Lost in Translation? - Not at DCU
26 March 2004

Robert Staunton, David Murphy, Kyle Wylie, Andrew Gallagher

Dublin City University's 'Centre for Translation and Textual Studies' (CTTS) held its first postgraduate conference at DCU on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 March. The speakers and delegates attended from all over Europe, with a noticeable increase in delegates from two of the accession states of Poland and Czech Republic.

Head of the CTTS, Professor Michael Cronin said, "It is becoming increasingly clear that interpreting and translating is not just a matter for the 'experts'. The reality is that in our daily lives, we are all becoming translators to one extent or another. If we walk into a shop, catch a bus or engage in any kind of communication in the public sphere, we are required to adapt our way of speaking and listening to take into account the levels of English-language fluency of the person we are communicating with. This is, in effect, translating".

Lukasz Kaczmarek from the Kazimierz Wielki Academy in Poland emphasised the increasing role of community interpreting, which has developed as a result of the increasingly migratory nature of the European Union. While conference and law court translation services are generally understood by the broader public, the concept of translating and interpreting for other social situations is relatively new. A community interpreter would help resolve disputes in any social context which could range from rental misunderstandings to employment disputes or to misunderstandings between neighbours. The introduction of such a service could be of particular benefit to Ireland.

According to Dr Michelle Woods, conference co-organiser, "The 'word to word' dictionary approach to translation is no longer sustainable if true cross-cultural communication and understanding is to be achieved. The reality for all countries within the EU is that with the accession of new member states, there will be far larger foreign communities within each country. In effect, the need for translation has never been so great because while international boundaries can be broken down by travel, the barriers built up by languages need greater focus and attention".

Professor Jenny Williams of the CTTS said "Conferences which bring together specialists from all over Europe focus all our minds on the common issues for all translators and interpreters, which is to bring together cultures while nonetheless appreciating the richness of their diversity. This is an area in which we will all become increasingly aware over the coming years".