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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...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...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...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...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...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...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...Attempts to flee to Europe don’t only happen via the Mediterranean Sea, but also in the Indian Ocean. There lies the island of Mayotte, an overseas territory of France. Nathacha Appanah’s new book explores flight and the fate of boys on Mayotte.
more...In this article, we look specifically at English and German, and discuss 10 terms related to race that are difficult to translate.
more...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.
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