Lost in Translation: Negotiating Foreign Languages in Arthurian Literature

Sponsoring Organization(s)

International Arthurian Society, North American Branch (IAS/NAB)

Organizer Name

Michael W. Twomey, Bonnie Wheeler

Organizer Affiliation

Ithaca College, Southern Methodist Univ.

Presider Name

Bonnie Wheeler

Paper Title 1

Language, Identity, and Power in Wace’s Roman de Brut

Presenter 1 Name

Jean Blacker

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Kenyon College

Paper Title 2

Interpreting among Speakers of Different Languages in Lohengrin, a Late Thirteenth-Century Middle High German Romance

Presenter 2 Name

Joseph M. Sullivan

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Univ. of Oklahoma

Paper Title 3

Speak Fluent Arthurian in 30 Minutes

Presenter 3 Name

Norris J. Lacy

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Pennsylvania State Univ.

Start Date

9-5-2014 1:30 PM

Session Location

Fetzer 2020

Description

International in scope from Geoffrey of Monmouth onward, Arthurian narratives often cross national boundaries, and when they do, they cross linguistic boundaries, as well. This session solicits papers about the significance of linguistic difference in Arthurian texts. The following are some of the questions papers in this session could address: How do Arthurian texts portray foreign languages, and with what implications—linguistic, cultural, or otherwise? How do Arthurian characters from different nations understand one another? What languages do they speak, and why those particular languages?

Michael W. Twomey