A talk by Dr. Martin Djovčoš.

Abstract

Translation has always been far from a neutral endeavour. It has the potential to build bridges, but also to create borders (Sakai 2010, Tymoczko 2014). Indeed, Tymoczko even emphasizes that translation is always partial and that the act of translating is 'engaged and committed, either explicitly or implicitly' (2000: 24). This idea is even more vivid in the digitalized world, where humans and machines have become an inseparable part of the same entity, leading to an unprecedented spread of disinformation (see CEDMO Trends 2024), usually presented in multiple languages.

It can be a powerful tool in the hands of various regimes, but also in the hands of scholars, allowing them to document history and map social development based on translation policies. In my lecture, I will present basic models of intercultural communication and the different roles that the translation of literary texts can play in different cultures. Using Slovakia as an example, I will show how translation policy develops over time (20th and 21st centuries) and how it is influenced by the dominant socio-political orientation of the country. I will also briefly describe how translation is handled in a publishing house, using my own translations as an example.

About Martin Djovčoš

Martin Djovčoš is an associate professor at the Department of English and American Studies at the Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. He is currently a Weiser Professional Development Fellow at the University of Michigan. His main research interest is translation and interpreting studies.

Martin’s teaching and translation/interpreting research currently focuses mainly on sociological aspects of translation, patterns in intercultural communication and translation/interpreting training. He is a practicing translator and interpreter. He is also one of the organizers of Translation, Interpreting, Culture Conference series and editor of multiple volumes on translation and interpreting. He has co-authored a book in 2023, "Translation Studies in Ukraine as an Integral Part of the European Context."

Bratislava: Veda and an article "Translation as a Weapon: Literary Translation under the Slovak State (1939–1945)" in inTRAlinea in 2023 and a book chapter "The dominance of English: a survey of market signals and student motivation in T&I university programmes in Slovakia" in Revue Internationale d’interprétation et de Rraduction: International Journal of Interpretation and Translation in 2021.