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00:00:00 – 00:14:02
The video focuses on Susan's journey through a career influenced by her exposure to multiple languages and her significant contributions to translation studies. Her early experiences living in various countries like Denmark, Portugal, and Italy enhanced her multilingual awareness, which later fueled her academic and professional pursuits in translation. Key milestones include her involvement in translation work in Rome and the pivotal conferences in Norwich and Leuven that shaped her theoretical approach towards translation.
A crucial turning point came with the founding of the "New Accents" book series by Terrance Hawkes in 1977, where Susan proposed and published a seminal book on translation that has remained relevant through multiple editions. This book, translated into 15 languages, laid foundational insights into translation studies and made complex theories accessible to students and a broader audience, an approach praised for its clarity and readability.
The video also highlights the importance of accessibility in writing and the evolution of translation studies as a field. Susan's collaboration with Andre Lefevere resulted in the significant work "Translation History and Culture," which introduced major concepts like gender, post-colonialism, and media in translation. Their joint efforts also facilitated a major conference at Warwick in 1988, enriching the discipline with diverse philosophical and translational ideas. Overall, Susan's professional trajectory and collaborative works have significantly shaped and advanced the field of translation studies.
00:00:00
In this part of the video, Susan discusses her lifelong connection with multiple languages and how it influenced her career in translation studies. From an early age, Susan was exposed to several languages due to her family’s relocations. She explains how living in different countries like Denmark, Portugal, and Italy, and formally studying languages, ingrained a multilingual awareness in her. This awareness led her to notice how different languages can express concepts uniquely, sometimes making it easier or more challenging depending on the language used. After her first degree, Susan began her career in Rome, where she got involved in translation work, eventually leading to her first publication being a translation. Her shift towards an academic focus on translation studies began after meeting influential scholars who explored the theoretical aspects of translation, steering her towards a career she initially did not intend to follow.
00:03:00
In this part of the video, the speaker recounts the significant events in their career relating to translation and comparative literature. They highlight a notable conference in Norwich in 1975, where they connected with like-minded individuals who critiqued the formalist approach in comparative literature. This led to further discussions and a pivotal conference in Leuven. The speaker describes how they began theorizing about translation, mapping their academic studies in philology and linguistics onto their life experiences. A crucial turning point is mentioned in 1977 when Terrance Hawkes founded a series of books called “New Accents,” which aimed to introduce new literary theories to students and general readers. Despite initial skepticism from Hawkes and the Routledge editor, the speaker successfully proposed a book on translation, which has gone through multiple editions and remains relevant. The speaker notes they are currently working on the fourth edition.
00:06:00
In this segment of the video, the discussion revolves around a book on translation studies that has been consistently in print since 1980 and translated into approximately 15 languages, with current sales surpassing those at its initial release. The book is credited with laying foundational insights into what translation studies entails, covering history, literal translation, and drama translation. It was part of a series aimed at making complex theories accessible to students and young academics. The author and Andre Lefebvre are noted for their efforts to simplify sophisticated concepts without diluting the content, making the book appealing and readable. This approach aimed to reach a broader audience and prevent academic isolation. The enduring success of the book is attributed to its clarity and accessibility, ensuring its relevance even among a plethora of other available works on translation.
00:09:00
In this segment, the discussion revolves around the accessibility of writing and the significance of translation studies as a field. It emphasizes that the book in question serves as a translation of complex literary and linguistic theories into more accessible language. Mentioned is the seminal book “Translation History and Culture,” edited collaboratively with Andre Lefevere, which introduced major concepts such as gender, post-colonialism, and media in translation, marking a milestone in the discipline. The speaker also reflects on their personal and professional relationship with Andre, highlighting their collaboration and shared sense of humor. Additionally, the segment recounts the organization of a major conference in 1988 at Warwick, which featured over 250 papers from global participants, blending ideas from philosophy and translation.
00:12:00
In this segment, the speaker discusses the collaborative efforts to create a book titled “Translation, History, Culture” after finding several interesting papers on translation. The book emerged from a lack of conference proceedings in the English-speaking world and aimed to address translation beyond just language, embedding it in cultural contexts. One highlighted essay, by the late Wladimir Matsuda, explored nationalism and translation in the 19th century Czech context, which opened up new ways of thinking about translation and national identity. The book also introduced important topics such as gender, nationalism, and early post-colonialism, leading to various subsequent research avenues.