Best of Both Words is a newsletter for language workers, community organizations, neighbors, and kinfolk about the evolving landscape of language justice. It’s an act of refusing binary, either/or thinking with language and the social relations that languages express. Best of Both Words engages the need for language justice and how people are fighting to build it.

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My clients often tell me they are interested in language justice but don’t know how to integrate it into their work. 

Every client’s process is unique, but I typically recommend that clients conduct an assessment to learn what their organization and their community need. This information is vital to developing a language justice plan. 

An assessment can, in particular, show you what content to prioritize for translation, when you need it, how to budget for the translation, and more. 

In an ideal world, every organization would be multilingual, with all its materials translated into the languages needed by the communities it engages with. However, in this capitalist world, budgets can be tight, so it’s important to translate strategically to reach the most people with the most important information first.

To achieve that, you should consider the following when deciding what to translate: 

Are you translating what YOU want or what your target audience tells you THEY need? 

Sometimes these two things are the same, but sometimes they are not. 

Research what language(s) are most used where you organize by asking other community organizations in your area and tracking the language needs of community members who contact you. 

Consider what community members seeking resources or support need most regarding language justice so you can address translating things in order of priority. 

What materials can you translate that bring less commonly translated voices to the forefront? 

In recent years, there has been a reckoning with the extreme lack of diversity in publishing in the US, particularly when it comes to race. 

“[B]etween 1950 and 2018, [they found] that ninety-five percent of English-language books published in the period were authored by white writers.”

This shocking gap extends further when it comes to translated works:

“In the New York Times ‘Globetrotting’ list for 2020, only twelve of 224 titles listed there are from Africa; nine are in translation, but almost all of those are from French, and of the four writers from sub-Saharan Africa, only one identifies as Black.” 

You may not publish literary works, but your organization may replicate similar dynamics. Do you find that your translations over-represent one particular group or identity? Consider the unique value and perspectives, and thus the broader opportunities for connection, that can be achieved in your work when you prioritize translating less commonly represented voices. 

Are you working with translators who are rooted in or otherwise reflect the communities you want to communicate with?

Translators with lived experience in the communities you work in will have insights into the cultural contexts and communication nuances that can make your translation truly connect. 

“Their approach to otherness, their command of the target language, their capacity to continually deepen their knowledge of the language and culture of the country of origin: all these are, in fact, fundamental to the translator’s ability to render the nuances of the text. In leaving an imprint on the work, the translator is to some degree involved in the reception of the translated text.“

Do your materials need any editing before someone translates them?

Edit your materials so they are brief and precise, which will make the translations more effective and affordable. I suggest learning about plain language guidelines, and I offer guidance on how to follow them in your writing.  

Will you be prioritizing inclusive language in the translation? 

Naming is the beginning of justice. The language you use to refer to people and the world around them impacts your reader’s feelings of (inter)connection, empathy, and solidarity. Be mindful of the language you use in your materials so that translators can integrate inclusive language in translations. 

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In other news…

Berkeley Voices: A linguist’s quest to legitimize U.S. Spanish

The U.S. is a Spanish-speaking country, and it’s time for us to embrace that, says UC Berkeley sociolinguist Justin Davidson.

If AI is so good, why are there still so many jobs for translators?

Daron Acemoglu speaks with Greg Rosalsky of NPR’s Planet Money about AI’s potential effect on jobs, specifically the translation business

CIOL’s Inclusive Language Resources

The United Nations and other international organizations provide guidance on how best to manage challenges in translation which cross over language and cultural conventions, norms and expectations. CIOL has brought together a selection of these resources as part of their work to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in languages.

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Translation in the spotlight…

Today My Sight Is Sharp by Yousri Alghoul & Translated by Graham Liddell

This short story appeared in the “Gaza! Gaza! Gaza!” issue of ArabLit Quarterly.

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