The Queen's College Newsletter: Trinity Term 2019

THE QUEEN’S COLLEGE
www.queens.ox.ac.uk
The Queen’s College Translation Exchange
Charlotte Ryland, Co-Director of the Translation Exchange
and College Lecturer in German
In my career to date I have researched and taught translation,
worked with literary translators and publishers to promote
international literature, and run translation workshops for
participants young and old. These experiences have shown me
how effective translation can be as a way of engaging learners
of all ages in languages and in literature, in their own and in
other cultures. This conviction, coupled with concern about the
dramatic decline in language-learning at UK schools, led me
to establish the Queen’s College Translation Exchange (QTE)
in September 2018 with literary translator Jenny Higgins, and
with the support of Queen’s Fellows in Modern and Medieval
Languages, Oriental Studies, English, and Classics.
QTE is a research and outreach centre based at Queen’s that
raises the profile of translation and international culture. We are
building on Queen’s excellent foundations in translation, from
the Fellows’ significant experience in literary translation research
and practice to the College’s hosting of Modern Poetry in
Translation. During this pilot year, with generous support from
Queen’s and the European Commission Representation in the
UK, we have developed a broad programme of translationrelated
activities for students, schools, and the public.
Putting translation centre stage
Only 5% of books published in the UK are in translation,
so our new International Book Club spotlights some of the
excellent writing from overseas that does make it into English.
Our meetings this year, attended by students and members of
the public, have provided rich opportunities to reflect on works
by Mauritian, Chilean and Austrian
writers. We also aim to give a
greater insight into the working
practices of literary translators,
through events that have
included a translation workshop
with Azerbaijani-German author
Olga Grjasnowa and a talk by
the prolific translator of Russian classics, Nicolas Pasternak
Slater. Having studied Russian and German at Queen’s in the
late 1950s, Pasternak Slater became a hospital doctor before
returning to languages in his retirement. In March of this year he
spoke to a packed Shulman Auditorium about his forthcoming
translation of Boris Pasternak’s Dr Zhivago. Taking his listeners
through a series of key examples, he illustrated the many
decisions and questions of structure and style at stake when
translating – in particular when dealing with such great stylists
as those in the Russian canon. Pasternak Slater’s wife, Maya
Slater, herself a writer, academic, and translator, concluded
the talk with some comments on the pictures that will illustrate
the forthcoming Dr Zhivago. For each of these events, we
have encouraged local Modern Foreign Language teachers
to spread the word among their pupils, ensuring that those
young language-learners feel as welcome at the talks and
workshops as our own students do.
Taking creative translation into schools
Engagement with schools is key to all we do at the
Exchange, and is most prominent in our student
ambassador programme. We have developed a
training course that gives university students the skills
and resources to deliver translation workshops in
primary and secondary schools, with the aim of
raising aspiration amongst young language-learners
and widening participation at university. Trained by
Queen’s alumna Gitanjali Patel and Rahul Bery
(most recently Translator-in-Residence at the
British Library), the students have designed
their own schools workshops, on texts
ranging from a Mexican picture book to a
contemporary German novel. The impact
of these workshops is
twofold: pupils have the
opportunity to interact
with foreign languages in
an exciting, creative way;
and they are brought into
inspiring, informal contact
with students who are
currently immersed in
the pleasure of studying
languages. This first
year’s ambassadors
have produced fantastic
workshops, and we’re
looking forward to watching as
their enthusiasm is transmitted to pupils in classrooms
across Oxford.
Events like this workshop help our pupils to
start looking beyond school and get a taste for
what might come next. Oxford can seem so
out of reach, and our most talented linguists
have been pleasantly surprised to find activities
such as the translation workshop accessible
enough to be enjoyable.
– Vivienne Arnold,
Curriculum Co-ordinator for Modern Languages,
Wallingford School
Overall, we have been delighted by the enthusiastic response
to the Translation Exchange’s first year, from students, teachers
and the wider public, and will be developing it further next year.
Letter block image © Sergio Delle Vedove
Workshop at St Christopher’s School, Oxford
Photo © David Fisher
It was inspiring working with a group of such
talented and creative linguists. The students
really made the workshop templates their own
and it was great to see such a wide range of
ideas in action.
– Gitanjali Patel (Modern Languages, 2008)
You can find out more about our activities at
www.queens.ox.ac.uk/translation-exchange
or on Twitter @TranslationExch
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