The Art of Translation
by Charly Santagado

Abstract:

It is widely accepted that the ability to translate across languages is vital to global communication. Translation is also relevant in other affairs including currency exchange, weights and measures, and even abstract activities like transforming thought into language. One place that translation is rarely talked about is within the arts, yet it is nonetheless important. As with any other communicative process, certain art resonates best with certain people, while other art is more striking to others. Due to this uneven distribution, the question naturally arises of whether it is possible to get these different kinds of people to reach the same states as each other. I will argue that the way to bridge these gaps in appreciating works of art is through artistic translation. Through such a process, the deep level of understanding and appreciation that some are able to reach by experiencing certain artistic works can be shared with a larger community. I first attempt to set up a framework about what art is by providing a few different examples and quotations that capture the characterization of art that I endorse in this paper, which consists of four basic elements (experiential nature, specific and intentional structure, openness for interpretation, and display of positive unity) and three supplementary elements (effortful acquisition, ability to survive complexities and contradictions, and contrast between tension and resolution). Next, I discuss the nature of truth and what is meant by artistic truth, contrasting it with a deflationist, verificationist account of truth, and arguing that artistic truth is not bivalent, and instead exists on a spectrum. Finally, with a working definition of art and a grasp of artistic truth, I tackle the object of translation, calling upon Levinson’s article Messages in Art, and go through a few sample translations across various artistic media. Beyond the practical applications briefly mentioned above, I hope that the translatability of art helps to further demonstrate the universality of the field as a whole.

Handspeak

Handspeak is an online ASL Dictionary with a plethora of words translated into American Sign Language through videos and descriptions. It is an invaluable resource in the pursuit of learning ASL and has been used as a resource in the development of Movenglish.