Translators on Translating: Theoretical Views, Praxis and Resonances 12-13 June 2015, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3, France CALL FOR PAPERS (Submission deadline: January 31) Following the one-day conference organized in November 2013 at the Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3, this international conference will focus on prefaces and paratexts written by translators to justify and/or explain their work. The aim of this conference is to explore the interactions between theory and practice, and how a translator’s critical and analytical stance can alter the way he/she engages with language and writing. When translators speak up, they often express theoretical positions concerning their own translational strategies. However are they to be believed? How does the praxis bear up to close scrutiny in the light of the paratext? Do their theoretical postures derive from their translation practices or does the theoretical discourse come first, sometimes without any immediate practical implications? The preface then becomes a manifesto of sorts that may have an impact on other translators and further broaden the field of translation studies. Sometimes the theoretical standpoint contradicts the strategies that are implemented and comes across as a form of imposture. A trick played on the reader but to what purpose? Do the translators use the preface to proactively defuse criticism? Do they proclaim their attachment to the doxa only to, later, better subvert it? What criteria can be used when comparing theory and practice? How can we determine whether the gap between the two is not an optical illusion, blinded as we are by our inability to stand at a critical distance? When authors engage in a translating activity which voice prevails in their prefaces? That of the translator or that of the author? Do their theoretical reflection and grappling with another’s text have deeper ramifications—for example modifying their own writing? Prefaces to translations are places where the reader is asked to accept a reading contract. Do the terms vary depending on whether it is an original work or a translation? Papers may focus on old or contemporary prefaces -- or paratext -- written by translators. The translations target language must be either French or English (e.g., translation of an English text into French, of a Chinese text into English, etc). A peer-reviewed publication of a selection of papers is planned. Proposals (400 words maximum) should be sent to both: Isabelle Génin ([email protected]) Jessica Stephens ([email protected])
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 07:13:13 +0000
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