Date: 24 September | Time: 1-2 PM | Venue: THB-1003 | (Hardiman Research Building), Floor 1
‘Translating the untranslatable: the scientific and poetic Latin treatises of the early medieval Irish scholar Dicuil‘
by Christian Schweizer (Irish Research Council Government of Ireland 2023 Postdoctoral Fellow ‘Dicuil – an Irish and Carolingian Universalist and his Intellectual Legacy (DICUIL)’, Classics, University of Galway).
Dicuil was an Irish scholar working for the Carolingian emperors Charlemagne (747–814) and Louis the Pious (778–840). He wrote several scientific, grammatical, poetic, and geographical Latin texts between 814 and 825. The outstanding scientific and poetic originality of these works has only been recognized in recent years, facilitating first scholarly translations. Precisely this originality is, however, often presenting formidable challenges to the translator: how to convey stylistic features like wordplays, tmeses (split up words), excessive variation, and inimitable poetic games reliant on the flexible word order of Latin, while making complex technical contents accessible to modern readers?
Translation Café is a monthly event run by the Emily Andeson Centre for Translation Research and Practice. It functions as a reading group for colleagues interested in the many facets of the art of translation. The format of the group allows participants to share their interests, research or linguistic investigations with other colleagues in an informal manner.
Colleagues interested in leading future Translation Café events are invited to contact Ira at irina.ruppo@universityofgalway.ie.