The Linguist

16 The Linguist Vol/63 No/4 ciol.org.uk/thelinguist In the field of translation- and interpreting-oriented language learning and teaching (TILLT), educators and students often show a tendency to avoid topics and issues that could be regarded as offensive by some and controversial by many. 1 It follows that classroom materials commonly stick to a very narrow range of topics in order to avoid issues such as politics, religion, classism, ableism, racism and gender discrimination. However, if we want to prepare translation and interpreting students for today's world of work, we should not ignore sensitive topics which might seem difficult to discuss in the language classroom. Indeed, I consider it necessary for vibrant and engaging classroom discussions to deliberately incorporate delicate issues, challenge existing beliefs and explore alternative perspectives. COURAGE OVER COMFORT As higher education (HE) teachers with the privilege to teach the next generation of interpreters and translators, I think it is our duty to help students appreciate difficulty as part and parcel of their intellectual and emotional development. If we are unwilling to include topics such as mental health, sexual orientation, death and ecological grief out of fear that classroom emotions will not be contained, we deny our students the opportunity to develop a sense of integrity while grappling with difficult material, confessional narratives and candid discussions. In their jobs, they will not always find peace and comfort or a beautiful, harmonious world, and they need to be equipped to deal with this in advance. Integrity, in this context, means choosing courage over comfort. It takes courage to incorporate controversial issues in the language classroom. Prospective translators and interpreters, however, have the right and the need to develop taboo literacy in their formative years. I understand taboo literacy as the competent handling of controversial subjects and the potential conflicts that may come with them. In contexts such as community interpreting, such topics may negatively – and potentially drastically – impact communication and the achievement of communicative goals if they are not handled appropriately. This concerns interpreting settings in which the interpersonal relationships between everyone involved (across, e.g, age and gender) require a careful and considerate approach. This may occur, for example, when the topics at hand are menstruation, sexual dysfunction or diversity of sexual intimacy. In audio-visual translation, taboo literacy is key to dealing with potentially controversial words in interlingual subtitling. An analysis of translation strategies for expressions concerning, among other things, religion, death and sexuality in film subtitling from English to Arabic highlighted the relationship between 'taboo' words and questions of morality. 2 For example, 'Go and fuck yourself!' was subtitled as 'Go to hell!', while 'I missed my period' became 'I have a problem with my body.' Translation-oriented language teaching is, SILENCE IN CLASS? WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO DISCUSS 'TABOO' TOPICS IN THE TRANSLATION/INTERPRETING CLASSROOM, AND HOW TO APPROACH THEM SENSITIVELY. BY EVA SEIDL GOING BEYOND Students can feel that certain subjects are off the table, as classroom materials commonly avoid issues that could potentially cause upset, discomfort or conflict © UNSPLASH © PEXELS

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