[Web conference] TRANSLATING EUROPE – TRANSLATION IN TIMES OF DIGITAL REVOLUTION

Today, more material is being translated than ever before – but in an ever-decreasing number of languages. Globalisation, digitisation and sociocultural influences are changing social and political structures. They are having profound effects on the way in which we approach language and culture, on linguistic diversity and therefore on aspects of translation. This centuries-old artistic and cultural activity is undergoing radical change. Some people see machine translation as a curse that is threatening the standing of a profession. Others see the translation machine as the realisation of a dream which has accompanied humanity since the Tower of Babel: the dream of being able to communicate across all language barriers. What types of translation are emerging from digitisation? What effects are political and social change having on language and language awareness? How is the translator’s role changing in the field of conflict between homogenisation and cultural diversity? These and other questions will be explored in various theme-based blocks complementing the showcase exhibition. We would like to explore this and other questions with a wide interdisciplinary public. The accompanying exhibition “TransLate. From Babylon to DeepL. The Europe of Languages” by the German Museum of Books and Writing gives an insight into the world of translation.

Funded by the Minister of State for Culture and the Media.

Information and contact

Time: 4 November 2020, 14:00 – 17:00

Booking: No booking is required to take part in the web conference.

Access: The link to access the conference livestream will be published here a few days before the event.

Visit https://www.dnb.de/EN/Ueber-uns/EU-Ratspraesidentschaft/translatingeurope.html for more details.