Projects: macht.sprache.
macht.sprache. is a project to foster politically sensitive translation between English and German.
macht.sprache. offers a platform for crowdsourcing and discussing politically sensitive terms and their translations, and provides a tool to help translate with sensitivity.
macht.sprache
Author meets Translator: A conversation with Sharon Dodua Otoo and Jon Cho Polizzi
We could introduce Sharon Dodua Otoo by way of the many prestigious accolades she has received, but really her work speaks for itself. At poco.lit. we’ve been fans of her work for a long time and are delighted to present a conversation between her and her talented translator Jon Cho Polizzi as part of our event series “author meets translator”. We’ll be talking about the novel Adas Raum (Ada’s Room/Ada’s Realm), about humour, Berliner Schnauze, and doing politics in language and literature. Join us!
more...Author meets translator: a conversation with Marion Kraft and Eva Bonné
A warm invitation to the next "Author meets Translator" event: A conversation with Marion Kraft and Eva Bonné about politically sensitive writing and translation.
more...Translator Meets Author with Mithu Sanyal and Alta L. Price
A warm invitation to the next poco.lit. Event: A conversation with Mithu Sanyal and Alta L. Price about language, cultural appropriation, cancel culture and humour.
more...Writing and translating are not neutral: an interview with Kavita Bhanot
Kavita Bhanot is a writer, editor, translator, teacher, and activist based in Birmingham, UK. We were lucky enough to chat to her about her work and her perspective on translation – translation as a political act, a form of violence, and a tool to foster dialogue when used responsibly.
more...Machine Translation and Natural Language Processing
Reading through various studies on gender bias in machine translation, I stumble across the sentence: The doctor asked the nurse to help her. It’s used in a study that tests how gender is translated from English into languages which, unlike English, have grammatical gender. This attribution is particularly relevant when it comes to terms that label people. In English, for example, doctor is gender-neutral, whereas in German one would traditionally have to choose between ‘Arzt’ or ‘Ärztin’, the former a male doctor, the latter female. Intrigued, I open one of the most popular translation engines to see what happens when I translate this sentence into German.
more...On the Representation of Migration in the British Press: A Conversation with Anna Islentyeva
We spoke with linguist Anna Islentyeva about her research on migration discourse in the contemporary British press. She explains how Brexit has affected the discourse around European migration and how the linguistic patterns used by conservative and left-liberal media differ, but also resemble each other.
more...Translation and connection: an interview with Marion Kraft
As part of our macht.sprache. project, we organized a workshop at the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin in early September 2022. This gave us the opportunity to speak with German and American studies scholar Marion Kraft about her translation work. We discussed Audre Lorde, linguistic changes, new translations and team translations.
more...Translation Workshop: macht.sprache. Sprint
We warmly invite you to join us for a workshop on possible ways of dealing with politically sensitive language in translation. Join us at the Literarisches Clloquium Berlin on September 3.
more...Sensitivity Readings: taking a diverse readership into consideration
Our project macht.sprache. had us thinking about sensitive translation. But even within one language, there are many reasons to strive for sensitive expression. Sensitivity Readings support authors in taking a diverse readership into consideration.
more...4 Books about Language, Race and Gender
As part of our macht.sprache. project, we dealt in depth with concepts related to race and gender. For this, it was necessary to understand how linguistic discrimination works and that it is part of discriminatory social structures. Here we present 4 books (3 written in German, 1 in English) that have shaped our thinking about concepts and terminologies around race and gender.
more...The macht.sprache. extension is here!
Since the beginning of 2021, we here at poco.lit. have been working on the macht.sprache. project with Kolja Lange and Timur Celikel. The project aims to foster politically sensitive translation. Our new browser extension will help achieve this goal.
more...macht.sprache. behind the Scenes 3: Developing the Text Checker
The macht.sprache. project has been running since the beginning of 2021. Here we offer some insights into the thought processes behind the development of the Text Checker and explain why it is accompanied by a translation manifesto.
more...Disability and/in translation: The right to self-describe
In cooperation with the Goethe-Institutes in North-Western Europe, poco.lit. hosted an online discussion about disability and/in translation. Khairani Barokka and Amy Zayed shared valuable insights. This is an overview of the discussion spanning particular terms in relation to disability, pragmatic suggestions for translators and the connection between disability justice and anti-colonialism.
more...Of whale sharks and homemakers – for gender-sensitive translation
Anyone who wants to do a quick translation is probably happy to fall back on technological aids once in a while: Google Translate, Linguee or DeepL are widely known by now. But machine translation can prevent linguistic progress or the successful establishment of non-discriminatory language. Translation programmes draw from already existing texts - and these are far from being free of discrimination. That's why we're excited that our macht.sprache. project will be able to develop an integration with existing translation websites to support gender-sensitive translation with the help of the Prototype Fund.
more...macht.sprache. & Artificially Correct: A Discussion with Lann Hornscheidt and Şeyda Kurt (Part 2)
On 4 June, 2021, we hosted a discussion event with Lann Hornscheidt and Şeyda Kurt in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut. As part of the projects macht.sprache. and Artificially Correct, we were able to learn from the guests about ways of dealing with politically sensitive terms in writing and translating. This is part two of the transcript.
more...macht.sprache.: A discussion with Mirjam Nuenning and Dr. Michaela Dudley (part 2)
The second part of the transcript from our discussion with Dr. Michaela Dudley and Mirjam Nuenning that took place on 19 May 2021.
more...macht.sprache.: A discussion with Dr Michaela Dudley and Mirjam Nuenning (part 1)
On 19 May 2021, we got to hear from Dr Michaela Dudley and Mirjam Nuenning about their thoughts on translating politically sensitive language.
more...Where Jhumpa Lahiri finds herself linguistically
Jhumpa Lahiri wrote her latest novel in Italian. Afterwards she translated it into English herself. The deliberate shift in her own language focus invites me to question several things: the linguistic pressure to conform that migrants of Colour often experience. And the common idea that people can only express themselves well in one language - their mother tongue.
more...What’s in a foreword? On translator’s notes
Translators make decisions that have an enormous impact on how texts arrive in linguistic contexts beyond the language they were written in. Especially in literary translation, many of these decisions are related to questions of aesthetics and style. But these are also, as our macht.sprache. project is making increasingly clear, decisions with political undertow and ramifications. The translator’s note is often a moment that allows translators to communicate to their readers the considerations that went into their decision-making.
more...The Power of Multilingualism
The writer Olga Grjasnowa, whom many readers probably associate with her novel All Russians Love Birch Trees (Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt), was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and came to Germany when she was eleven. In her recently published non-fiction book, The Power of Multilingualism – On Origins and Diversity (which has not […]
more...“Everyone shares the responsibility of reducing the unconscious bias in artificial intelligence”: An interview with Kenza Ait Si Abbou
As part of our macht.sprache. / case.sensitive. project, we’re speaking to various experts who deal with language, translation or artificial intelligence. Kenza Ait Si Abbou explains some of the challenges in the field of artificial intelligence to us (e.g. in form of unconscious bias) but always stays solution-oriented.
more...“At some point, you have to hand in your translation”: An interview with Anabelle Assaf
As part of our macht.sprache. / case.sensitive. project, we’re speaking to various experts who deal with language, translation or artificial intelligence. Anabelle Assaf offers insights into very specific translation decisions related to gender, race and different forms of English.
more...Race ≠ Rasse: 10 terms related to race that require sensitivity in translation
In this article, we look specifically at English and German, and discuss 10 terms related to race that are difficult to translate.
more...macht.sprache.: Behind the scenes – on the code of conduct, assessing translations and getting involved
This is the second time that we share a peek behind the scenes of our project macht.sprache. This time we explain some of the thoughts that went into the development of a code of conduct, the assessment system for translation examples, and how we're hoping to motivate people to participate.
more...Political Terms and (Un)just Social Structures: An Interview with the Producers of “Erklär mir mal…” (Explain it to me)
As part of our macht.sprache. project, we’re seeking out input from various experts who deal with language, translation or artificial intelligence. With Maja Bogojević and Victoria Jeffries, the producers of the Instagram channel "Erklär mir mal…" (Explain it to me), we discuss the challenges in political work with language.
more...The role of the translator: mediator, moderator, gatekeeper
Our macht.sprache. project has given us cause to think carefully about the work of translation, and the people who do this work.
more...case.sensitive.: Behind the scenes – on design, accessibility and dealing with discriminatory language
Back in January, we announced our new project macht.sprache. Over the course of three phases, the project aims to develop a tool that will help people working with German and English to better translate politically sensitive terms. Right now, we're working on the first phase of the project, which will kick off officially on 14th April.
more...Post/colonial English: The language of African literature?
In light of our translation project, case.sensitive., we’ve had cause to think once more about the relationships between different languages, and how these work in regard to power.
more...Discrimination, language, and translation tools
Many people who find their cultural activities increasingly moving into the realm of the virtual might find themselves working more and more with translation tools. Yet these tools, and the translations they offer, tend to suffer from biases embedded into their making.
more...poco.lit.’s new project for 2021: case.sensitive.
We are happy to announce a new project for 2021, in which we will collaborate with völlig ohne to develop a web app to foster politically sensitive translation.
more...Participation
You are warmly invited to use our Text Checker and participate in the ongoing discussion, as well as add terms and translation options and examples. You can download our extension for Google Translate, and integrate sensitivity into your translations with no extra effort.
macht.sprache. requires a user profile for active participation, so that the administrative team can actively moderate and this platform remains as safe a space as possible. For this, the platform follows the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and asks only for the data that is necessary for a profile: An email address and a (made up) user name. The mail address is not public and is only used for account verification and possibly later for notifications, which are called “transactional” mails in the terminology of the GDPR. A newsletter subscription is offered as an opt-in.
Users are free to decide whether they want to appear under a pseudonym or under their real name, and if so, with which identity they will be recognized. Public contact options such as a Twitter handle can be specified in the user profile, if so desired.
Content Warning
As the topic of discussion is sensitive language, please be warned that you might encounter harmful language on the platform. We have incorporated a switch so that you can choose for yourself if you would prefer not be confronted with offensive language unmediatedly.
We’ve also developed some guidelines for respectful communication on this platform. We ask that you structure your participation in this collaborative process accordingly.
Read the Code of Conduct
Who we are
poco.lit. & völlig ohne
This project was conceptualised and is being developed by poco.lit. and völlig ohne. The conceptual curatorial team is made up of Anna von Rath and Lucy Gasser. Web design and technical execution are the work of Timur Celikel and Kolja Lange.
Anna von Rath
Anna von Rath lives in Berlin and works in the field of diversity and inclusion, and as a freelance translator. In 2019, she finished her PhD in postcolonial cultural studies. She is a co-founder of poco.lit.
Lucy Gasser
Lucy Gasser teaches literary, cultural and postcolonial studies at the University of Osnabrück, and is co-founder of poco.lit. She grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, and has lived in Germany since 2014.
Timur Celikel
Timur Celikel is UI / UX designer and Web-Developer and co-founded völlig ohne 2016. He studied Digital Media in Bremen and has 9 years of experience working for a startup and as freelancer in Berlin.
Kolja Lange
Kolja Lange lives in Berlin and works as a full-stack developer. He has 8 years of experience working in a software company and studied Digital Media in Bremen.
Lisa Nechutnys and Susanne Peter temporarily supported macht.sprache.
Software Development
macht.sprache. is an open source project which we are continuously improving. If you find any bugs, please contact us at info@pocolit.com and we will try to fix them. Additionally, everyone with the capabilities is invited to contribute directly and get involved in our repository: https://github.com/macht-sprache/macht-sprache-app
An Ongoing Project
macht.sprache.’s collective efforts to generate knowledge about sensitive translation flow into the Text Checker, which the project team develops technically and curates conceptually.
We fully acknowledge that such an endeavour can never be complete and such a tool will never be exhaustive. At the same time, we trust in the power of collaboration and discussion. The software is available as open source for further development, projects with a different focus, or translation between other languages.
More
We’ve spoken about the project in the following articles and podcasts:
- (in German) macht.sprache. – ein Online-Tool für politisch sensibles Übersetzen, auf wissenschaftskommunikation.de
- (in German) Politisch sensibel Übersetzen, im Magazin für übersetzte Literatur „Tralalit“
- (in English) macht.sprache.: In conversation with Anna von Rath and Lucy Gasser, minor constellations podcast
- (in English) International Translation Day 21: The political responsibility of the translator in the 21st century, Goethe UK YouTube Channel
- (in German) Offen für Neues: maschinelles und inklusives Übersetzen, Babelwerk
- (in English) De-biasing translation tools, Zeitgeister
macht.sprache. was funded by the Berlin Senate and the Prototype Fund (FKZ 01lS21S36).
