Translation, materiality, intersemioticity: Excursions in experimental literature

This paper presents case examples of experimental literature that tap into the potentials of multimodality in the creation of an embodied aesthetic experience. In each case, translation performs the contingency of meaning by traversing the interliminal space between discursive sites: two versions of the same language, two semiotic planes. By reading the multimodal aspects of these texts, the paper traces the function of translation in foregrounding the materiality of the linguistic sign. It argues that in enacting an embodied literature, translation is not primarily about the transference of meaning from one text-site to another; it becomes an intervening site in its own right, where signs, readers and media intercourse to create a sensuous fabric that adduces “the pleasure of the text.” The paper also discusses the nature of aesthetics created by translation-mediated multimodal literature, and argues for critical attention to the role of translation in advancing the corporeality of literature.published_or_final_versio

[[alternative]]The Design and Manufacture of Universal Serial Bus and Bluetooth Wirless Interfaces for the Domestic Braille Computer Hardware and Software Systems

計畫編號：NSC92-2218-E032-003研究期間：200308~200407研究經費：800,000[[sponsorship]]行政院國家科學委員

A Bi-directional Bi-Lingual Translation Braille-Text System

AbstractVisually impaired people are an integral part of the society. However, their disabilities have made them to have less access to computers, the Internet, and high quality educational software than the people with clear vision. Consequently, they have not been able to improve on their own knowledge, and have significant influence and impact on the economic, commercial, and educational ventures in the society. One way to narrow this widening gap and see a reversal of this trend is to develop a system, within their economic reach, and which will empower them to communicate freely and widely using the Internet or any other information infrastructure. Over time, the Braille system has been used by the visually impaired for communication and contact with the outside world. Translation between one language and another, using the Braille coding system, has been limited, problematic, and in many cases, one-directional.This paper describes an Arabic Braille bi-directional and bi-lingual translation/editor system that does not need expensive equipments. With appropriate rule file for any other languages, this system can be generalized to facilitate communication among literate people regardless of their disabilities (visually impaired or sighted), income, languages, and geographical locations

Indeterminacy in Language and Art

Indeterminacy, triangulation, and translation are often contributing factors to the experience and understanding of a work of art in which meaning can be multi-layered, shifting or malleable. In this thesis, I explore these concepts, both in relation to my art practice and within a historical and cultural context. In essence, these theoretical discussions describe the instantiation of a philosophical idea in a visual art practice. In this way, the thesis can be generally understood as an exploration in the area of the philosophy of language, looking to its application as an impetus for creating visual art, and as an explanatory device for visual art. There are three key philosophers whose ideas are instantiated in my art practice – W.V.O. Quine, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Donald Davidson. Quine offers the theory of radical translation, which is the translation from an unknown language to a known language, without aid or precedent. Wittgenstein offers the concept of indeterminacy of language, which asserts that multiple meanings for a singular item may be correct. Davidson offers the theory of triangulation, in which a combination of the beliefs and intentions of the artist and of the viewer, each triangulate with the work of art, to make meaning. I discuss three artists whose work has been an inspiration – Joseph Kosuth, Sarah Lucas, and Ann Hamilton. The way these artists use language, humour, and code relates to indeterminacy, reception, and obfuscation. The goal of this essay is to explore the relations between art and philosophy, as a means to develop critical reflection on the methodologies underpinning my own art practice.Linguistic

The Way a Literary Agency Deals With Foreign Rights

Literary agents have found that foreign rights sales are profitable and can amount to a significant increase in their bottom lines. This is especially true with an agency that has a reputation for selling foreign and translation rights and has connections with industry people around the globe. This thesis examines how an agency can start selling foreign rights, how to negotiate a good deal and how an agency makes sure the authors and the agency receive the profits promised to them, and how the trends in selling foreign rights have shifted over time

Hear, and Speak No Evil: A Content Approach to Evaluating Multicultural Multimedia Materials.

In this article, I offer evaluation criteria for librarians, teachers, parents, and others who are responsible for selecting and providing multicultural multimedia materials (text, sound, and graphics). These criteria can be used to evaluate multicultural content in the context of building library collections, developing programs and readers' advisories, providing Internet links or bookmarking World Wide Web pages, weeding collections, and other activities that entail the assessment of the quality of multicultural multimedia. Previously published guidelines and criteria available to evaluate multicultural materials, whether print or multimedia, were developed for specific types of materials, audiences, or multicultural content and, as such, are limited in their usefulness. The proposed criteria require the examination of four components: objectivity, language, subject mastery, and resources. These criteria are designed to be applied broadly in evaluating multicultural content of any multimedia, for any audience and level of coverage, and in any language

Volume 25, Number 2, June 2005 OLAC Newsletter

Digitized June 2005 issue of the OLAC Newsletter