The Translation of Seediq Bale into Seediq as Interpretation

Activity: Talks or PresentationsOther Invited Talks or Presentations

Description

Although the original language of the screenplay for the epic feature film Seediq Bale (dir. Wei Te-sheng, 2011) was Mandarin Chinese, there is not a single line of Mandarin in the film: the screenplay was translated into Japanese and Seediq in 2009 during pre-production. In this presentation, I discuss the translation into Seediq by a team of Seediq translators led by Dakis Pawan (Kuo Ming-cheng), who served as on-set native language consultant. I will give a brief introduction to the Seediq language and the translation process for the film, then discuss examples of intentional translation shifts, where a translation shift is a departure from literal translation. I will argue that these shifts were motivated by an interpretation of the Wushe Incident, which in turn were founded on an understanding of Seediq culture. My emphasis on understanding is a small but significant contribution to the study of translation into endangered languages in terms of “cultural translation.”
Period13 Jul 2018
Event titleContemporary Taiwan Indigenous Studies Series
Event typeSeminar
OrganiserSOAS University of London
LocationLondon, United KingdomShow on map