Symposium Features Translation Theme

The College and the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) are teaming up for the first time to co-host the annual Clifford Symposium.

This year’s symposium, titled “Translation in a Global Community: Theory and Practice,” will run from Sept. 24 to Sept. 28, and will feature faculty from both the College and MIIS as well as academics from a variety of other organizations and institutions.

The Clifford Symposium is named after College Professor of History Emeritus Nicholas R. Clifford who in his many years as a member of the faculty and administration refined analytical inquiry.  The topic varies each year.

“This year’s topic came about because Middlebury’s language curriculum does not generally emphasize translation, though it’s tied to Monterey, which is one of the foremost institutions in the country for teaching translation and interpreting,” said Kawashima Professor of Japanese Studies Stephen Snyder.

Snyder also emphasized that input from both institutions will contribute to the diversity of discussion at the symposium. College faculty will focus on translation of literature or on translation theory, whereas MIIS faculty will focus on the professional application of technical translation skills.

On Sept. 26, the Clifford Symposium will kick off with a Keynote Address by David Bellos, Director of Translation and Intercultural Communication at Princeton University. Bellos wrote Is That a Fish in Your Ear? Translation and the Meaning of Everything, the cover of which is featured on posters around campus.

Normally the Clifford Symposium is a two-day event, but pre-activities were held earlier this week before the heart of the program begins the afternoon of Sept. 26, with the keynote address by Bellos.

Translingual Magazine organized a translation trivia game in Crossroads on Tuesday night, and playwright David Edgar gave a lecture on Wednesday on the use of language in his play. Panels and presentations will run from tonight through Saturday afternoon.

“President Liebowitz and Monterey Institute of International Studies President Sunder Ramaswamy have signed onto this notion of a joint conference with the faculties working together to plan this, having their support,” said Snyder.

Snyder noted that the symposium could increase student awareness of opportunities in the translation field.

“We are under the impression that Middlebury College students in language programs probably don’t know as much about everything done at Monterey, because of the way we teach languages, it’s possible that students don’t know the range of possibilities for actually using their languages when they graduate from Middlebury. Taking them out in the real world and translating and interpreting are one of the most immediate ways that can be done.”

On Friday morning, there will be a simultaneous-interpreting booth on campus, featuring Monterey interpretation experts.

“Translation studies is a very important field now because globalization studies dominate so much of the social sciences in political science, economics, anthropology, everyone is thinking about global relations,” said Snyder. “Translation is one of the fundamental underpinnings of that, to think about how languages are learned, to think about who provides communication between cultural spheres.”

These events will underscore the theme of the symposium, which is to “make visible this invisible practice of translation.”