Salvadon: Translate What You Love

Salvadon views translation as a creative passion and pursuit. Due to her concerns for feminist and colonialist themes, she chooses to translate works surrounding these topics. Her translation of "Tomboy" showcases her strong connection to the text, which explores themes of enslavement, queer and biracial struggles, resonating deeply with Salvadon.


Unlike previous translators, Salvadon dives straight into providing advice for her audience. Her four specific recommendations include collaborating with others, taking risks, engaging in literary comparisons, and translating multi-voiced novels. The most intriguing advice is on collaborative translation, despite the challenges it presents. Salvadon believes that despite potential clashes, working with another individual can lead to a stronger translation, breaking the isolation often felt in the process.


The second piece of advice, taking risks even when facing disagreement, is also compelling. Salvadon addresses critiques of her translation choices, such as her use of "him" instead of a gender-neutral pronoun in French. She defends her decision by highlighting the strong male presence throughout the text, aligning with the book's overarching themes of objectification. This raises questions about the boundaries of translation and how much flexibility is acceptable to maintain fidelity to the original text's themes.


In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed Salvadon’s lecture. She is very passionate about translating what she loves, which is why her ultimate message is “translate what you love.” Additionally, her bright and humorous personality encouraged me to ask questions during the Q&A session. There is something particularly moving about professors who engage in translation. I believe it’s because they don’t just translate; they also dedicate so much time to the craft. This dedication only underscores their passion for the field. While a translation may be completed (although I doubt it), the translation process never truly ends. We constantly translate information every single day, from language to language and from thought to language. The beauty of words lies in their constant reshaping.

--Kerry

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