Difficult Passages: An Interactive Workshop

We all know those times: Despite our best efforts, the passage stares up at us from the page, obstinate, defiant, bitterly resisting our efforts to render it into the target language. We do translate it, in the end, somehow, because we must—but how? Bring to this workshop a stubborn, thorny, “untranslatable” short passage (a word, a phrase, a sentence, a bit of dialog, a couplet …) and share it with a roomful of translators who have struggled in the same situation. We will discuss possible solutions to each dilemma (including yours) and also share general approaches to “untranslatable” passages. Please bring a dozen or so copies of your passage (strips of paper rather than whole pages will save trees) labeled with your name and the name of the original author and work.