Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Future of Translation…Machine versus Human | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Dubai – The Dubai Translation Conference held at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences from 20 to 22 October, was the first conference on translation in the region. The event, which was organized by Emirates Literature Foundation in partnership with The Executive Council of Dubai, gathered a number of translators and specialized writers from international academic institutions; its activities were varied where it comprised conferences and workshops conducted by 23 experts and researchers aiming at promoting this civilized industry and its role in enriching knowledge.

Speaking during the keynote address of the Dubai Translation Conference, HE Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, emphasized the role of translators in today’s world.

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, minister of State for Tolerance said that translation is our way to understand the other and find out more about them, through interacting with their culture and civilization, which enriches our knowledge and communication.

Isobel Abulhoul, CEO and trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation and director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature said that they were keen to set an inclusive and educational program that tackles different causes of translation. She added that translation has been often seen as a boring subject, and hoped that the conference would emphasize the true importance of translation and its role in opening new perspectives for knowledge.

The first day of the conference included four sessions that discussed many topics like translation across history, and the translation of Quran, translation from Arabic into English, the commercial translation, and difficulties facing this domain.

The second day also embraced several sessions discussing different topics including the impact of commercial translation on the literary translation.

In its concluding session “Future of translation…machine versus human”, the conference focused on machines and devices and their capacities on competing human translators in the coming years; however, participants have agreed on the importance of the human factor in mastering the real and accurate translation.

Participants in the Dubai Translation Conference have considered that translation has been an open bridge that crosses distances among different cultures and populations.