Today, more material is being translated than ever before – but in an ever-decreasing number of languages. Globalisation, digitisation and sociocultural influences are changing social and political structures. They are having profound effects on the way in which we approach language and culture, on linguistic diversity and therefore on aspects of translation. This centuries-old artistic and cultural activity is undergoing radical change. Some people see machine translation as a curse that is threatening the standing of a profession. Others see the translation machine as the realisation of a dream which has accompanied humanity since the Tower of Babel: the dream of being able to communicate across all language barriers. What types of translation are emerging from digitisation? What effects are political and social change having on language and language awareness? How is the translator's role changing in the field of conflict between homogenisation and cultural diversity?

We have discussed these and other questions with translators, but also with cultural scientists and sociologists. The result: an exciting and diverse discussion on translation and technologial change from a multitude of different angles – from the the promises and challenges of machine translation to political issues of language diversity and multilingualism. With Boris Buden, Christos Ellinides, Josef van Genabith, Silvia Hansen-Schirra, Loredana Polezzi und Gisèle Sapiro. Moderation: Shelly Kupferberg.

Funded by the Minister of State for Culture and the Media.

Below you find the recordings of the live stream and the lectures.

Programme

The lectures

The panel discussion

About the speakers