West Midlands Group

Jean-Pierre Mailhac talking on "Translating Cultural References" at Aston University on 1 December 2012 Jean-Pierre Mailhac is known for his engaging and stimulating workshops, and last Saturday about 12 MWG members and 4 Aston University MA students took part in another of his events, “Translating Cultural References”, which was really more about how to approach the process of translating cultural references. The very first thing is, of course, how actually to recognise a cultural reference in the first place – and, among the many cultural reference that cropped up over the day, the origin of some eluded even a few English speakers. Jean-Pierre used an array of sources, ranging from a French translation of “The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 ¾” and a promotional video of Liverpool as the European Capital of Culture 2008, to the Astérix books, a ketchup advertisement, an appliance manual and different gestures used throughout the world, and then to w