Creating a European Museum under the Auspices of the European Parliament: a unique venture in an unusual environment (original) (raw)

Emma Wagner, Svend Bech & Jésus M. Martinez: Translating for the European Union Institutions. St Jerome Publishing, 2002

HERMES - Journal of Language and Communication in Business

We all know that the European Union employs a large number of translators. The question is why? What do they do and what sort of problems do they have to tackle? This book, written by three experienced translators from the European Commission, attempts to answer these and other questions in a didactically sound way. The authors intend the book to be an aid to translation students, freelance translators and general readers to understand the European Union institutions and their work, including the effects on the language policy of the European Union by the inclusion of new member states. According to the authors, "The book is about translation for the European Union institutions and it is intended for all translators, in-house, freelance and aspiring, whose translation work may touch on the activities of these institutions" (page ix). The authors have written a book that has the features of both a course book and a reference book. Some chapters are fact-oriented, some deal with specifi c problems affecting translation for the institutions, and some are devoted to interesting and relevant anecdotes. As a result most readers are sure to fi nd something that appeals to them. The European Union works on the principle of multilingualism, hence the need for translators. The EU institutions, including various agencies, employ approximately 3100 in-house (or staff) translators as of January 2000, the largest translation service being that of the European Commission, which employs approx. 1300 in-house translators (Ch. 2). Some institutions, for instance the European Parliament and the European Commission, send 20-25% of the workload to freelance translators and agencies, whereas the European Court of Auditors sends about 5% of its workload to freelance translators. The very fi rst Council Regulation adopted on 15 April 1958 provides the legal basis for multilingualism. Its provisions ensure that there are (in the year 2000) 11 offi cial languages and 11 working languages, and that the Offi cial Journal of the European Union must be published in all these languages. Furthermore, any person or institution subject to the jurisdiction of a member state may communicate with EU institutions in any one of the offi cial languages selected by the sender; the reply must be written in the same language (Ch. 1). Chs. 1 and 2 provide a basic introduction to the selected EU fundamentals. The authors describe the principle of multilingualism in a clear and approachable way, the reason for its existence, and its effect on the work of the EU institutions. They also give an introduction to the roles of the institutions and their

Review of Contribution of translation to the multilingual society in the EU

Target-international Journal of Translation Studies, 2014

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Translation (DGT) wants to do Translation Studies, and we must welcome the intention. Part of its plan involves the production of a series of reports on key issues in the field. This makes sense because Europe massively depends on translation for its governance, and thus invests significant administrative resources in translation services. If translation is important anywhere, it should be in Europe. If it should be studied anywhere, it is in Europe.

EU Translation as the Language of a Reunited Europe Reconsidered

This paper discusses EU translation in the context of the language policy of the European Union and the resulting equality of all translated acquis communautaire documents. Validity of selected classic concepts of Translation Studies such as original, translation, equivalence and intercultural communication is challenged as to their applicability in the EU multilingual environment. Taking a closer look at EU translation, some unexpected complexities are revealed. The paper also draws attention to some specificities and basic tenets regarding EU translation.

European Museums in the 21st Century: Setting the Framework - Vol. 1 (National History Museums, Natural History Museums, Ethnographic and World Culture(s) Museums)

This book explore current trends in European contemporary museums. Analysing their ongoing evolution triggered by this “age of migrations” and with specific attention to their architecture and exhibition design, the volume collects the preliminary observations ensuing from this survey, complemented by the some paradigmatic examples, and further enriched by interviews and contributions from scholars, curators and museum practitioners. With contributions by Florence Baläen, Michela Bassanelli, Luca Basso Peressut, Joachim Baur, Lorraine Bluche, Marco Borsotti, Mariella Brenna, Anna Chiara Cimoli, Lars De Jaegher, Maria Camilla De Palma, Hugues De Varine, Maria De Waele, Nélia Dias, Simone Eick, Fabienne Galangau Quérat, Sarah Gamaire, Jan Gerchow, Marc-Olivier Gonset, Klas Grinell, Laurence Isnard, Marie-Paule Jungblut, Galitt Kenan, Francesca Lanz, José María Lanzarote Guiral, Vito Lattanzi, Jack Lohman, Carolina Martinelli, Frauke Miera, Elena Montanari, Chantal Mouffe, Judith Pargamin, Giovanni Pinna, Camilla Pagani, Clelia Pozzi, Paolo Rosa, Anna Seiderer. Volume 1 includes: Introduction, Chapter 1: National History Museums, Chapter 2: Natural History Museums, Chapter 3: Ethnographic and World Culture(s) Museums" Legal Notices: This work is provided on line as open access document under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported. The work is protected by copyright and/or other applicable law. Any use of the work other than as authorized under this license or copyright law is prohibited. For additional information http://creativecommons.org/. The views expressed here are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

Speaking, Hearing and Translating One Hundred Languages in Museums

Jelavić, Ž. (ed.), Old Questions, New Answers: Quality Criteria for Museum Education, ICOM Croatia, Zagreb, 73-80., 2012

"In this paper I build on my experience as a museum educator and researcher to propose a philosophical approach to museum education that champions museo-diversity, while rejecting the type of standardisation that undermines the skills of educators and could potentially lead to a monoculture within museums. Education is primarily about communication. Here, I borrow the concept of ‘One Hundred Languages’ from the Reggio Emilia approach, whereby a ‘language’ is any means by which we take in, process and share our understandings of the world, be it verbal, physical or visual. I suggest that the key to museum education is developing an ability to actively listen to and speak the multiple ‘languages’ of everyone with whom we communicate, from young children to decision makers. Variety, versatility and absence of centralisation are the museum educator’s strengths, allowing us to respond to our own museum’s particular contexts and audiences. Rather than focusing on external standards, I argue that the question should be one of allowing museum educators to become multilingual, giving their attention to all voices, and responding intelligently and meaningfully to a variety of needs and changing conditions. What this requires, rather than standardisation, is an approach based on practical wisdom, building on the skills and experience of a community of educators. Educators have an additional role as translators, encouraging this multilingualism at the level of museum governance and educational theory. We need to discourage policies based on one particular ‘language’, but instead campaign for listening to the quieter voices. In this way, we can cultivate museo-diversity and avoid museums becoming a monolingual monoculture. "

European Museums for the 21st Century: Setting the Framework -Vol 3 (Local Museums,War Museums, Temporary Exhibitions)

International Conference: National Museums in a Changing Europe

In recent decades, as Europe's populations have become increasingly diverse and mobile, as nations have struggled in difficult economic circumstances and wrestled with increasing integration, and as new nations have sought independence and greater power, and as larger nations have once again revealed their political muscle, so we have seen national histories deployed politically. A sense of Europe as a space of shared histories and cultural similarities is repeatedly challenged by a past that can be re-awakened by rising nationalism, national insecurity, and by religious and ethnic difference. Across Europe, some national museums construct historical narratives that speak of shared global culture while others promote essentialised nationalism, some memorialise a poetic heroic past while others struggle to forget a more troubled one, many celebrate the heights of cultural achievement while others have found educational and tourism potential in the depths of human depravity. National museums implicitly, and sometimes overtly, still engage in acts of competitive cultural representation, attempting to elevate one nation above another. They are also used to perpetuate a war against former enemies and Others. Europe's national museums house some the continent's greatest historical treasures but also some of its most difficult historical spaces.

Creating a European Museum under the Auspices of the European Parliament: a unique venture in an unusual environment (original) (raw)

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