Translation Choices in Multilingual Written Artefacts

Navigating Visual and Cultural Layers

When: Friday, 24 October 2025, 9:00 am – 5:15 pm, and Saturday, 25 October 2025, 9:30 am – 3:00 pm CEST

Where: Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, Von-Melle-Park 3, 20146 Hamburg. Carl-von-Ossietzky-Forum (Altbau) und Konferenzraum (Hauptgebäude)

Translation practices leave traces that are often as intricate as they are elusive. In many cases, the only surviving witnesses to these practices are the artefacts themselves – written objects marked by their visual organisation, material features, or paratextual additions. Sometimes, translators’ strategies are explicitly recorded in metatextual commentary or cultural traditions, such as the famous account of how the Septuagint was translated. However, these narratives do not always align with the preserved artefacts, prompting questions about whether they reflect authentic translation strategies, later interpretations, or idealised traditions. This workshop seeks to bridge this gap by bringing together the materiality of written artefacts and the cultural narratives surrounding translation practices. By exploring the interplay between visual and material features and the cultural frameworks of translation, we aim to uncover the choices translators make and how these choices manifest in the artefacts.

Organisers: Silpsupa Jaengsawang, Jannis Kostelnik, and Szilvia Jáka-Sövegjártó

Download the workshop programme:

• Translation Choices in Multilingual Written Artefacts: Navigating Visual and Cultural Layers (PDF)

Please register to attend the workshop: