Translation Events in Madison, WI

By Thaís Passos, MATI Director and Erin Woodard, MATI Member

Translator and interpreter Margie Franzen recently coordinated two days of events celebrating translation in Madison, WI.

On September 17, “Superheroic? Feats of Translation!” featured re-writing graphic novels, comic captions in different languages, and a translation slam. The day started with a workshop where kids learned how to write comic book captions in languages that use different writing systems like Hindi, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian, facilitated by language teachers from Madison-area high schools and language schools. The evening included a translation slam event, in which translators shared excerpts of Michael Chabon’s book The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (originally written in English) translated from other languages back into English. Afterward, translators Daniel Youd (from Mandarin Chinese), Ben Kearney (from Dutch), and Fred Svensson (from Swedish) discussed how they conducted their translations and the impact that the translated texts had on the overall context of the book. An interesting discussion ensued, involving the entire audience.

On September 29, the second T&T Open Mic event of this year was held in Madison. This fun get-together is meant for people to share readings in English translation. In the words of organizer Margie Franzen, it is “a friendly space for language-interested folks to gather and get ideas about what the great big world of translations has to offer.” The event is open to the public, and anyone may read or simply enjoy listening to the readings and discussing the topic of translation with the group. Readers choose whatever they want to read, so long as it’s a translation (into English). People are also encouraged to read anything they have translated themselves, published or unpublished. The next T&T Open Mic will likely be in February 2017. Stay tuned!

Erin Woodard is a French into English translator with specialization in International Development, Life Sciences, and Sustainable Development.

Thaís Passos is a English and Spanish into Portuguese translator with specialization in Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine, Environment, and Sustainability.