The 4th Annual Translation Conference to be Held Mid-April

Doha, March 30 (QNA) - The Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII) of Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) and Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP) have announced this year's conference program, due to take place between April 14 and 16. The three-day conference features three panels, focusing on this edition's theme, "Texts in Contexts: New Cultural Constellations in Translation Studies," while keynote addresses will be open to the public as they explore theoretical and literary translation discussions. Dr. Ovidi Carbonell Cortes from the University of Salamanca, a keynote speaker, will analyze the perspectives on Arabic-Spanish translation, while Samuel Shimon will describe the past and present state of literary translation based on his experience as founder and editor of Banipal Magazine. The call for papers attracted contributions from regional and international scholars specialized in translation studies. The presentations will address theoretical and cultural questions related to translation, starting from the Tower of Babel, Abbasid Era, and Chinese tradition, to contemporary discussions of English and French translation of classical Sufi poetry, The Thousand and One Night, and Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswany's The Yacoubian Building. In addition, there will be a presentation on translating the Quran into English. "'Texts in Contexts' is an annual event that aims to enrich academic and cultural fields by demonstrating the importance of translation as a dialogue between cultures and nations and fostering discussions and debates among local, regional and international academics and professionals," Dr. Amal Al-Malki, TII executive director said. Participating in these panels are scholars from the University of Salamanca, Spain, University of Texas at Austin in the United States, Concordia University in Canada, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Amsterdam, American University of Sharjah, and United Arab Emirates University. "The interdisciplinary topics and international participations draw attention to Translation and Interpreting Institutes role in contributing to translation studies globally and regionally. By hosting this conference TII shows that the Arab World is a crucial translation site while emphasizing the contributions of Arabs in the translation of philosophy and other sciences during Abbasid and al-Andalus periods," said Dr. Moneera Al-Ghadeer, director of postgraduate studies and research. Hanouf Al Buainain, BQFP director pointed to the "remarkable" evolving of the conference over the past four years. "The Translation Conference has become a multidisciplinary platform that combines academics, translators, and authors in a unique way. It also takes publishing outside of its normal confines when people at the conference are privy to the literary translation process." The afternoon workshops will focus on the rising media industry in the Arab world. Dr. Ashraf Abdel Fattah, Senior Interpreter at the Al Jazeera Arabic Channel, will outline theory and practice in the "Approaches to Media Translation" workshop. Also, the conference will offer a workshop on audiovisual translation that will explore the best subtitling practices using specialized computer software. A new component in this year's conference is the "Author Conversations" in which authors talk about literary and theoretical translation in relation to their works. Dr. Amal Al-Malki will discuss her latest book "Arab Women in Arab News" with Dr. Moneera Al-Ghadeer, who will address translating Bedouin women's poetry in Desert Voices. The final Author Conversation centers on fiction with novelist Fadia Faqir who will talk about her own experience as a writer in translation. (QNA)