Evening all. This pm I'm going to do some more tweeting about translation teaching, but with a slightly more political edge. There are some great people tweeting about this who I'll quote or rephrase, including @MflTransform, & my amazing colleague @RuthAhmedzai spoke of this

when she curated this account a few months back, but I think lots of this stuff bears repeating. Brief caveat: I have taught translation to adults, and at UG and a bit of PG level, but I'm not technically qualified to do this - I'm qualified in that I am a published literary

translator and so can speak endlessly about things like voice, style, register, readership, bookshop layouts & indie publishers, but less so about things like the GCSE or A-level curricula or the particular stresses & strains of trying to inspire 12 year olds to conjugate a verb.

So any teachers/educators/curriculum designers out there, do weigh in! Translation teaching at UG level in the UK is generally tied to a language module as part of the overall degree programme &, as such, is often only partly about translation. For a great summary of the reasons

behind this and the reasons why we can & should shake this up for the good of both language & translation teaching, I recommend Guy Cook's book 'Translation in Language Teaching': https://global.oup.com/academic/product/translation-in-language-teaching-9780194424752?lang=en&cc=gb

Historically, translation was used in university settings as a way to advance students' language skills, rather than being taught as a discipline in its own right. Nothing wrong with this per se: translation should form a decent chunk of any language teaching programme, IMHO. But

considering the worrying trend for uptake in languages plummeting at all levels in the UK, I would argue (& many others have, too), that continuing to use translation solely in this way is missing a trick: if we bring in all the other incredible aspects of translation that we as

practising translators are well aware of, then we have a change not only to slow that trend, but to reverse it, and to contribute to an exciting shake-up of how languages are taught at all levels, as well as how they fit into and enrich the rest of the curriculum. This is all the

more important in the age of Br*xit & Tr*mp and a general global move towards parochialism, populism, and scapegoating of anything or anyone who embodies difference. For what is translation but an empathetic celebration & exploration of both difference (between langs & cultures),

but also of sameness: we translate in order to move something different towards us, so that readers can explore different worlds, viewpoints & mindsets, but also so that we & our readers can appreciate & wonder at the shared humanity that populates the books on our shelves.

Translation is the anti-Trump, the anti-Brexit, the antidote to so much small-mindedness & shutting off from the world, and reading literature can assist in generating & nurturing empathy amongst readers. Of course, within literary translation, as in any industry, things are not

always so rosy: the industry is overwhelmingly white & middle-class, which brings with it all the biases & blindspots you would imagine, and while these things are starting to be talked about far more than ever, there is still a huge way to go. Kudos here to people like

@TiltedAxisPress, @JeremyTiang, @WritersCentre, @JacarandaBooks, @DarfPublishers & @shadow_heroes amongst others, who are actively doing great things to counter the prevailing trend. Please add to this thread at any point with other people & orgs doing similar things.