Italian Translation: A Series of Talks With Experts in the Field


Schmitt Hall 119 (Translation and Interpreting Lab)
Semester-long series

Continuing last year’s in-class talks, a series of presentations will be offered in connection with ITAL345 “Italian Translation for Tourism and Cultural Promotion” taught by Dr. Marisa Trubiano. The series will include the following speakers:

  • Laurence Jay-Rayon Ibrahim Aibo (Center for Translation and Interpreting, MSU, Director): “CAT (Computer-assisted-translation tools)” (Thur. Sept. 22, 1-2:15pm)
  • Chiara Marchelli – New York University: “Communication Translated” (Thur. Oct. 27, 1-2:15pm)
  • Elena Di Giovanni – Universita’ di Macerata, Italy: 1. “Reception Studies in Audiovisual Translation: Understanding Audiences” (Thur. Nov. 17, 1-2:15pm), 2. Workshop “A Hands-on Workshop on Access Services for the Blind for Opera and Theater” (Tue. Nov. 22, 2:30-4:30pm) – Please Note: The second lecture is part of the Translation Lunch Series of the Center for Translation and InterpretingRSVP required. Details

In-class talk with Laurence Jay-Rayon Ibrahim Aibo, “CAT (Computer-assisted-translation tools)”
Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools play an important part in the life of translators, especially when they are dealing with longer or repetitive texts. Such tools are used to manage terminology and reference materials, ensure consistency throughout the text, provide quality control, and preserve the formatting of source texts. In this short introductory demonstration, students will learn to use Wordfast, the CAT tool that is installed in Montclair State University’s Translation and Interpreting Lab, located in Schmitt Hall.
Laurence Jay-Rayon Ibrahim Aibo was born in France and worked in Germany, East Africa, and Canada before moving to the United States in 2008. She holds an M.A. in Foreign Languages applied to translation from the Université de Montpellier, France, an M.A in Translation and a Ph.D. in Translation from the Université de Montréal, Canada. She is currently the Director of the newly created Center for Translation and Interpreting at Montclair State University where she is developing new programs in professional translation and interpreting and also teaches Translation, French, and German. Before transitioning to her academic life, Laurence held various professional positions including independent translator and copywriter in Quebec, International Communications Manager for a French regional agency promoting tourism and culture, working for clients in the medical and marketing fields, and interpreting for German and British journalists. Her professional background makes her a strong supporter of creating bridges between the areas of translator training and professional translation. This semester, her French translation course embraces a service learning component, i.e., translating training materials for French-speaking immigrants at the International Rescue Committee. The main focuses of her research are the translation of African literatures, translating sound, audiobook translation, and recently translation pedagogy. She has published articles in translation journals such as MetaTranslation, Terminologie, RédactionHermeneus, and in Research in African Literatures.
In-class talk with Chiara Marchelli, “Communication Translated”
How to translate for the communication business? How to understand and decode the specific language required by each client? How to transpose the intention, mission, and identity of a campaign or an agency into another language, culture and sensibility? How to betray all of this in order to be effective? Translating is never easy, sometimes it is plain impossible. This is why translating for businesses such as Prada, 2×4, Accenture, requires not only a high degree of fluency and precision, but also – and especially – what Chiara Marchelli calls the “.0 skill”: a mix of knowledge, expertise, imagination, creativity and, yes, disobedience.
Chiara Marchelli was born in Aosta, Italy and obtained her MA in Oriental Languages in Venice, Italy. She lived in Belgium and Egypt before moving to New York in 1999. She has worked as a Creative Writing Professor at Pavia University and at John Cabot University in Rome. Since 2004, she has been teaching Italian, Translation and Creative Writing at New York University. She also consults with American and Italian companies and translation agencies as a copywriter, editor and translator.
In 2003 she published her first novel, Angeli e Cani (Marsilio), which was awarded the “Premio Rapallo Carige Opera Prima.” She also published a short story collection in 2007, Sotto i tuoi occhi (Fazi), and the novels L’amore involontario in 2014 (Piemme), and Le mie parole per te (Piemme) in 2015. Her new novel, Le notti blu, will be published in 2017 by Giulio Perrone Editore.

Accessibility for Audiences with Diverse Abilities
A Talk and a Workshop by Elena Di Giovanni
See flyer

In-class talk with Elena Di Giovanni, 1. “Reception Studies in Audiovisual Translation: Understanding Audiences”
Although still young, audiovisual translation studies have expanded at a rapid pace over the past two decades, in spatial, thematic, methodological terms. Still dominated by linguistic-based approaches, research in audiovisual translation has nonetheless seen an increase in studies focusing on the before and after, i.e. on the cognitive processes underlying the creation of audiovisual translation, and on the reception of translated texts. This seminar aims to highlight the importance and impact of reception studies in audiovisual translation research and practice. Focusing on different media and presenting a series of empirical studies, we shall discuss the methodologies and tools employed to evaluate audience reception and highlight further opportunities for practitioners and researchers.
In-class talk with Elena Di Giovanni, 2. “A Hands-on Workshop on Access Services for the Blind for Opera and Theater”
Making entertainment accessible for all, i.e. catering for the needs of any audience, is increasingly central for international bodies, national governments and entertainment providers. Inclusion is today perceived as a core issue, whereby entertainment is to be enjoyed by all at the same time, in the same way. This workshop reports on a series of projects carried out in the past few years to make live performances accessible for the blind and visually impaired. Audio introductions, audio descriptions, touch tours and many other techniques to make opera and theater accessible for the blind will be presented and practiced, through a series of practical examples.
Elena Di Giovanni ‌is Associate Professor of English Translation at the University of Macerata, where she specializes in audiovisual translation and media accessibility, but also translation and writing in postcolonial settings and translation of audiovisual texts for children. From 2007 to 2010, she led the Italian research unit on audio description for the EU-funded project “DTV4ALL – Digital Television for All”. In 2012 and 2013, she has been the sole international investigator in the project “Translating Music”, funded in Great Britain by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, with a special focus on surtitling for operas and accessibility for the sensory impaired. Since 2008, she has been actively working for the provision of access to film, television, opera, theatre and cultural spaces in Italy, with over 100 events made accessible so far. Since 2008, she is coordinator of accessibility for the Macerata Opera Festival, where she leads teams of surtitlers and audio describers. Since 2008, she has been Visiting Lecturer at Roehampton University, London, UK, Masters’ Degree in audiovisual translation. Since 2013, she lectures on audiovisual translation and accessibility at the Venice Film Festival (Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica di Venezia), within the European Parliament-funded LUX Prize for cinema (28 Times Cinema). She has been a translator and proofreader for the cinema, television, theatre and opera for 20 years.

Resources
An Ecosystem for Language Professionals to Help Bridge the Gap

Italian Translation Curriculum and Internship Project