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A trilingual adventure with Benjamin and Berman

By ucyow3c, on 1 December 2014

pencil-icon Written by Jake Christophersen (MA student, UCL Centre for Multidisciplinary and Intercultural Inquiry)

‘Equivalence’ is a word that has occupied a central part of translation theory since the very foundation of the discipline. How important does this term become when embarking on a ‘trilingual translation journey’? The third instalment of the Translation in History lecture series, which was given by Dr Chantal Wright from the University of Warwick, dealt with the question of equivalence in translation as well as fundamental questions, such as ‘Why do we translate?’

Dr Chantal Wright

Dr Chantal Wright

The audience was taken on a translational voyage through the various aspects of Dr Wright’s current research project of translating Antoine Berman’s 1984–85 lecture series, a commentary of Walter Benjamin’s ‘The Task of the Translator’, and the trouble the translator encounters in the process.

Dr Wright began the lecture by introducing the audience to both Berman and Benjamin, renowned translation theorists and their work, followed by a discussion on the motivation for translating and who translation is for.

Providing concrete examples of difficulties encountered at an early stage of the translation process, Dr Wright effortlessly held the attention of the congregation of translation enthusiasts attending her lecture.

(more…)