gynnwys nodyn bywgraffyddol byr. Os caiff ei dderbyn, ni ddylai’r papurau bara mwy nag 20 munud. Mae ffurflen ar gyfer cyflwyno crynodeb a rhagor o wybodaeth ar gael yma: www.cardiff.ac.uk/ugc/go/translationsconference