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Interview with Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp, translator of How Do Bridges Work? by Roman Belyaev

Posted By Jacob Hope, 17 September 2020

We are delighted to welcome Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp to the blog.  Ruth is the translator of b small publishing's How Do Bridges Work? written and illustrated by Roman Belyaev.  Here Ruth provides an insight into translation.  Many thanks to Sam Hutchinson from b small publishing for the opportunity.


How long have you been a translator and how did you get started?

I qualified as a professional translator in 2004 when I finished an MA and postgraduate diploma in translation, but my first taste of freelance translation was during my third year abroad, when I spent 4 months in Dresden. I translated some texts and marketing videos for an eco tech company at Dresden Environment Centre - a really fascinating experience. 


This new book from b small publishing, HOW DO BRIDGES WORK?, was originally written in Russian. Tell us about your connection to the Russian language.

I started learning Russian aged 16, when I was lucky enough to do Russian GCSE alongside my A levels. I fel in love and went on to study Russian and German language and literature at Oxford University, spending every summer in Moscow and St Petersburg, traipsing around the many wonderful writers' house museums. I associate Russia with music and singing with friends around the kitchen table. About 10 years ago I taught Russian A level at a local school and it was a delight to devise grammar activities based on classic Soviet rock songs! 


 HOW DO BRIDGES WORK? contains some quite technical language to do with architecture and engineering. How do you tackle this?

I have a background in literature and history, not science and technology, and yet over the years I have translated a few popular science books. Part of the essential toolkit of a translator is excellent research skills and also a reliable network of expert friends to ask about terms and concepts when in doubt! I also think self-doubt as an underlying principle is important in translation: you need the confidence to tackle texts that are sometimes out of your comfort zone, but the self-doubt to check and double check everything! One thing I love about translation is the excuse to read books and texts about a vast range of subjects. You never know what you're going to be asked to work on so the best preparation for a translation career is to read constantly and read widely. 


Do you do any preliminary work to find the voice of the original author or do you like to approach the text without preconceptions?

It depends on the text and the target readership, and where on the spectrum the book fits: should it be written in a neutral nonfiction style or a more chatty, personal style, for example? With this book, it was most important that the text was clear, concise and accessible to younger readers, so at times I need to restructure a sentence or a paragraph to express the same ideas in a way that would be clear to young English readers. 


As a fan of foreign languages, are you learning any new languages at the moment? What’s next?

To say I love exploring foreign languages is an understatement! I was 24 when I started learning Arabic, and for the first decade or so I had to focus on that alone - Arabic is many languages in one, after all, when you consider how much the spoken dialects vary. But in recent years I've allowed myself time to dabble in other languages again. I'm slowly working on my Norwegian on Duolingo, as we have family in Bergen; as I'm a linguist I fear they're expecting me to be fluent by our next visit! I got a bit distracted by Yiddish after watching Unorthodox on Netflix - I'm instantly gripped by a language that is similar to one I already know well, and Yiddish is very close to German. I have family links to Malta and I was astonished when I started listening to Maltese podcasts and realised I could understand a lot because it's very close to colloquial Arabic, particularly the Palestinian and Syrian dialects I'm most familiar with. 


Foreign languages don’t always have the most consistent spot on the Curriculum, particularly in primary schools. How would you encourage children to take an interest in foreign languages?

This is a particular passion of mine and I'm working with the Stephen Spender Trust to develop teaching resources for primary schools, exploring creative translation in the classroom. These activities give pupils the satisfaction of codebreaking and working out how to read a creative text in a language they have no experience of, and then translating it as they would approach any creative writing task: writing freely but with certain constraints. Pupils discover language skills they didn't realise they had and make discoveries about English at the same time. 

Another way young people can explore our multilingual planet is to get involved in #WorldKidLitMonth, which is happening now in September. On social media, this is an initiative aimed at encouraging kids and adults to read beyond our shores, and to explore children's and YA books in translation from other languages. There are heaps of resources on World Kid Lit blog, a website I co-edit, including reading lists and maps for different age groups, and you can search the site by language and by country. We aim to make it easier than ever before to pick a place in the world and fly there by book! 


Finally, now that many of us are having to work from home or in new conditions, tell us about your workspace!  

My workspace actually hasn't changed as I have a home office; what is new is having to share it with my husband! But as we've had the children home from school throughout lockdown, we've worked shifts and haven't been in there at the same time. From September we might have to get another chair but to be honest I'm not sure I'll be able to share with him - I think I talk to myself too much when I'm translating! I have to read texts aloud to hear how they sound and as I'm currently editing my translation of a novel I'm forever acting out scenes to check it all fits together. I think I may be banished to the living room! 

 

A huge thank you to Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp and to b small publishing for the opportunity.

 

 

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Tags:  Information Books  Non-fiction  Reading  Reading for Pleasure  STEAM  Translation 

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UCLan STEAM Children's Book Prize 2020

Posted By Alison D. Brumwell, 16 December 2019

 

In 2018, UCLan Publishing, in partnership with The British Interplanetary Society, set up the inaugural STEAM Children’s Book Prize. It’s a unique award as it is the first book prize to focus solely on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) in children’s literature, from Early Years to Young Adult. It covers all genres, with the 2020 list of nominated titles including a wide range of subject matter in four categories: Early Years, Middle Grade, Young Adult and Information.

As a librarian, I value any educational initiative which removes barriers and promotes inclusion. By highlighting the importance of STEAM subjects, this prize recognises children and young people benefit immeasurably from developing critical thinking skills and having the opportunity to explore their own creativity and ability to innovate. Asking why and how, and learning to problem solve effectively, is at the core of STEAM and is celebrated in each of this year’s shortlisted titles, including The Longest Night of Charlie Noon by Christopher Edge, overall winner of The STEAM Children’s Book Prize 2019 with The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day.

STEAM Children’s Book Prize 2020 shortlists

 Early Years:

Arty! The First Artist in Space                      William Bee                                                       Pavilion Books

Why Do We Poo?                                         Harriet Blackford                                              Boxer Books

Lifesize Dinosaurs                                        Sophie Henn                                                     Egmont

Suzy Orbit Astronaut                                    Ruth Quayle & Jez Tuya                                   Nosy Crow

A Place for Pluto                                          Stef Wade                                                         Raintree

Astrogirl                                                        Ken Wilson-Max                                               Otter-Barry Books

Middle Grade:

The Train to Impossible Places                    P.G. Bell                                                             Usborne

Mega Robo Revenge                                   Neil Cameron                                                     David Fickling Books

Fire Girl, Forest Boy                                     Chloe Daykin                                                      Faber & Faber

The Longest Night of Charlie Noon              Christopher Edge                                               Nosy Crow

Wildspark                                                      Vashti Hardy                                                      Scholastic

Race to the Frozen North                            Catherine Johnson                                              Barrington Stoke

Lightning Mary                                             Anthea Simmons                                                 Andersen Press

YA:

Beauty Sleep                                                Kathryn Evans                                                    Usborne

Earth Swarm                                                 Tim Hall                                                              David Fickling Books

The Quiet at the End of the World                Lauren James                                                     Walker Books

The Starlight Watchmaker                            Lauren James                                                     Barrington Stoke

Nowhere on Earth                                         Nick Lake                                                            Hodder

The Chaos of Now                                        Erin Lange                                                          Usborne

Information:

The Usborne Book of Planet Earth             Megan Cullis & Matthew Oldham                       Usborne

Science You Can Eat                                   Stefan Gates                                                      DK

The Beetle Collector’s Handbook                 M.G. Leonard                                                    Scholastic

Science is Magic                                           Steve Mould                                                      DK

The Marvellous Adventure of Being              Dr. Max Pemberton                                          Wren and Rook

Engineering Scribble Book                           Eddie Reynolds & Darran Stobbart                   Usborne

I was honoured to be invited to judge The STEAM Children’s Book Prize 2020, alongside fellow judges Dom Conlon, Ros Harding and Ralph Timberlake. It was a difficult choice to whittle down a brilliant selection of over 70 nominated titles, but we managed to arrive at shortlists which exemplify the best of the best: from the lives of renowned English palaeontologist Mary Anning and Arctic explorer Matthew Henson, to fusion bananas (only the creative genius of P.G. Bell could dream this up) and books about dinosaurs, digestion, dung beetles and otherworldy marvels, I’m sure we’ll all enjoy our next few months of reading. I encourage school librarians and teachers to explore these books with pupils and incorporate them into their teaching and learning across all key stages.

The winners will be announced at the Lancashire Science Festival at the end of June 2020. In the meantime, it’s full STEAM ahead!

 

Tags:  children's books  Reading for Pleasure  STEAM 

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