Here is the second abstract uploaded today, see https://globalizingdissent.wordpress/abstracts/ Subtitling for Words of Women from the Egyptian Revolution: Localizing International English and Situating Translation Ethel Odriozola Monzón, Translator with the Zenobia Traducciones Cooperative, Spain The aim of this presentation is to open up a space for dialogue with other translators and activists about some of the questions that emerged from the process of subtitling video interviews for the Words of Women from the Egyptian Revolution project. I will focus on my own experience of subtitling a number of interviews from English into Spanish, bearing in mind that the original language of the interviews is Arabic, not English. The discussion will revolve around two key issues: localizing international English, and situating translation. In Words of Women, as in many activist translation projects, English is used as a bridge, providing a convenient basis for fast translation into other languages, especially during periods of crisis. This clearly has certain disadvantages, especially in view of the colonial history of English and the different levels of access to it, the latter possibly restricting the range of expressions and linguistic strategies that can be deployed to communicate with a heterogenous audience. But using English as a bridge language also offers some interesting possibilities. Frequently, for example, restrictions on the range of expressions that can be deployed results in translations that preserve more of the flavour and distinctiveness of the original culture, and that extend English itself when a straightforward translation of a concept that exists in English is embedded in structures that are alien to the English language. Here, the subtitles or translation may succeed in enabling a closer gaze at the subjectivity that underlies the speech than a traditional translation might. One of the possibilities worth exploring here is enriching international English by systematically including untranslatable Arabic words in the subtitles, as in the case of feloul, thus encouraging the receiver to make the effort to engage with the interviewees and their world more actively. Drawing on Donna Haraways concept of situated knowledge, it is also worth thinking through what it might mean to situate translation. In any translation process, many decisions are made: ideological, political, strategic, including various types of cultural adaptations, which of course alter the meaning of the original speech to varying degrees. Translation is nevertheless rendered ‘invisible’ throughout, in many ways and from a wide range of positions. I would like to explore the possibility, even in subtitled videos, of including an “epilogue” in which some of the important decisions are explained in an effort to situate the translation and the translator, to acknowledge our own gaze, our limits (including our ignorance of the culture depicted in the video) and alternatives that were not pursued. This might allow a fuller comprehension of what is being transmitted, open up the possibility of a more active interaction with the receiver, and render the whole process of translation/mediation more transparent. Ethel Odriozola studied sociology in Madrid and Istanbul, and is currently doing research on work songs around the world and working with Zenobia Traducciones, a small translation cooperative in Madrid which specializes in political work. She participates in several alternative media groups and social movements, especially related to ‘no border’ issues and the right to the city. Her recent translations into Spanish include Assata Shakur: An Autobiography and The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 20:32:01 +0000
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