June 1, 2017 – Tsadra Conferences

What Authority Can a Translation Claim?

Marcus Perman — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 05:15:42 +0000

Although we recognise the fundamental importance of translation in the transmission of texts written in languages that we do not know, the question remains as to what authority a translation can claim. The relationship between translation and original has been a source of heated debate for centuries, with widely differing views as to how ‘faithfulness’ in translation might be defined. There is a paradox at the heart of how we view translation, for though we acknowledge the inherent difficulties of the task, we also take translation for granted to the point where translators become invisible. This paper will consider that paradox, and will trace some of the main strands of thought prevailing in the emergent discipline of Translation Studies, looking at issues of both aesthetics and ethics and exploring the role of the translator.

Translators and Intention

Marcus Perman — Sat, 28 Apr 2018 04:54:14 +0000

This first panel on the first day of the conference addressed questions related to translators and intention and the discussion ranged from Karl Brunnhölzl’s investigation of the art of “non-dual syntax” to Heidi Nevin’s insightful reflections on lineage and why we translate. Wulstan Fletcher of Padmakara Translation Group discussed the needs of target readers and the larger question of why and for whom do we translate, while Anne Klein shared her thoughts on the resonance and sometimes apparent tension between translation and transmission.

Translation Theories Made Practical

Marcus Perman — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 13:43:11 +0000

See the text discussed and presentation slides here.

Holly Gayley and Roger Jackson begin the discussion session with some provocations and a quote:

“Had translation depended for its survival on theory, it would have died out long before Cicero. Yet its practice has always assumed principle, the professional conscience of 2,000 years being summed up in Roman Jakobson’s ‘translator of what messages? betrayer of what values?’” – L.G. Kelly, The True Interpreter.

What makes for a good translation?
What are the translations you like to read and why?
What are the kinds of translations you like to create and why?

“Up to a point, each translation is a creation and thus constitutes a unique text…I do not mean to imply that literal translation is impossible; what I am saying is that it is not translation. It is a mechanism, a string of words that helps us read the text in its original language. It is a glossary rather than a translation, which is always a literary activity. Without exception, even when the translator’s sole intention is to convey meaning, as in the case of scientific texts, translation implies a transformation of the original. That transformation is not – nor can it be – anything but literary…” – Octavio Paz, “Translation: Literature and Letters.”

Working Together: Approaches to Collaboration and Negotiation

Marcus Perman — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 13:42:27 +0000

This discussion session was designed for maximum audience participation and covered topics provided by the audience, as well as touched on issues of collaboration with native speakers of either source or target language, competition between individuals and within groups, negotiation (with collaborators, but also with and between author and audience, translator and reader), and other questions of restriction, qualification, and inclusion. Some of the topics brought up by the audience included: differing intentions within groups, networking and connecting with a team, how to work together with one’s own guru, agreeing on hierarchies of correspondence, large-scale collaborations, and online forums.

Who Gets to Be a Translator? Qualifications and Questions of Authority

Marcus Perman — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 13:39:15 +0000

An open discussion about qualifications and questions of authority related to translating and being a translator. Who decides what to translate? How and why? How do translator’s learn from each other? What qualities seem most important to cultivate as a translator? What are the qualifications of a translator? What trainings were the most important in your development as a translator? Or what was lacking? How does one measure the qualifications of a translator and how does one improve? How do you take ownership and responsibility for your work?

The Translator’s Intention: Motivation, Intended Impact, and Why They Matter

Marcus Perman — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 13:40:34 +0000

This open discussion session focused on the themes of intention and motivation. Thomas Doctor and Eric Colombel facilitated the exploration of many topics the audience brought, including questions such as: What are the assumptions and expectations about reading audience? As a translator, do you feel the need to be clear and transparent about our background, perspectives, influences, and agenda? If so, how do you address that? What are we trying to reach in the readers? Cognitive understanding? Inspiration? Aesthetic enrichment? Somatic responses? Visionary opening? How do you assess the success of a translation?

Translation: Fidelity vs Innovation

Marcus Perman — Sun, 22 Apr 2018 13:40:41 +0000

As translators we create new texts while striving to transmit the authenticity of the original. What constitutes an authentic translation? Throughout the history of Buddhism in Tibet and across Asia, adaptation, assimilation, and innovation have been essential to the persistence and continued relevance of texts and the contents they transmit. As translators, do we bear responsibility for fidelity to our texts? To our readers? To “the tradition”? To what degree may we innovate in the work that we do? In sum, what are the ethics of representation in our translation work, and how do we balance our fidelity to the past with our allegiance to the present?

Approaches to Translation & Transmission

Marcus Perman — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 13:41:23 +0000

In this session, two world-renowned specialists in the area of translation and translation theory engaged in discussion with Buddhist studies scholars Luis Gomez and Jonathan Gold. Luis Gomez begins the session with a wide ranging and detailed speech on translation theory and practice, including challenges faced by the translator of a family of discourses that try to be both specialized and inspirational, as well as translation into more than one language and what that may reveal about the nature of the “source” and the “target” texts. Jonathan Gold then provides a short discussion of Sakya Pandita’s insights on translation. In his [Sapan’s] view, it was never intended that the translations should stand on their own as words on a page; they could be passed from generation to generation and from context to context, but only as long as they were transmitted through an intellectual community of knowledgeable experts. This conservatism was not the result of linguistic realism or essentialism, which would have been anathema to this great philosopher of emptiness. It is simply an extension of the pragmatic assumptions implicit in the Buddhist tradition that the dharma always needs to be carried forward by the community of practitioners, the sangha. Susan Bassnett continues the discussion by offering thoughts on ‘culture bumps’, those points in a translation where meaning is so culture-bound that it poses problems for a translator. David Bellos discusses the difference between names and nouns and concludes that using xenisms (such as those used by Buddhist translators in many cases) is tantamount to treating concepts as names, which has many advantages—but also falls short of the ideal, if not the very idea, of translation.