Doha, Qatar- Literary translation was the topic at hand for the Continuing the Conversation: Bridging Civilizations through Translation two-day conference. Held in conjunction with Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation, the conference was designed to create a Gulf-based platform to discuss issues related to translation at both the theoretical and practical levels.
“Out of the University’s conviction in fostering well-rounded students who are comfortable with English as well as Arabic, I have been teaching a translation course called Bridging Civilizations to our students,” says Amal Mohammed Al Malki, Ph.D., Assistant Teaching Professor of English at Carnegie Mellon Qatar, who assisted developing the conference program.
“Teaching translation as both theory and practice is crucial to our students as translation is a part of their make-up as bilinguals. Translation is prominent in connecting voices and experiences and transferring them across different linguistic communities. Lack of a common language can certainly hinder the possibility of connecting with others.”
Panels of top literary translators led discussions on philosophies and strategies of translation. Workshops focused on various aspects of the craft in relation to Arabic/English and English/Arabic translation. Plenary sessions included ‘What Makes a Literary Translator and What Does a Literary Translator Do;’ ‘The Politics of Translation: Culture, Gender and Art;’ and ‘Ways Forward: A Public Round Table of Plenary Speakers and Leaders.’
Bloomsbury Qatar initiated the conference as part of its efforts to improve standards of Arabic language translation as well as editing of texts both into and out of Arabic. “BQFP is keen to draw on its network, expertise and experience to hold activities such as Qatar’s first literary translation conference in conjunction with other vital, locally-based partners such as Carnegie Mellon Qatar,” says Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar, Ph.D., Reading and Writing Development Director at BQFP.
“By helping develop and nourish literary translation in the region, BQFP seeks to improve the standards of Arabic translation and ultimately give readers a more enjoyable reading experience.”
Pre-registered attendees include 75 participants from the greater Doha community, as well as 20 invited international delegates from Egypt, Lebanon, the United Kingdom, the United States and Nigeria.
The conference will take place on May 19-20, 2010 at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Education City, lecture Hall 1202. For more information please visit:
http://qatar.cmu.edu/771/translation.
