Translating Onomatopoeia: Creative Translation Workshop with Polly Barton, in partnership with the Queen’s College Translation Exchange

This event is free, but registration is required. Register here.

What are the possibilities and limits of translating onomatopoeia and language with onomatopoeic qualities? This workshop, led by award-winning writer and translator Polly Barton, will consider the questions and challenges that arise when onomatopoeia is moved across languages and cultures. From translations of Japanese mimetic language to creative and multilingual reimaginings of onomatopoeia in English, participants will explore the phonic properties and potentialities of language and translation.

No prior knowledge of Japanese, or any other language, is required. This workshop is in partnership with the Queen’s College Translation Exchange.

Polly Barton is a Japanese translator and writer. Her translations include Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda, Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa, There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura, and Mild Vertigo by Mieko Kanai. Her translation of Asako Yuzuki’s Butter was named Waterstones Book of the Year 2024. She is the author of Fifty Sounds and Porn: An Oral History.