2026 International Translation Day
Linguistic Diversity and Language Rights
Monday, Sept. 28
The Missing Translations: Beyond the ‘Absent Presence’ of Black Canadian Voices
Dr. Sylvia Ijeoma Madueke
3 p.m. in the 2-20A Visualization Lab (Digital Scholarship Centre, Cameron Library, University of Alberta)
This presentation examines the relative absence of translation in scholarship on Black Canadian writing. While my focus is specifically on Black Canadian writers and translation, I situate this inquiry within the broader history of Black Canadian writing and the bibliographic and scholarly efforts that have documented its development, diversity, and significance. These efforts have challenged what Yvonne Brown describes as the “absent presence” of Blackness in Canada by documenting, recovering, and critically engaging with Black Canadian literary histories and contributions. Yet the question of translation remains largely absent from this discussion. Against this background, I ask what happens when translation is brought into the picture. This preliminary inquiry maps existing scholarship and bibliographic records to identify translations and gaps, and considers what these presences and absences reveal about the circulation and visibility of Black Canadian writing in translation. By bringing translation into conversations about representation and literary recognition, the presentation seeks to open a space for further scholarly inquiry into the historical, institutional, and publishing conditions that shape the circulation of Black Canadian writing across languages and cultural contexts.
Register here
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026
Online panels
Zoom link: https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/j/91472025773?pwd=3ILLQZ0E5xABmDnfDy4vcCIoIObwP4.1
Meeting ID: 91472025773
Passcode: 388624
Program
9:00 AM-9:05 AM: Welcome and Land Acknowledgement: Chair of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies
9:05 AM-10:05 AM: Dr. Ife Adebara (University of Alberta/CIFAR AI Chair), keynote speaker:
"Let me hear (the) word"
Machine translation now reaches hundreds of the world's languages, including many that are spoken by millions yet described as "low-resource" because so little of them exists in digital form. Coverage is growing fast. But how do we know whether these translations are actually any good? This talk looks at where machine translation stands today and at the blind spots in how its quality is measured. Current metrics tend to reward a single "correct" answer, overlook cultural meaning, and struggle most with the very languages that need attention. Starting from a short Yoruba phrase that resists easy translation, this keynote argues that translators are uniquely equipped to see what these systems miss, and proposes a new lens through which they can name and codify those gaps. The result is a case for the humanities as an essential partner in building fairer language technology, with lessons that extend from Yoruba to Indigenous and minority languages here in Canada.
Online panel 1: Moderated by Dr. Ann De Leon (University of Alberta)
10:20 AM-10:40 AM: Dr. Mahmoud L. S. AlTarabin (Islamic University of Gaza): "Same Words, Different Voices: Reframing Palestinian Testimony in Arabic-English Subtitles"
10:40 AM-11:00 AM: Anneka Vicente Foster (University of Alberta): "When Roberto Arlt Meets English Translation: The Consequences of Different Publishing Markets and the Cultural Turn"
11:00 AM-11:20 AM: Dorothy Akaelu (University of Alberta): "Reflections on Translating Indian Residential School Documents: The Role of a Translator"
11:20 AM-11:40 AM: DISCUSSION
Break
Online panel 2: Moderated by Dr. Ann De Leon (University of Alberta)
12:20 PM-12:40 PM: Jamie Poudrier (Professional translator): "My Journey into Global Content"
12:40 PM-1:00 PM: Luciana Erregue-Sacchi (Author, Translator, Director): "Sensory Flashbacks: The Immigrant Body Translates"
1:00 PM-1:20 PM: Kai Lin (University of Alberta): "To Wong Foo, Thanks for the Laughter! Translating Drag in Russia"
1:20 PM-1:40 PM: Dr. Roula Salam (University of Alberta/FIT): "Language Support in Crisis Settings: How ready are we in Canada"
1:40 PM-2:00 PM: DISCUSSION
End of Event