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Day 4 (Wednesday the 6th). The morning was devoted to issues of translation. You can see various foreign editions of Ulysses on the table. Jolanta Wawrzycka spoke of Polish translations. She reviewed definitions of the verb 'to translate' in various languages: to show the way, to explain, to carry across... and the connotations therefore of what a 'translator' may be expected/perceived to do. |
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Jolanta proposed the word 'transsemantification' to replace 'translation' for the shifts in meaning that can thus occur. She used as examples "rheumatic wheels" (that embeds both a low education and a psychosomatic ailment) in The Sisters, "they seemed to have been rather happy then" in Eveline, the McTrigger limerick in Lestrygonians, and "silver spoon" (= luck in English but not in Polish). She explained by a cultural mismatch why Cyclops became coarse and offending in Polish (there is no pub culture in Poland akin to Dublin's), and Eolus deflated. (Photos by Michelle Witen) |
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Teresa Caneda Cabrera looked at Spanish translations. She first introduced the concept of 'domesticated translations' (Lawrence Venuti, 1995) to mean translations in which traces of the original language or culture have been erased. She stated that Joyce's texts resist translation because they are already 'hybrids', concerned from the start with erroneous communication (of which translation is an example): confusion is embedded in Joyce's language, and misunderstandings are central to his texts. Joyce urges us to play out, perform the difficulties of language/s. Thus a conundrum exists for the translator of Joyce: Joyce's texts resist translation while at the time they demand it. She illustrated her point with examples from Clay where the confused Maria and text are clarified and soothed to the point of being domesticated in (Spanish) translation. |
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Ivana Milivojevic used the Serbian translation of Ulysses to show the difficulty/impossibility of a true translation. She started by stating that every literary work is 'porous', and that the process of translation includes filling in the pores. Thus the translator has to set a priority list that includes meaning, plot, rhythm, geographical accuracy... The translated result is determined by and reflects such (at times accidental) priorities. She illustrated her point with various examples. |
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Fritz took Ivana's point further to comment that accidents in translation may reflect the familiarity of the translator with images or idioms particular to the language of the original text. For example "greenhouse" (= public restroom, U8.97) or "in a brown study" (= in a somber mood, U13.293) are often 'mistranslated' even by the reader of the English text. Participants in the workshop came up with their own examples of initial readings as 'mis/translation' when no secondary language was involved. (I found this nice picture on the web, I hope it is OK to use it) |
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In the afternoon, we went on a guided tour of Joycean Zürich, led by Fritz Senn. At the bus stop, we regroup in pursuit of follow my leader: Liam, Thomas, Jibu, Amanda, Stephanie, Sam, Michelle, Ivana, Teresa, Matthew, Michiyo, and Fritz. |
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Fritz Senn in conversation with Michelle Witen |
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Liam Lanagan and Thomas Gurke in the back. Liam is from Ireland. He is studying at UCD and is interested in Joyce & the City. He is also an avid fan of Irish sports. |
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Amanda Sigler and Matthew Creasy, and in the backseat Stephanie Nelson. Amanda is a graduate student at the U Virginia, having majored in English and German. She is finishing her PhD on Modernism and the small periodicals and literary magazines. She spent time in the ZJJF working on The Little Review (1914-1929), the American magazine edited by Margaret Anderson that first published Ulysses in serial form. She will be attending the conference 'Modernism and Global Media' in Nashville in November. |
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Stephanie Nelson lives in Boston and teaches Classical Studies at Boston U, where she is a very popular teacher and adviser. Since a teenager, she spends her summers on a farm in Ireland (Co. Cavan) that includes waking at dawn, milking cows, and no internet access. She has combined her 2 interests in a book (co-authored with David Grene) on 'God and the Land: The Metaphysics of Farming'. |
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Teresa Caneda Cabrera. Teresa lives in Vigo (Galicia, Spain) and teaches 20c, English and Irish Literature at the University of Vigo. She is very interested in the issues of translation, theoretical and applied, particularly relating to Joyce and to modernism. She has translated several short stories into Galician, including "Bliss" by Katherine Mansfield which she urged me to read (I promise I will). She left the Workshop a day early to attend a wedding in Vigo. I totally rooted for her when Spain won the World Cup in 2008. |
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Ivana & Sam had a video camera. Ivana was hoping to film the tour with Fritz' explanations. Sam is Lecturer in James Joyce Studies and Critical Theory at Trinity college, Dublin. He recently co-edited "How Joyce Wrote Finnegans Wake" (2007) with Luca Crispi. Ivana is from Serbia, now at U Limerick. The Irish Times carried: "Svetlana and Jovan Milivojevic, Belgrade, Serbia, are delighted to announce the engagement of their daughter Ivana to Samuel Slote, son of Leslie and Lea, New York. The couple lives in Dublin." Best wishes! |
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Our first stop was Universitätstrasse. Since I have space here, assorted titibits: * Several times during our peregrinations, random Swiss people recognized Fritz for having seen his work or photos in books and news. Some approached him, others discretely stayed at a distance. * The ZJJF has at least as much artwork celebrating Fritz as Joyce, most certainly if you count the guest book. * Fritz makes a delicious pasta sauce. |
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This is Universitätstrasse 38, where Joyce stayed in 1918 and wrote 5 episodes of Ulysses. There is a commemorative plaque above the window. Behind it is a medical center that used to be the Frauenklinik (Maternity Hospital) in Joyce's times. |
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This is Universitätstrasse 29, where Joyce stayed between 1918-1919, and wrote 4 more episodes of Ulysses. The ground floor now houses a tanning salon. |