Translators Promote Brunei’s Culture to The World

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam - Brunei needs translators who are able to help sell the Sultanate's ideas and culture to the non-Malay speaking world, a Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) senior lecturer said yesterday; Dr Hjh Fatimah Hj Chuchu said that translating the local literature would provide exposure on Brunei's culture in the international arena.

Dr Hjh Fatimah was a presenter at the workshop on Translation of Scientific Papers and Literary Works at the Language and Literature Bureau (DBP), which concluded yesterday.

She said that there was more to translation than being able to speak two languages.

"The most important thing for a translator is to acquire polylectal grammar, that means grammar for the target language and the source language. You have to be excellent in both," she said.

The senior lecturer added that participating in the five-day workshop benefited her in many ways.

"I've learned the theory and technique of translation. We used to just read and translate as we like, but for example, we've learnt how to do segmentation or parsing (separating a sentence into grammatical parts)," she said.

She said that when literary work is translated, grammar is not emphasised but a translator has to think about diction (the way a word is pronounced) and the choice of words has to be poetic.

She added: "There is also the aesthetic semantics and aesthetic linguistics - the rhyme, tone, repetition. It's hard when you are trying to apply this in a target language because there are different regulations and rules."

Dr Hjh Fatimah said that when literary work such as poems and novels are translated, the artistic feeling of the work must be maintained and not lost in translation or it becomes ordinary.

Norwati Md Yusof, one of the workshop facilitators, explained that translation takes more than being able to speak different languages.

"A translator needs endurance, patience and passion," she said. "You need the skills to interpret and read between the lines, figure out what the writer is trying to say."

The five-day workshop was facilitated by three experts from Malaysia, Professor Emeritus Dr Abdullah Hassan, Hjh Fatimah Zainal and Norwati.

A total of 51 participants from the bureau, UBD and other government departments attended the workshop. They received their certificates of participation yesterday from DBP Acting Director Hj Zainal Arifin BPK Dato Paduka Hj Sirat.  Courtesy of Brunei Times

Source: http://brudirect.com
Photo: http://bimp-online.blogspot.com

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