1. A Googol Ways to Translate?
What the Hall* Does It Matter?
*Stuart Hall will not be further mentioned in this presentation. Sorry to all the Hall fans.

2. Comparing …
and

3. Problems with “equivalencies” …
party
fiesta
grupo
partido
game
match
igual
fósforo
phosphor
phosphorus

4. … outweigh the benefits?
algorithmic translation
ease of use
faster for the knowledgeable
frees up creativity
allows debate between “literal” and “cultural” translation
comedy
Which party did you vote for?
¿Por cuál fósforo votaste?

5. Problems with Young …
Los partidos más poderosos de la política española son el Partido Popular (PP) y el Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE). 1
The most powerful parties in Spanish politics are the People’s/Popular/Populist Party (PP) and the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE).
[linguistic-equivalencies translation] 2
The most powerful parties in Spanish politics are the Partido Popular (PP), their version of our Republicans, and the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE), their version of our Democrats.
[cultural-equivalencies translation]

6. … possibly endless regressions/explications3
The most powerful parties in Spanish politics are the Popular Party (PP) and the Spanish Workers Party (PSOE).
[culturally sensitive translation] 4
The most powerful parties in Spanish politics are the Popular Party (PP), a center-right coalition of former Franquistas (or conservatives), Christian Democrats, and Liberals whose “popularity” in the last election (2011) amounted to just 44.6% of votes cast among the 68.9% of eligible voters who went to the polls, and the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), a center-left coalition of social liberals and social democrats, who, in 1979, largely abandoned its previously Marxist stances in favor of a more social-democratic posturing (in the wider Western European sense).
[culturally sensitive translation ad infinitum (nauseum?)]

7. Young meets Bhabha … Partido Popular constitutional monarchy
founded 1989
founded after Spanish Civil War
urban voter base
basically in two-party system
center-right politics by European standards
centrist politics by American standards
pro economic liberalism
affiliation with other European parties
Staging Differences?
Would both parties vote the same way on international issues?
Where is the political center?
Would a Spaniard of the PP vote Republican after gaining US citizenship?
Does economic liberalism look the same in the U.S. as it does/would in Spain?
How do international affiliations affect domestic policies?
Republican Party
democratic republic
founded 1854
founded before American Civil War
rural voter base
right-wing politics by European standards
center-right politics by American standards
no affiliations outside U.S.

8. … and runs into Trivedi
If you “stage difference”, what exactly is being “translated”?
Is “translation” even the right word for this process, “cultural” or otherwise?
How would different theorists potentially answer the question: Where is the political center?
And now for a debate, moderated by Harish Trivedi!
in 3 … 2 … 1 …

9. Where is the political center?
J.C. Young:
It must be triangulated between the two divergent definitions!
Why did I
even ask?
Homi K. Bhabha:
It will never quite be settled, but in struggle we find our strength!
Harish Trivedi
Christina Lutter:
It depends on who’s asking, why, and when!

10. The “Right” Man’s Burden
But none of THAT is TRANSLATION!!!
Harish Trivedi

11. Trivedi on the ropes?
“Translation” seems to have moved far beyond its “traditional” definition.
However, the question remains: Is “translation” even the right word for the processes described and debated, “cultural” or otherwise?
How would different theorists potentially answer this question?
And now for a debate, moderated by … ME!
in 3 … 2 … 1 …

12. Is “translation” the right word?
Harish Trivedi:
Only for language-to-language meaning transfer.
Why did I
even ask?
Tomislav Z. Longinovic:
Yes, but it’s a secret!
p joshua laskey
Doris Bachmann-Medick:
Yes, but it risks getting
stretched out of all usefulness! Somebody really oughta rein these academics in!

13. A Nagging Thought What if we simply abandoned the term
“translation” altogether?
p joshua laskey