Zoom-Link the the Reading Workshop
Jene reine Sprache, die in fremde gebannt ist, in der eigenen zu erlösen, die im Werk gefangene in der Umdichtung zu befreien, ist die Aufgabe des Übersetzers.
Walter Benjamin
The first 20 years of the 21st century in Vietnam have witnessed an abundance of fresh translations from various languages into Vietnamese. Translation, thus, is considered not only a substantial drive in the publishing industry, but also the creative realm where translators work as artists whose performance involves recreating the original work in the Vietnamese language, as Benjamin points out.
Even though many outstanding writers have been translated into Vietnamese and are well received by the readers, their translators are mostly standing in the shadow. Moreover, the lack of a theoretical framework on literary translation makes it difficult for Vietnamese translators to raise their individual voices. It is this challenge and neglect that we set out to tackle in our project: to shed light on the vital role of literary translation and translators by holding a symposium and a workshop where prominent translators gather together to discuss the art of translation and where newcomers to this art and profession have a chance to meet up and learn from their peers and predecessors.
Participants
Ms. Quyen Nguyen
holds a Phd in English from NTU, Singapore. She is the chief editor of Zzz Review, an online literary journal in Vietnam.
Mr. Nguyen Nhat Tuan
holds a Phd in Translation Studies from Dublin City University, Ireland. He is a lecturer at Hanoi University. He will lead a reading group to discuss the role of the translator under the light of various theories in translation studies
Recommended reading
“Theories about the Translator” by Jenny Williams, in Theories of Translation, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. The Vietnamese version is translated by Nguyen Tran Phuc Duy.
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