Translate Better geht in die zweite Runde. Nach dem großen Erfolg von 2018 auf dem Landgut Stober, geht es in diesem Jahr vom 5. bis 7. Oktober in den Kapuzinerhof in Laufen/Bayern in der Nähe von Freilassing bzw. Salzburg/Österreich.

Am Konzept des Workshops hat sich nichts geändert: Er richtet sich an erfahrene, seit vielen Jahren tätige Übersetzerinnen und Übersetzer, die aus dem Englischen ins Deutsche bzw. aus dem Deutschen ins Englische übersetzen. Ziel von Translate Better ist es, die Kompetenz der Teilnehmer in ihrer Muttersprache zu stärken. In praxisnahen Einheiten werden Tricks und Tipps zum Feinschliff der eigenen Texte vermittelt, mit denen sich Stil und Ausdruckskraft verbessern lassen.

Das Besondere an dieser Veranstaltung ist ihr Klausurcharakter. Die Teilnehmer arbeiten zwei Tage intensiv miteinander, um sich von ihren gewohnten Arbeitsweisen zu lösen und mit frischer Inspiration ans Werk zu gehen. Der Kapuzinerhof bietet hierfür den idealen Rahmen. Eindrücke vom Veranstaltungsort finden Sie unter http://www.kapuzinerhof.de

Der Workshop beginnt am Montagabend mit einem gemeinsamen Abendessen, um neue Kollegen kennenzulernen oder alte Bekannte wieder einmal zu treffen. Im Seminarpreis enthalten sind 2 Übernachtungen (5.-7. Oktober 2020) inkl. Frühstück, 2 x Abendessen und 2 x Mittagessen sowie der Pausenkaffee.

Bitte beachten Sie: Dieser Workshop ist in zwei Stränge aufgeteilt - einer für Übersetzerinnen und Übersetzen mit Deutsch als Muttersprache und einer für jene mit Englisch als Muttersprache. Es ist nur möglich, sich für den Strang der eigenen Muttersprache anzumelden, da das Ziel ist, sich in der eigenen muttersprachlichen Ausdrucksweise zu verbessern. Für beide Stränge gibt es dieselbe Anzahl an Plätzen.

Vorliegender Strang richtet sich an englische Muttersprachler. Übersetzerinnen und Übersetzer mit Muttersprache Deutsch können sich hier anmelden: https://seminare.bdue.de/4757

Zum Programm:
Natürlich wird es auch gemeinsame Einheiten geben. Außerdem bestehen in den Pausen und bei den Essen am Mittag und Abend auch ausreichend Möglichkeiten zum Austausch.

Für den englischen Strang des Workshops konnten wir folgende Referentinnen und Referenten gewinnen:

Matt Baird: Making more sense of im Sinne von and other phrases translators love to hate

The most important tool in our translation toolbox is arguably writing well in our target language. It’s how we add value and set ourselves apart. Now that neural machine translation has a foothold in our industry, there’s no time like the present to up your game and produce translations that read like original copy. But in today’s high-paced, digital environment, it’s all too easy to rely on translation memory (or, dare I say, MT?) and trot out the same old tired translations over and over again. This session is designed to remind us how important it is put on our thinking caps and make real sense out of the text before us. Continuing from where we left off at Translate Better 2018, we’ll dissect some common (and not-so-common) German phrase and explore idiomatic ways to render them in English. You’ll walk away inspired to think outside the box and give your translations a fresh, new shine – in one sense or another.

Joy Burrough-Boenisch: The whys and wherefores of editing non-native English

Using a mix of Powerpoint® presentations and discussion of sample texts, in this interactive session we’ll start by exploring the causes and characteristics of non-native English before considering strategies to use for editing or avoiding such English. We’ll go beyond false friends and literal translations and consider other ways written English can be influenced by the author’s or translator’s mother tongue. The examples will be drawn from various languages, including German. Why is it important for translators to understand the whys and wherefores of editing non-native English? There are two main reasons. One is that with English now a global lingua franca, many non-native-English authors are opting to write directly in English rather than to write in their mother tongue and have their text translated, which opens up opportunities for translators to add the editing of non-native English to the language services they offer. The second reason is that translators working into English, especially those living or working in non-Anglophone or multilingual settings, need to avoid “foreign” influences permeating their own English. There is a third reason too: identifying the – often subtle – linguistic influences and writing conventions from other languages that are in an English text is intellectually satisfying and fun.

Deborah Fry: Translating in Style

The rapid rise of NMT is revising perceptions of translation quality and the value that can be added by human translators. Language workers need to up their game given instantaneous delivery of increasingly “natural-sounding” text, not to mention greater client familiarity with English. The ability to deliver stylish, truly accurate target documents that avoid “translatorese” is crucial for their success. To achieve this, they need an in-depth knowledge of English style, text registers and common pitfalls, plus robust yet sensitive editing skills.
This hands-on 1.5-hour workshop examines into-English translations and other English (and “English”) texts to introduce these issues. Participants will be provided with typical passages in advance and invited to produce the most elegant and effective target versions possible. Pitfalls, principles and potential solutions will then be discussed in class. Participants are also welcome to send in specific questions for discussion up to four weeks in advance.

Bradley Schmidt: Creative Cross-Pollination: Learning from Literary Translation

In this workshop, participants will discuss the similarities and differences between general/technical translation and literary translation. The format will combine interactive exercises with a presentation on various creative methods and approaches literary translators use, with examples taken from existing translations. Participants will also consider the concepts of voice, style, and tone in literary translation and then break into small groups to apply these creative techniques in sample translations.

Ken Paver: Don’t translate: write

The best advice Ken Paver was ever given by his translation mentor provides the basis for a workshop based on collaborative German-English translation of sample texts that looks at how translators can use their writing skills, their translation theory toolbox, and their subject knowledge to produce fit-for-purpose technical translations, with the happy side-effect of boosting the standing of professional translators.

With so much into-English technical translation being poorly written at global level – because translators underestimate the importance of technical text, or because they simply don’t know any different – the world is crying out for high-quality technical translations that focus on the needs of the end user. By getting translators to produce their own well-written texts, Ken Paver will attempt to show that high-quality technical translation, written in a clear, declarative style that focuses on the “arc of meaning”, without getting hung up on terminology, can be within the grasp of every translator who is prepared to raise their game.

Ein detailliertes Programm erhalten die angemeldeten Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer ein paar Wochen vor Beginn des Workshops.

Für Ihre Reiseplanung: Wir beginnen am Montag, 5. Oktober 2020 um 19 Uhr mit einem gemeinsamen Abendessen. Die Veranstaltung endet am Mittwoch, 7. Oktober 2020 um 17.00 Uhr.
Laut Kapuzinerhof ist die Anreise für alle diejenigen, die mit dem Zug kommen, am schnellsten über Salzburg. Von dort fährt alle 30 Minuten eine S-Bahn, die auf der österreichischen Seite des Grenzflusses Salzach hält. Von dort ist man in 10 Minuten am Kapuzinerhof.

Über die Referenten

Bradley Schmidt, a native of Kansas, studied German and theology in the USA and Germany before completing a master’s degree in translation studies in Leipzig in 2010. After initially working in the field of general and technical translation, he shifted his focus to the translation of literary and cultural texts. Brad has been teaching writing and translation classes at Leipzig University since 2009. 

Originally from Liverpool, and now based in the West Midlands (UK), Ken Paver has more than 30 years’ experience as a translator/interpreter, trainer, lecturer and copywriter, working mainly in the nuclear and technology sectors. He translates from French, German and Dutch into English, and interprets between French and English. Ken has a degree in Modern Languages from Oxford, and a postgraduate qualification in Translation and Interpreting from the University of Kent. He is currently a member of the Council of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIoL), and has previously been a member of the Board of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI). In 2019 Ken gained Chartered Linguist status from CIoL.