'Live' translation event, Saturday 19 June, British Museum

Time was that the most fun to be had with translation was taking pot-shots at isolated errors and disputed choices by translators who aren't there to answer back (reviewers, I'm talking about you). There's now a plethora of workshops, translation slams and the like to enjoy. I really like the look of the 'live' translation event being run by the London Review Bookshop as part of its World Literature Weekend. "Sarah Ardizzone, translator of Faïza Guène and Daniel Pennac, and Frank Wynne, translator of Ahmadou Kourouma and Michel Houellebecq, will each present a translation of the same short French text, and then debate and resolve the differences in the English versions with the author. The challenge will be provided by the L.A.-based francophone novelist Alain Mabanckou, whose novels push out the boundaries of the French language. The event will be chaired by writer and translator Daniel Hahn."
Those of you in the London area might like to take this opportunity to see two very experienced translators talking about the detail of their craft with the author of the source text.

Spring School for Translation Studies, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 29 Nov-4 Dec 2010

Just came round on the Translatio list, and may be of interest to some readers:

Are you involved in translation studies in Africa?
Do you want to decolonise your mind as a translator?
Then you should not miss the second Spring School for Translation Studies in Africa!

The Department of Afroasiatic Studies, Sign Language and Language Practice (DASL) at the University of the Free State and the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa are presenting the Second School for Translation Studies (SSTSA) in Africa from 29 November to 4 December 2010. This year's school is hosted by the University of Stellenbosch.

The Summer School is presented for doctoral students and/or lecturers in translation studies and intercultural communication from all over Africa with the aim of working towards an African agenda for translation studies. The Summer School features lectures, tutorials, and conference presentations under the guidance of prominent scholars in Translation Studies, Intercultural communication and Lexicography.

The aim is for the Summer School to become an annual event on the continent.

For detailed information and registration forms, visit the website of the Summer School at http://www.ufs.ac.za/SSTSA

Jericho sessions on international literature, Oxford, 9 June 2010

The translation publishing co-operative & Other Stories is holding the first of the 'Jericho sessions' combining international literature and music in Oxford on 9 June, featuring Argentinian novelist Carlos Gamerro, who will read from his work, soon to appear in English translation. Also featuring Ray Keenoy on Yiddish culture and humour. See here for more information.

transcreation jobs

Hi all,
Hogarth Worldwide, which specialises in transcreation (cross-cultural advertising and marketing), is currently hiring for a range of languages. See their website for more details. MATS students should also receive more details about these posts soon by email.

poems about translation 5: Zbigniew Herbert translated by Alissa Valles

I made one attempt many years ago to learn Polish, enchanted by the sound of it and yet thwarted by the many many cases. So I gave up and am thus reduced to reading about witchers, etc. in (albeit very good) translation. Now I have another reason for regretting not reading Polish: Zbigniew Herbert's poem 'O tlumaczeniu wierszy' [On translating poetry']. The English translation by Alissa Valles can be found at the Words Without Borders site. I was charmed by the image of the translator as a feckless bumblebee who gets part of the way into the flower but no further, and emerges on the other side with an air of self-importance and pollen on his nose.

jobs, internships, links

It's nearly June (how did that happen??). Anyhoo, a grab-bag of links for jobs, internships etc.

MO Group International is offering internships for native speakers of German, Spanish, Italian and possibly other languages. The Chicago- and Krakow-based translation company Argos Translations has a translation internship scheme. Two-month internships are available at the Krakow office to graduates from any of the Krakow universities. The L.A.-based company WordExpress offers internships in translation. Interesting to see what language combinations they are also recruiting freelancers for. For translation students and graduates in Canada, the 'wordsintransit' initiative may be of interest.

As usual, mention on the blog *does not* constitute an endorsement of any of these or other organisations. There are unscrupulous potential employers out there and placement-seekers should exercise due caution. I especially liked the unpaid internship ad which included among the tasks the intern would undertake 'Translations from Spanish into your mother tongue and vice versa and other languages'. Presumably to suit flexible, perfectly bilingual polyglot candidate of independent means... :)

Remember also the European Parliament translation traineeship scheme and the similar scheme run by the DGT of the European Commission (if you can find your way to the information you need - the website is not particularly easy to navigate).

A couple of other job links maybe worth keeping an eye on: http://www.jobs-brussels.com/ and http://www.wmo.ch/pages/prog/lsp/index_en.html, http://jobs.euractiv.com/.

A volunteer translation opportunity: http://www.connexions.org/Volunteer.htm.

I also see the UN are expecting to run a competition for English-language interpreters in winter 2010.