ALTA47: Voices in Translation

ALTA47: Voices in Translation

 ALTA47 THEME
 KEY DATES IN 2024
 ALTA47 PARTNERS
 
ALTA47 will take place October 25-28 (Friday-Monday), 2024 at the hyatt Regency in Milwaukee, WI

 

The image for ALTA47 features a drawing of different people communicating through talk and text. The drawing is in red with a navy background. Overtop is layered the title: Voices in Translation.

Join us! We are excited to welcome you to ALTA's 47th annual conference this fall!

Please read on to find out how you can get involved and submit a proposal, and please continue to check our website for more information. Elsewhere on our website, you'll find all the information you need about Registration, Proposal Guidelines, Location (including hotel and travel information), Accessibility, and our Health & Safety Policy.

 

Never been to an ALTA Conference? Find general information here, and our Guide for First-Time ALTA Conference Attendees here.

alta47 Schedule-at-a-glance

ALTA47 full program

ALTA47 program errata

 

ALTA47 Theme and Call for Proposals

We encounter many voices as speakers, readers, listeners, writers, and translators. Voices may resonate, soar, sing, speak, still, or disappear. What does “voice” mean in translation? 

Whose voices do we encounter, and how do we experience them? How can translators render, amplify, and honor voices across linguistic and cultural boundaries? Furthermore, what are translators’ responsibilities as they encounter voices within these boundaries, and what happens if the boundaries are transgressed?

The ALTA47 theme seeks to explore the multifaceted concept of "voices in translation." In this context, "voice" encompasses not only the spoken, unspoken, signed, or written expression, but also the nuanced layers of identity, perspective, and agency that emerge through the act of translation. We invite proposals that delve into the intricacies of voice, such as navigating the complexities of authorial and translatorial voices, or exploring the transformative power of translation in amplifying marginalized/silenced voices. We encourage proposals that examine the intersection of translation with performance, embodiment, technology, and the broader cultural landscape, as well as the absence of voice in translation through intentional silences or systemic barriers. 

Other possible areas to explore include: 

  • Voice as register, diction, tone, pacing, and style
  • Voices in dialogue, voices that intersect with or contradict one another
  • Underrepresented, dissenting, and privileged voices within the translation ecosystem
  • The performative act of translating
  • Organizations, collectives, networks, and other support communities for translators’ voices
  • Alternatives to sound, such as gestures, codes, silences, somatics, embodiment, and multisensory modes
  • “Hearing voices” as related to sacred texts, divinity, and translation as oracle, as well as connotations with mental health/illness, well-being, the taboo, and societal expectations
  • Technology as tool and perspective: how technology might bolster, hinder, or remix voice and voices within translation, how advances in artificial intelligence and computer science interact with the process of translation and generating texts

The deadline to propose a session has now passed!

Key Dates in 2024

Special Thanks to our ALTA47 Partners

Book*hug Press

The Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona

The Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL) at the University of Arizona

The College of Humanities at the University of Arizona

Columbia University School of the Arts

The Department of German Studies at the University of Arizona

The Department of Russian & Slavic Studies at the University of Arizona

Institut Ramon Llull

The Kenyon Review

The Library of Arabic Literature

NYU Master's in Translation and Interpreting

PEN America

Program in Translation and Interpreting Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Saturnalia Books

Schafner Press

The Translation and Interpreting Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

The Translation Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

The University of Wisconsin Press

Visit Milwaukee

Visit Tucson

Woodland Pattern

Words Without Borders

 

To learn about sponsoring ALTA47, please visit our Sponsorship web page.