AMU organises online seminar series on translation of texts to English

The department of English at the Aligarh Muslim University initiated a series of online seminars cum workshops on Translation Studies on the theme, "Translating Cultural, Literary and Historical texts related to Uttar Pradesh and Aligarh", putting a premium on the importance of the very act and process of translation.

This series is aimed at providing training to the research scholars and teachers at the department of English who are engaged in translating texts – under the University Grants Commission Special Assistance Programme Department of Research Support-II (UGC SAP DRS-II) Project – from Hindi to English and Urdu to English.

Research scholars Sonia Tufail and Maria Shahid conducted the programme which was attended by senior faculty members, research scholars and students.

In his address to the inaugural session, the chief guest and dean of Faculty of Arts, Syed Muhammad Hashim spoke about the significance of translation as a bridge between cultures and languages. He also highlighted the importance of being a polyglot for a person who sought to make a career in translation.

Engaging the translators during the first session of the series, the resource person, Jagdish Kumar, professor from the School of Translation Studies and Training (SOTST), IGNOU, elaborated on the importance of registers in translation through detailed analysis with examples. He urged them to pay attention to understanding the meaning of a text while translating and taking care of appropriate registers to bring out the essence of the source language in the translated language.

Mohammad Asim Siddiqui, chairperson of the Department of English, who was also the guest of honour, underlined the significant points raised by the resource person, Jagdish Kumar in his address. He also narrated his translation experiences and shared anecdotes that provided the basics of translation skills.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Rizwan Khan, coordinator of the UGC SAP DRS- II programme, underscored the significance of the translation process as training in negotiation and nuances, which are important life skills in professional and personal situations. He pointed out that translation work is like giving a new life and identity to the texts of the source language. He also gave concluding remarks.

Vibha Sharma, deputy Coordinator, briefed about the theme of the workshop and highlighted activities under the DRS-II.

Research scholar Sanya Khan gave a presentation and shared her experience in the English translation of Bhagvaticharan Verma's Hindi short story, Prayashchit; and Humah Khan shared her translation of Mahadevi Verma's short story, ‘VehChini Bhai/Chini Pheri Wala’.

The programme concluded with an interactive session.