Liminal-Hall-of-Translation
Part of my investigation into multiculturalism is the translation of languages. Language is a tool, and by the definition of artificially created tool language is a form of technology.
There are many studies done on the relationship between language structures and cultural factors. However, what interests me the most is the process of translation between any two languages, particularly for speakers who consider more than one language their native languages.
What I resolved to is this space of liminality that these self-translators find themselves in, possessing a mixed identity that is neither one nor the other, and the understanding that even between two languages the path of translation is not linear.
Semantic Transference in Example
My personal favorite example when comparing semantic differences between English and Mandarin Chinese is the family titles.
A scene of family party, with each person labeled by the American semantic.
The American Western Semantic
In English, parents of your parents are called grandparents, siblings of your parents are called aunts and uncles, and their children are your cousins. The way each person is distinguished is directly by their given or chosen names.
The same scene of family party, with each person labeled by the Chinese semantic.
The Chinese Eastern Semantic
In Mandarin Chinese — or more specifically, in Chinese customs in Taiwan — calling someone who is not an equal peer by their given or chosen names is considered imprudent. The proper way is to address them by their relations to you. There are terminologies specifying nearly every possible relationship within a larger family relatives.
Experiential Representation
Given the nature of this complex and intertwining process of translation, if I were to map out the process in a visual way, then virtual space is the perfect place to visualize it.
The understanding of translation as a liminal experience creates the backdrop in this experience. Influences of semantic transferences line the walls. Readers of the translated and re-translated texts scatter across.
Experience it at: spatialweb.net/@fkdesign
