Translators, academics and publishers from across Europe this week gathered in Poland to discuss the challenges of bringing Taiwanese literature to international readers, the National Museum of Taiwan Literature in Taipei said.
Their conversations ranged from linguistic nuance and cultural context to the role translators play in promoting Taiwanese works abroad, the museum said in a statement released yesterday.
The museum organized a two-day Taiwan Literature Translation Workshop, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, in Poland on Monday and Tuesday as part of Poland’s Authors’ Reading Month, one of Central Europe’s best-known literary festivals.
Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Taiwan Literature
The workshop brought together translators, Sinologists and publishing professionals from countries including Poland, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, the Netherlands and Sweden, alongside Taiwanese writers.
Among the discussions, Polish translator Maria Jarosz, known for translating Taiwanese novels including The Butcher’s Wife (殺夫) and Children of the Saltpans (鹽田 兒女), highlighted the challenge of translating curse words in Taiwanese literature.
The key is not to find a literal equivalent, but to understand the emotions, tone and relationships behind the language, Jarosz was quoted in the statement as saying.
The translator’s task is to preserve the literary power of the original work in another language, she said.
Other participants emphasized that translation involves more than converting words between languages.
Maciej Gaca, a professor at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland, said that translation helps readers understand a society’s history and way of life.
Ukrainian translator Oleksandra Bespala said that Taiwanese literature remains relatively unfamiliar to many readers in Ukraine, making each translation an opportunity to introduce a new cultural landscape.
Taiwanese works often touch on themes such as colonial history, postwar politics, the White Terror period, democratization and linguistic diversity, requiring translators to provide additional historical and cultural context, she said.
The museum said it would continue promoting Taiwanese literature in Europe, with book launch events planned in Spain later this month and other literary outreach activities scheduled in the UK, France and the Netherlands in October.