Four-legged friends took centre stage in this year¡¯s St. Jerome Translation Contest, giving 105 students from 23 universities around the world plenty to sink their linguistic teeth into.
Held on 30 September to mark International Translation Day, the online awards ceremony celebrated the winners of the seventeenth edition of the contest. The competition invited students from universities partnering with the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management to put their translation skills to the test across the six official languages of the United Nations.
The theme was unmistakably canine. Contestants translating from English tackled A Dog¡¯s Life, while those translating into English worked from the French article Les grands-parents d¡¯animaux de compagnie.
Behind the playful subject matter lay some very real translation challenges. Humour, irony, idioms, cultural references, wordplay and shifts in register all required contestants to look beyond the literal meaning of the words and find ways to recreate the voice and effect of the original.
That was also at the heart of the judges¡¯ reflections during the ceremony. Across the six language segments, they highlighted inventive solutions and unexpected turns of phrase. They also discussed the difficult choices involved in striking the right balance between accuracy, naturalness, and creativity. Several also reflected on the enduring importance of human judgement and linguistic sensitivity in an age of rapidly evolving artificial intelligence.
Opening the ceremony, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management Movses Abelian highlighted the importance of cooperation between United Nations language services and universities in helping students discover the language professions and the opportunities they offer.
The next generation of linguists was present in more ways than one: interpretation for the ceremony was provided by students and recent graduates of partner universities.
Twelve contestants received either a first prize or an honourable mention. The celebration extended to all 105 participants who accepted the challenge of making a text ¨C jokes, pets and all ¨C come alive in another language.
The winning translations and judges¡¯ remarks are available on the St. Jerome Translation Contest website.
Happy International Translation Day and congratulations to all participants!
