Translation Beyond Dichotomy
This symposium was presented in 2007 by The Australian Association for Literary Translators (AALITRA) and The School of Languages & Linguistics, University of Melbourne.
26-27 October 2007
School of Languages and Linguistics, Arts Centre,
The University of Melbourne
Translation has been practised and studied in modern Western cultures as a set of binary oppositions: word-for-word versus sense-for-sense translation, faithful versus free translation, formal versus dynamic equivalence, technical versus literary translation, source versus target text, translation versus non-translation, etc. A number of challenges have been made to these dichotomies: dialectical (both/and) or postmodern. Examples of the latter are Derrida’s argument that translation is transformation, deferral, delaying, erasing of the previous text and Spivak’s statement that the task of the translator ‘is to take a risky decision in the “night of non-knowledge” not just to learn to think plus and minus at the same time’ (Spivak 1999). On such an unstable terrain, how can translators take decisions?
This symposium provided a forum to discuss approaches to translation that go beyond binary oppositions and explore the complexities of interplay between multiple texts and cultures.
Organisers
Conference Convenors: Andrea Rizzi, Anne Freadman, Chris Andrews and Vladimir Kapor
Organising Committee: Andrea Rizzi, Simon West, Rita Wilson, Gregoria Manzin, Sally Jones, Karin Touchie
For AALLITRA: Harry Aveling, Brian Nelson, Judith Rodriguez, Rita Wilson