language

Gonpo Lama ’12

Gonpo Lama'12 Religion and Sociology double major is the son of refugee parents, completed middle school in Nepal, highschool in India, and is currently pursuing his undergraduate in the United States. He speaks Tibetan, Nepalese, English, Chinese, Hindi, and French. Gonpo was selected to be a Junior Advisor and is the co-chair of the Williams International Club. Growing up in a Buddhist family, in a country predominantly Hindu, and educated in a Presbyterian Christian school led Gonpo to major in Religon and Sociology. Gonpo is a student lab monitor at the Language Laboratory in Hollander Hall Continue reading »

Staying True and Breaking Loose: The Translator’s Paradoxical Craft

With particular reference to the challenges of translating prose fiction from the inscrutable language he specializes in, Hungarian, Paul Olchváry will explore a range of questions at the heart of translation—from navigating the elusive roadmap of associations each word or turn of phrase conjures in readers of the original language versus those of the target language, to resolving technical problems of rhythm and diction; from balancing one’s obligations to the original and its author with those to readers of the translation, to the very possibility of recreating the cultural-historical-linguistic island of the original text in a “global” language such as English. Olchváry will also comment on the contemporary situation and prospects of translation in North America, and read excerpts from his recent translations. Continue reading »