Distinguished Speaker Wen Huang: A Revisionist’s Approach to Literary Translation
At ATA's Denver Conference, the CLD was fortunate to welcome Distinguished Speaker Wen Huang to present “A Revisionist’s Approach to Literary Translation”. With an extensive list of acclaimed translations under his belt, Mr. Huang is something of a rising star in the world of literary translation. Mr. Huang’s presentation drew on his experiences to illustrate a discussion of the role of the translator, asking if our duty ends with providing faithful word-by-word renderings of a text or if, rather, our role extends to serving as cultural conduits shaping a text to be more easily digested by a foreign audience. Mr. Huang spoke of confronting differences in Chinese and English narrative styles in translating Hu Jintao’s autobiography. He touched upon the tricky process of deciding when and how to explain opaque cultural references without breaking the literary flow. Comparing Chinese literature to watercolor paintings and English literature to photography, he explored the double standards a translator faces in differing factual accuracy norms. Mr. Huang’s presentation was engaging and nuanced. His ability to tease out difficult aspects of translation was evidenced by the lively discussion following the presentation. The CLD was fortunate to have him as our Distinguished Speaker and we hereby extend our thanks.
By Katie Spillane
Chinese to English Translator
e-mail: spillanetranslations@gmail.com
A Valuable Conference Experience
I thought attending a Conference was just like going to a trade show. As it turned out, the 51st ATA Annual Conference was anything but a trade show. Even though this was my first conference, I would strongly encourage all members to attend.
First, networking started the moment I decided to attend the Conference. The Roommate Referral Blog brought me in instant contact with several linguists from the Chinese, French, and Korean Language Divisions. The moment I got on the Big Sky Shuttle to the Hyatt Hotel at Denver International Airport, I was already chatting away with a Russian-English translator and two Spanish-English interpreters sitting behind us.
At the Conference, I made valuable business contacts and met many talented language professionals who offered practical tips and trade secrets. My networking did not stop when the Conference ended on Saturday night. Early Sunday morning my Big Sky Shuttle companions to the airport happened to be two ATA attendees - one was a German girl and the other was from Mexico. I do not know what the driver made of it when he heard “Déjà vu,” “Trados,” and “how I met my husband.” As it turned out the two lovely ladies were the roommates of my new friend Cathy from the Roommate Referral Blog. What a small world! What a global event!
The Conference caused my mailbox to fill up. As I answer the emails and follow up on inquires, I realize that the end of the 51st Annual ATA Conference is just a new beginning for unpredictable career ventures and professional growth.
By Huiping Judice
English to Chinese translator
e-mail: service@HuipingTranslation.com
My Incentives to Attend ATA Annual Conferences
The reason I decided to attend my first ATA Annual Conference, was because of its location in Denver, where I had stayed for 2 weeks in 2008 on a business trip and I was impressed by the mile-high atmosphere.
The two preconference seminars that I attended on October 27th, both of which were excellent, were given by Judy Jenner and Corinne McKay. I walked away happy and with a lot of practical tips. Once the conference started, however, the remaining days went by a little blurrily, mainly because of my lack of experience in efficiently handling seminars, a Job Marketplace, and software demonstrations.
A huge bonus of my conference experience was meeting a lot of interesting people, both at the seminars and at the dinner tables, especially my Chinese colleague Shiaoling, whose acquaintance I made on the very first day. We exchanged anecdotes about our lives while walking the 1.7-mile daily commute to and from the conference (including hopping on and off the free mall shuttle bus).
I am now certain that in the future, the location will no longer be the incentive for me to attend an ATA conference, instead, the ATA conference itself will be the incentive.
By Justine Yen
English to Chinese translator
e-mail: leebenseng@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment