Translation Studies Research Seminar Series: Kelly Chan In brief Date - 1 November 2023 Venue - Medical School's Teviot Lecture Theatre, Doorway 5 Speaker - Dr Kelly Chan (Hong Kong Metropolitan University) Title - The Translation of Cantonese Opera Scripts – Performability Revisited Chair - Elisabeth Goemans Ask us for a link to join the seminar online Abstract by Dr Kelly Chan Opera sung in the regional language of Cantonese (i.e., Cantonese opera) is a performing art that flourished and developed in the Southern part of China. It did not enjoy much luck with translators, and most of the previous translations into English were done in a fragmented fashion. Very few studies in Cantonese Opera have been conducted in English, as in most cases the dialectic Chinese language does not travel through successfully to English, and in fact not many reliable translations are extant to provide support to any relevant research. The level of untranslatability is believed to be higher in the performing surtitles than scripts, because strict limitations lie in the process of creating surtitles and readability during the actual performance, etc. The issue of untranslatability is definitely rooted in the aspects of performance vis-à-vis script reading. An act of recuperating the indigenous origin of the Chinese to the Western context is thus experienced, but lexical variations between the two languages have suggested a certain failure in covering most of the condensed contents from Chinese characters in the English target text. To the question of whether Cantonese opera is performable in English, it is quintessential to look into the equivalence effect created by the translator vis-à-vis the theatrical effect appreciated and received by the audience, and poetic features quintessential to Cantonese opera can thus be represented to a larger extent. Possibilities for translating or not translating the operatic and poetic features of the scripts and surtitles will be discussed. About the speaker Dr Kelly Kar Yue Chan completed her undergraduate degree and her master’s degree both in the discipline of Translation and Interpretation at the City University of Hong Kong. She then finished her PhD in Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Edinburgh. She is currently an Associate Professor in language and translation at Hong Kong Metropolitan University, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses on culture and translation, and literary translation. She also supervises translation and research projects for undergraduate and postgraduate (Master of Arts and PhD) students. Her research interests include literary translation, translation of women’s poetry in pre-modern China, and the translation of Cantonese opera. About the seminar series Each semester, we welcome a fantastic range of guest speakers and colleagues to present a seminar on their work in translation. Our seminar series is run collaboratively by staff and postgraduate students, enabling our early career researchers to build networks and experience. This semester, the students are Katherine Heller and David Hayes. Entry is free and no booking is required. Everyone is welcome. Ask us for a link to join the seminar online Are you interested in Translation Studies at Edinburgh? Providing excellent teaching and supervision, our postgraduate MSc and PhD programmes are among the UK's most comprehensive and flexible. Our expertise covers a wide range of research areas and many languages, of which you can choose to work with two. Find out more about postgraduate programmes in Translation Studies Nov 01 2023 16.10 - 17.30 Translation Studies Research Seminar Series: Kelly Chan Join us in-person or online for a free hybrid seminar by Dr Kelly Chan (Hong Kong Metropolitan University) on translating Cantonese opera scripts. Teviot Lecture Theatre, Doorway 5 Edinburgh Old Medical School Teviot Place Edinburgh EH8 9AG or online via Collaborate Learn Find the venue Ask us for a link to join the seminar online
Translation Studies Research Seminar Series: Kelly Chan In brief Date - 1 November 2023 Venue - Medical School's Teviot Lecture Theatre, Doorway 5 Speaker - Dr Kelly Chan (Hong Kong Metropolitan University) Title - The Translation of Cantonese Opera Scripts – Performability Revisited Chair - Elisabeth Goemans Ask us for a link to join the seminar online Abstract by Dr Kelly Chan Opera sung in the regional language of Cantonese (i.e., Cantonese opera) is a performing art that flourished and developed in the Southern part of China. It did not enjoy much luck with translators, and most of the previous translations into English were done in a fragmented fashion. Very few studies in Cantonese Opera have been conducted in English, as in most cases the dialectic Chinese language does not travel through successfully to English, and in fact not many reliable translations are extant to provide support to any relevant research. The level of untranslatability is believed to be higher in the performing surtitles than scripts, because strict limitations lie in the process of creating surtitles and readability during the actual performance, etc. The issue of untranslatability is definitely rooted in the aspects of performance vis-à-vis script reading. An act of recuperating the indigenous origin of the Chinese to the Western context is thus experienced, but lexical variations between the two languages have suggested a certain failure in covering most of the condensed contents from Chinese characters in the English target text. To the question of whether Cantonese opera is performable in English, it is quintessential to look into the equivalence effect created by the translator vis-à-vis the theatrical effect appreciated and received by the audience, and poetic features quintessential to Cantonese opera can thus be represented to a larger extent. Possibilities for translating or not translating the operatic and poetic features of the scripts and surtitles will be discussed. About the speaker Dr Kelly Kar Yue Chan completed her undergraduate degree and her master’s degree both in the discipline of Translation and Interpretation at the City University of Hong Kong. She then finished her PhD in Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Edinburgh. She is currently an Associate Professor in language and translation at Hong Kong Metropolitan University, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses on culture and translation, and literary translation. She also supervises translation and research projects for undergraduate and postgraduate (Master of Arts and PhD) students. Her research interests include literary translation, translation of women’s poetry in pre-modern China, and the translation of Cantonese opera. About the seminar series Each semester, we welcome a fantastic range of guest speakers and colleagues to present a seminar on their work in translation. Our seminar series is run collaboratively by staff and postgraduate students, enabling our early career researchers to build networks and experience. This semester, the students are Katherine Heller and David Hayes. Entry is free and no booking is required. Everyone is welcome. Ask us for a link to join the seminar online Are you interested in Translation Studies at Edinburgh? Providing excellent teaching and supervision, our postgraduate MSc and PhD programmes are among the UK's most comprehensive and flexible. Our expertise covers a wide range of research areas and many languages, of which you can choose to work with two. Find out more about postgraduate programmes in Translation Studies Nov 01 2023 16.10 - 17.30 Translation Studies Research Seminar Series: Kelly Chan Join us in-person or online for a free hybrid seminar by Dr Kelly Chan (Hong Kong Metropolitan University) on translating Cantonese opera scripts. Teviot Lecture Theatre, Doorway 5 Edinburgh Old Medical School Teviot Place Edinburgh EH8 9AG or online via Collaborate Learn Find the venue Ask us for a link to join the seminar online
Nov 01 2023 16.10 - 17.30 Translation Studies Research Seminar Series: Kelly Chan Join us in-person or online for a free hybrid seminar by Dr Kelly Chan (Hong Kong Metropolitan University) on translating Cantonese opera scripts.
