UST holds ‘The Role of Translation in the K-12 Curriculum’ on World Translation Day

MANILA, Philippines - The UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (CCWLS) and Ang Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) held a National Seminar on Translation, titled “The Role of Translation in the K-12 Curriculum” on Sept. 28 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex Auditorium. The seminar was in celebration of World Translation Day.

Dr. Isagani Cruz, Professor Emeritus of De La Salle University and President of De La Salle College, gave the keynote address, on “The Monther Tongue Policy in Grade School”; and National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera, special guest speaker, spoke on “Not Language Alone: Translation and Culture.”

Other speakers were former SEA Write awardees Marne Kilates (who, aside from writing lovely books of his own and editing an online literary magazine, has more than 30 years of experience as a literary translator), CWLS Associate Michael M. Coroza, and CCWLS Associate Rebecca Añonuevo, this year’s SEA Write awardee. Kilates, Añonuevo and Corroza are among the few Filipino writers, who, besides producing excellent poetry themselves, use their considerable gifts to translate the works of other writers.

Technical translation was discussed by Dr. Imelda de Castro of UST’s Faculty of Arts & Letters, and Minda  Limbo, officer-in-charge of the Translation Division of the Komisyon ng Wika.

In her welcome remarks, CCWLS Director and Professor Emeritus Cristina  Pantoja Hidalgo said that “since ours is a nation of many languages and cultures, translation is not an option, but a necessity.” “Our literatures will accomplish more effectively than anything else the task of explaining ourselves to each other,” she added, “and this we must do before we can even think of explaining ourselves to other peoples, or becoming globally competitive, which is what the new K-12 Curriculum hopes to accomplish.”

A special feature of the seminar was the launching of Volume 2, Issue 2 of Tomas, the CCWLS’s peer-reviewed, bi-lingual, literary journal. Tomas 2 includes contributions by Cirilo F. Bautista, Oscar V. Campomanes, Alma Anonas-Carpio, Paul Alcoseba Castillo, Albert B. Casuga, Michael M. Coroza, Carlomanh Arcangel Daoana, Kat del Rosario, Nerisa del Carmen Guevara, Bienvenido Lumbera, Jose Victor Torres, Recah A. Trinidad, and Sooey Valencia.

Another special feature was a short poetry reading by Kilates, Añonuevo and Corroza And Ralph Galan, Senior Resident Fellow of poems that they had translated either from English to Filipino or Filipino to English, as well as a short poetry reading by Kilates, Añonuevo and Corroza and Ralph Galan, Senior Resident Fellow, of poems that they had translated either from English to Filipino or Filipino to English.