The Linguist

@CIOL_Linguists SUMMER 2024 The Linguist 31 SECTION HEADER REVIEWS The first question you ask yourself upon opening Experimental Translation is: what does 'experimental translation' mean? In her lengthy and helpful introduction, the author illustrates the very broad scope of the term by telling us that it has also been called avant- garde, creative, poetic, potential, perverse, Goldsmith's Press 2024, 248 pp; ISBN: 9781913380700 Paperback, £32 queer and performative translation. We are given an example, in which a well-known biblical saying is translated consecutively from one language to another in DeepL (an online machine translation (MT) program) through 26 languages. We are then invited to compare the end result with the original sentence; obviously, there are differences. Should we regard this as a glorified digital version of Chinese whispers, fun but essentially trivial, or are there more profound implications in the nuances introduced by the program from one language to the next? This question raises the controversial issue of whether computers are actually capable of creative acts, which is inevitably invoked by such experimentation. The book's subtitle, 'The work of translation in the age of algorithmic production', is somewhat misleading. Robert-Foley pays little attention to what most of us would regard as 'work', focusing almost exclusively on creativity for its own sake. Additionally, although computer algorithms are indeed a major consideration, many other linguistic topics and creative processes are studied, including the pioneering, entirely human efforts of Suzette Haden Elgin and M. NourbeSe Philip. In the course of her analysis, the author brings in a broad range of scholars, among them Walter Benjamin, Umberto Eco and Arika Okrent, taking the discussion of alternative translational approaches well beyond the output of neural machine translation software. It should be noted that Robert-Foley's prose is dense and jargon-laden, and she wears her ideology on her sleeve. One brief quote should suffice to illustrate both points: "The law of fidelity… stems from European colonial discourses of meaning that privilege the transcendental signified, in a trifecta of patriarchal apparatuses that structure the translational norms that experimental translation questions: God, State and Capital." Readers are free to judge such matters for themselves. Otherwise, this is a challenging and admirably researched work which offers a thorough examination of the state of the art in this particular field. Ross Smith MCIL CL Experimental Translation Lily Robert-Foley Gestures of the fingers, hands, arms and head, in step with speech, are the visible accompaniment of discourse. They also articulate unspoken words. This much we know. Susan Goldin-Meadow's research is on how we display thought by using untaught gestures that are comprehensible to others. She does not consider 'emblems', i.e. Basic Books 2023, 272 pp; ISBN 9781541600805 Hardback £25 gestures with a range of meanings, common across cultures (e.g. a thumbs-up). Similarly, although sign-language users can gesture, signs differ from gestures. Thus sign language is largely sidelined in this study. Gesture supports speech. Examples of this can be seen in speakers outlining shapes, providing emphasis, indicating motion, speed and direction. They are classed as 'dynamic' or 'still'. The former expresses growth, movement and continuity; the latter, closeness and containment. Gestures can add "a pictorial and dynamic texture to speech". Gesturing also allows economy and parsimony in speech when required or for reasons of style. The converse can also occur with gesture supported by the spoken word (e.g. a bold, pointing, indexical movement followed by the words 'Over there'). We gesture when speaking on the telephone even though our interlocutors are unaware of it. Relatedly, the author reports that the congenitally blind use gesture in the same way in conversation as non-blind speakers of the same language. She also cites her research in which those with prosthetic arms gesture in accordance with how much they accept their replacement limb. The greater the acceptance, the more it is used. Most surprisingly, people born without arms, as well as those who have lost them in accidents, tell of how the absent arms (i.e. phantom limbs) gesture during speech. Both modalities – speech and gesture – externalise our thoughts. Gesture is what Mark Johnson, cognitive scientist and linguist, calls the "embodied mind": the meaningful externalising of thoughts, images and memories by coordinated movement of the body. When gesturing accompanies a spoken account of how to carry out a task, it creates a "motor signature" that can make the task easier to recall for speaker and audience. Thinking with Your Hands: The surprising science behind how gestures shape our thoughts contains many fascinating insights on the nexus of mind, language and body. The author is a professor in psychology and comparative human development at the University of Chicago and is ardent about raising the profile of this subject. Graham Elliott MCIL Thinking with Your Hands Susan Goldin-Meadow

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