NEWS & EVENTS

Romani Language and Translation

A three-day event was held from October 14 to 16, 2021 that focused discussion on Romani language and culture through the perspective of translation.

Two-day online event that focused on ethics and translation (written) and interpreting (oral) in the Romani context.

June 20 - July 1, 2023

Academic and professional lecturers

Philippe Caignon; Renée Desjardins; Ugo Ellefsen; Debbie Folaron; Ian Hancock; Laurence Jay-Rayon Ibrahim Aibo; Rita Kothari; Hristo Kyuchukov; Barbara Lorenzkowski; Carmen Ruschiensky; Lela Savić; Hedina Sijerčić; Sherry Simon; Şebnem Susam-Saraeva; Gyula Vámosi.

This first-ever interdisciplinary summer institute combining Romani and translation expertise will provide students/attendees with opportunities to apply Romani language skills to practice and research that involves translation in a variety of contexts.

General objectives:

1. to discuss the specificities of minority translation in general, and multilingual Romani translation in particular, with on-site scholars and practitioners;
2. to explore strategies useful for developing bilingual and plurilingual abilities into translation or interpretation skills in the Romani context;
3. to share insights, experiences, and expertise on Romani translation and interpreting practices;
4. to encourage avenues of research in the area of Romani translation;
5. to offer students/attendees on-site opportunities for translation practice, self-reflection on translation and interpreting procedures, and discussions with experienced translators and researchers;
6. to create an environment of positive exchange that can inspire the creation of networks and partnerships for future projects and initiatives in the domain of Romani translation.

The summer institute sessions are organized into morning and afternoon modules, and activities in 4TH SPACE, Concordia University’s interactive knowledge-sharing space at the downtown campus. Attendees are expected to actively participate. They are encouraged to meet faculty members, students and practitioners working in Canada’s official languages (English, French) and other immigrant and Indigenous languages. Qualified undergraduate and graduate students, translators, teachers, writers, interpreters, journalists and others wishing to explore the professional and academic areas of Romani translation are encouraged to apply.

Planned course modules and activities include:

• Romani language & linguistics for translators and interpreters (Hristo Kyuchukov)

• Translation as a tool for teaching the Romani language (Hedina Sijerčić)

• Conducting & transcribing oral history and other interviews with translators and interpreters (Barbara Lorenzkowski) (Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling)

• Translation technology as a tool for teaching language and translation (Ugo Ellefsen, Debbie Folaron, with Romani language leads Hristo Kyuchukov and Gyula Vámosi)

• Minority language-culture in translation (Rita Kothari)

• Romani language-culture in translation (Hedina Sijerčić)

• Translating poems and short stories practicum (Rita Kothari, Hedina Sijerčić)

• Romani language and translation workshop (Gyula Vámosi)

• Translation, migration, and memory (Sherry Simon)

• Professional interpreter practices and certification (Laurence Jay-Rayon Ibrahim Aibo)

• Romani interpeting practice (Gyula Vámosi)

• Romani language realities: common language? Standardization? (Ian Hancock)

• Professional terminology methods for translation purposes and certification (Philippe Caignon)

• Audiovisual translation and subtitling: concept and practice (Ugo Ellefsen, with Romani language lead Gyula Vámosi)

• News media translation (Renée Desjardins) Romani news and media translation

• Music and multimodal translation (Şebnem Susam-Saraeva) Romani music and multimodal translation (Hristo Kyuchukov and Gyula Vámosi)

• Food translation & culture (Renée Desjardins) Romani food & culture (Mária Vámosiné Palmai)

• Translator self-reflexivity, professionalism, & ethics (Debbie Folaron, Hedina Sijerčić, Carmen Ruschiensky

4TH SPACE activities:

• Open discussion on Romani language and translation (Hristo Kyuchukov, Hedina Sijerčić)

• Open public discussion: Roma perspectives on films and documentaries about Roma (Hristo Kyuchukov, Gyula Vámosi)

• Open discussion on Roma cultures (Hedina Sijerčić)

• Public talk: Jekhipe – Unity (Ian Hancock)

• Public roundtable discussion with Roma journalists on reporting and translating news and social media in Romani context (Lela Savić, Branko Ɖurić, Dalibor Tanić)

• Public program: Romani translation readings, and attribution of “Ronald Lee Translator Award”

Activities include:

• Guided assistance for selecting and translating excerpts of poetry, tales, or short stories for the capstone public program

• Hands-on exercises for translating, subtitling, and captioning of audio-visual content

• Participation in public Romani translation reading capstone event

• Event at independent media company La Converse
  

The Romani-Translation Summer Institute is the third in a series of program events planned by the Jean Monnet Chair. It follows Workshop 1 (2021) and Workshop 2 (2022). Mode of delivery is on-site. Sessions will take place on-campus at the Département d’études françaises, 4th Space, and at the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS), as well as at the Goethe-Institut, Le Frigo Vert, and at La Converse.

For more information or if you wish to help support this initiative, please contact ROMTRA@concordia.ca or debbie.folaron@concordia.ca.