4:45 pm – Tsadra Conferences https://conference.tsadra.org Buddhist Conferences Thu, 17 Nov 2022 06:34:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.11 Approaches to Translation & Transmission https://conference.tsadra.org/session/approaches-to-translation-transmission/ Sat, 21 Apr 2018 13:41:23 +0000 http://conference-wp.tsadra.org/?post_type=session&p=14984 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.

]]> Working with the Medium of the English Language https://conference.tsadra.org/session/working-with-the-medium-of-the-english-language/ Fri, 13 Apr 2018 06:00:14 +0000 http://conference-wp.tsadra.org/?post_type=session&p=14975 A craft person’s medium is one of the most essential aspects of their work. Although translators spend much of their time learning the Tibetan language, the target language is just as important when looking at the final product of a meaningful translation that reaches modern readers. Spend a session with master translators Thupten Jinpa and Wulstan Fletcher exploring the essential medium of communication in the modern world.

]]> Accuracy and Inspiration: Translating Mahamudra Texts https://conference.tsadra.org/session/accuracy-and-inspiration-translating-mahamudra-texts/ Thu, 12 Apr 2018 06:00:10 +0000 http://conference-wp.tsadra.org/?post_type=session&p=14974 The craft of translation often involves the tension between the need for accuracy and the need to express inspirational text in appropriately inspirational language. In this session, Elizabeth Callahan shares her experience wrestling with these issues on her work with Dakpo Tashi Namgyal’s Moonbeams of Mahāmudrā (Phyag chen zla ba’i ‘od zer) and the Ninth Karmapa’s Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance (Ma rig mun sel). Professor Mathes discusses difficulties arising from translating quotations of Indian texts found in Tibetan works, such as Phyag rgya chen po gsal sgron and the Zla ba’i ‘od zer.

]]> Oddities and Curiosities in Tibetan Translation https://conference.tsadra.org/session/oddities-and-curiosities-in-tibetan-translation/ Wed, 11 Apr 2018 06:00:43 +0000 http://conference-wp.tsadra.org/?post_type=session&p=14973 “What is an oddity,” you ask? How odd of you to ask! We all know what oddities are when we see them. It may be a subjective response, but it’s there all the same. The odd thing seems out of place, it sits there glaring out at you without an obvious explanation. Every problem has its solution, or so it’s sometimes said, but that doesn’t mean they always will be solved.

The co-organizers take turns presenting oddities from among their personal favorites. The range of possible oddities, which seems beyond all limit, were narrowed down to more manageable categories that included the following: 1. Oddities of script. 2. Oddities of Spelling. 3. Word oddities. 4. Odd identifications (problems with proper names). 5. Odd philosophical discussions. 6. Odd choices of quotations 7. Odd ways of filling numeric categories. And, as a final catchall category, we should add oddities of content. Our primary intention is to discuss literary examples, oddities found in Tibetan-language texts.

]]> Using Technology Skillfully: Resources for Translators https://conference.tsadra.org/session/using-technology-skillfully-resources-for-translators/ Tue, 10 Apr 2018 06:00:14 +0000 http://conference-wp.tsadra.org/?post_type=session&p=14972 This special session will be of interest to translators looking to learn more about current resources available for Tibetan translation, including digital libraries, databases for canonical research, computer assisted translation tools, SmartCAT, Tibetan OCR, and other Tibetan text resources.

Resources described in the session are:

  1. Timeless Treasuries, a Tsadra Foundation Initiative;
  2. The Rinchen Terdzo Chenmo collection, a Tsadra Foundation project;
  3. The Damngak Rinpoche Dzo collection, a Tsadra Foundation project;
  4. Paul Hackett’s Columbia University Buddhist Canons Research Database;
  5. SmartCAT for Tibetan translators: ten minute demo from Dirk Schmidt of Esukhia;
  6. The Annotated Corpora of Classical Tibetan and
  7. A Part-of-Speech Tagged Corpus of Classical Tibetan, both from Nathan Hill of SOAS;
  8. Nitartha Digital Library from Lama Tenam and Gerry Wiener.
]]> Approaches to Transmission in the West: New Voices and Old Traditions https://conference.tsadra.org/session/approaches-to-transmission-in-the-west-new-voices-old-traditions/ Mon, 09 Apr 2018 06:00:14 +0000 http://conference-wp.tsadra.org/?post_type=session&p=14971 What does genuine transmission of Tibetan Buddhism to the west look like? How can we be active participants in this process? What role do translators and Western teachers have in this globalized process? What is transmission, really? Two Western teachers and two translators will discuss all these issues and more in this wonderful meeting of minds.

]]> The Editorial Process Throughout Creation and Completion Stages https://conference.tsadra.org/session/the-editorial-process-throughout-creation-and-completion-stages/ Sat, 31 Mar 2018 04:37:38 +0000 http://conference-wp.tsadra.org/?post_type=session&p=14981 In this final session of the 2017 Translation & Transmission Conference, editors from different publishers and projects discuss a number of useful ideas and tools (such as the all important Chicago Manual of Style) that translators who wish to publish their work should know about and pay attention to. Key themes presented in this session are: 1) Types of editors and “editing”; 2) Process/timing of editing; 3) The view of the editor/publisher and the importance of communicating that view to the translator; 4) Translating, editing, and publishing; 5) Editing as integral to translation and transmission.

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