Academic staff and students of the Department of Germanic Philology and Translation of the National University "Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic" received a free copy of the board game "TranslationInAction" from the initiative group "Translators In Action". Among the tasks of Translators In Action (TIA) are: raising awareness of translators of legal issues, promoting the visibility and security of translators in the legal field, informational, advisory and organizational support of translation initiatives, organizing educational and cultural translation projects, lobbying community interests, conducting professional surveys and researches.
"Imagine (or recall) that you are a translator of fiction in the Ukrainian book market. No matter what language you work with, no matter how unscrupulous customers bypass, surprises await you at every step. Sometimes they are pleasant – an invitation to a master class or a prize, but problems and deadlines await you as well. Translators In Action are here to show that there is nothing to worry about – especially when dealing with the problem all together," – say the game's developers.
The game "TranslationInAction" involves collective interaction, demonstrates the achievement of both personal and general, common goals to all players, talks about the specifics, strengths and weaknesses of the translator’s profession, the ecosystem and its development, the importance of cooperation and the rights of everyone.
The game reveals the following important concepts:
- Precariousness of self-employed intellectual work: prices, invisibility, legal insecurity, lack of social guarantees, vocational training only for money, scams, labor costs, equipment, dictionaries, etc.;
- Features of translation work/activities/life: conditions and remuneration, labor relations, contracts, visibility, education, health, bonus process, copyright, translation criticism, stereotypes about the profession, opportunities, support programs, residencies, low self-organization, mutual aid and interaction, difficulties of the translation itself;
- Ways of mutual support and potential grouping strategies to improve the situation.
The game "TranslationInAction" was created to give an opportunity to try to be a translator; to acquaint with positive/negative situations in the translator’s profession; submit certain facts (practices, publishing process, standards, nuances of the profession); to inform about useful for ecosystem models of cooperation, strategies of cooperation; for the translators themselves, the game can also be an occasion for discussions and conversations about their own realities.
Since the initiative group "Translators In Action" adheres to the principles of non-profitability and equality in its work, this game is distributed free of charge and offered in two versions:
- PDF files that one can print and glue yourself (one can download them here);
- kits made by a professional printing house.
Polygraphic copies are primarily addressed to translation, student academic groups, libraries, training centers, specialized festivals, etc.
"Our students-translators were the first to see the announcement of the game "TranslationInAction" and asked us to apply for a free copy of the game. As there were many interested people, we are extremely grateful to the team of "Translators In Action" and personally to Polina Horodyska and Oleksandra Hryhorenko for such a gift. We look forward to returning to study offline in order to try out the game with our students," – commented guarantor of the specialty "Philology", Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor of the Department of Germanic Philology and Translation at the National University "Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic" Anna Pavelieva.
Earlier, the Polytechnic scientist became a laureate of the Volodymyr Vernadskyi Award, lecturers-philologists underwent training in effective eco-management at the Jean Monnet International Winter School, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities won a grant for a project of virtual exchange with the USA, and the scientist of the Faculty of Humanities took part in the project on improving economic literacy and knowledge of labor legislation under the Erasmus+ program.
Media Center of
National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
