Conference

The Program in Jewish Studies at the University of California at Berkeley
Is Proud to Sponsor the

3^rd Annual Berkeley Yiddish Conference
פֿאַרטײַטשט און פֿאַרבעסערט [Fartaytsht un Farbesert]
Translation and Yiddish Culture
23 – 24 May 2005
3335 Dwinelle Hall

The University of California at Berkeley’s second annual conference on Yiddish culture, On the Borders of Yiddishland, was held May 24–25, 2004. This year’s event follows in the path of our previous conferences in aiming to bring together scholars of Yiddish studies across disciplines to examine transformations of European Yiddish culture, life, and letters.

Translation has been a central feature of Yiddish life and letters from the moment of that language’s origin. In the shadow of sacred texts, a distinct language for Bible translation developed alongside traditional methods of study involving line-by-line and word-for-word renderings into Yiddish. An intellectual tradition grew up around the translation of foreign literatures into Yiddish, producing a rich and textured literary language, leading to a revolution in modern Jewish culture at the beginning of the twentieth century. Yiddish studies offers a unique perspective on the mechanics and operations of translation of every stripe, including textual translations (both into and out of Yiddish), styles of thought, and methods of inquiry. This conference will explore the multifarious ways that translation comes to bear on the cultural life of Yiddish-speaking Jewry through a range of historical periods and from diverse disciplinary perspectives. This includes an examination of the impact of translation from Yiddish on target languages and cultures.