S13-Words-for-the-Future-no.../txt/words-for-the-future/PRACTICAL-VISION.txt

Practical Vision 

Jalada
A few weeks back someone told me that it is an exceptional achievement for a short story to be translated into a dozen languages. I had never really thought about it, as I am not drawn from a long tradition of scholarship in literary translations. I could not quantify his statement in any way. For me those words came across as a big compliment given the scope of the work done by the Jalada Collective in the past year in the area of translations and the use of digital facilities.

Jalada is a pan-African collective of young African writers from all over the African continent, of which I am member as well as the managing editor. It began in 2013 during a workshop convened by renowned editor, Ellah Wakatama Allfrey. We had a lively conversation among the participants about what we as young African creatives drawn from different geographical locations could do with the resources we valued: language, knowledge and our web of connections. So Jalada was born. From wherever we were, we worked together online in what seemed like a virtual office. All you needed to do was post a message, and another member would take action. The Internet became an enabler of collaboration and a resource in the production process of a digital Jalada magazine. Our first thematic issue tackled the often-underexplored subject of mental health within the African context. Our second anthology focused on stories of fictionalized sexual experiences in ways that broke the implied modesty of our fictional boundaries. We also did an anthology on Afrofutures, a publication that allowed us, as Africans, to capture multiple and alternative ways of imagining futures. 

The Translation Issue
Then, we embarked on a translation project in which we aimed to have one short story translated into as many languages as possible. Since March 2016, when we first published the story [i]Ituĩka Rĩa Mũrũngarũ: Kana Kĩrĩa Gĩtũmaga Andũ Mathiĩ Marũngiĩ [i][1], the story has been translated into sixty-eight languages. The initiative has been critically lauded by several scholars as one of the most essential projects in fostering communication amongst readers and speakers of different languages across the globe. Under the umbrella of the powerful magic of storytelling, online publishing has enabled different languages and cultures to find expression and converse with each other. The Jalada website, where the story and its translations are published, acts as a kind of portal to a multiplicity of languages wherein you can find codified languages you may never have heard about. Because for us at Jalada we are keen on multiple narrative modes of textual and visual storytelling, the story continues to be available in podcasts and live multilingual dramatizations. 

We conceptualised the Jalada translations issue with a specific focus on African Languages. Each language remains a representation of a specific culture on the continent. Taken together, our continent is infinitely rich in its cultural resources. Over 2000 languages exist across the 54 nations. Imagine the monumental impact of a story in all these languages. It would be an immovable symbol. In history and in scholarship it would stand as a testament to the fact that all languages are equal: It does not matter the origins, the color, or the number of people who use any specific language, nor the standardisation of such a language or the lack thereof. The coming together of all those languages would smash any doubt that in our diversity immense beauty can be created with a great and lasting impact. 

Jalada Translations issue was born from the firm faith that one day, whether it is during my lifetime or in the generations to come, one such short story will exist in all African languages. I want to imagine that over the years the spill over effect of this will transform our attitudes towards the use of our mother tongues and the languages that we learn from our neighbours through our daily interactions. I want to imagine the impact it might have on the access that our children have to tex
1. Translated into English by the author, Prof. Ngũgi wa Thiong’o, as [i]The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright[i]
2. To be a part of the Translation Issue as a translator is to put yourself in the company of other translators making history. We publish each translation on a single page. The language, name, and biography of the translators are the credits listed. We do not discriminate, nor require any advanced experience in literary translation. The only requirement is the desire to produce authentic and verifiable translations that can communicate a story in one’s own language. And while we do not compensate financially for now, we are looking into possibilities of funding and developing a financial model that would allow the sustainability of the work. As we engage more and more translators, the network grows, and opportunities are easily spread across the team for the benefit of diligent translators.
adding the words-for-the-future txt files to the git 4 years ago				Practical Vision Jalada A few weeks back someone told me that it is an exceptional achievement for a short story to be translated into a dozen languages. I had never really thought about it, as I am not drawn from a long tradition of scholarship in literary translations. I could not quantify his statement in any way. For me those words came across as a big compliment given the scope of the work done by the Jalada Collective in the past year in the area of translations and the use of digital facilities. Jalada is a pan-African collective of young African writers from all over the African continent, of which I am member as well as the managing editor. It began in 2013 during a workshop convened by renowned editor, Ellah Wakatama Allfrey. We had a lively conversation among the participants about what we as young African creatives drawn from different geographical locations could do with the resources we valued: language, knowledge and our web of connections. So Jalada was born. From wherever we were, we worked together online in what seemed like a virtual office. All you needed to do was post a message, and another member would take action. The Internet became an enabler of collaboration and a resource in the production process of a digital Jalada magazine. Our first thematic issue tackled the often-underexplored subject of mental health within the African context. Our second anthology focused on stories of fictionalized sexual experiences in ways that broke the implied modesty of our fictional boundaries. We also did an anthology on Afrofutures, a publication that allowed us, as Africans, to capture multiple and alternative ways of imagining futures. The Translation Issue Then, we embarked on a translation project in which we aimed to have one short story translated into as many languages as possible. Since March 2016, when we first published the story [i]Ituĩka Rĩa Mũrũngarũ: Kana Kĩrĩa Gĩtũmaga Andũ Mathiĩ Marũngiĩ [i][1], the story has been translated into sixty-eight languages. The initiative has been critically lauded by several scholars as one of the most essential projects in fostering communication amongst readers and speakers of different languages across the globe. Under the umbrella of the powerful magic of storytelling, online publishing has enabled different languages and cultures to find expression and converse with each other. The Jalada website, where the story and its translations are published, acts as a kind of portal to a multiplicity of languages wherein you can find codified languages you may never have heard about. Because for us at Jalada we are keen on multiple narrative modes of textual and visual storytelling, the story continues to be available in podcasts and live multilingual dramatizations. We conceptualised the Jalada translations issue with a specific focus on African Languages. Each language remains a representation of a specific culture on the continent. Taken together, our continent is infinitely rich in its cultural resources. Over 2000 languages exist across the 54 nations. Imagine the monumental impact of a story in all these languages. It would be an immovable symbol. In history and in scholarship it would stand as a testament to the fact that all languages are equal: It does not matter the origins, the color, or the number of people who use any specific language, nor the standardisation of such a language or the lack thereof. The coming together of all those languages would smash any doubt that in our diversity immense beauty can be created with a great and lasting impact. Jalada Translations issue was born from the firm faith that one day, whether it is during my lifetime or in the generations to come, one such short story will exist in all African languages. I want to imagine that over the years the spill over effect of this will transform our attitudes towards the use of our mother tongues and the languages that we learn from our neighbours through our daily interactions. I want to imagine the impact it might have on the access that our children have to tex
				1. Translated into English by the author, Prof. Ngũgi wa Thiong’o, as [i]The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright[i] 2. To be a part of the Translation Issue as a translator is to put yourself in the company of other translators making history. We publish each translation on a single page. The language, name, and biography of the translators are the credits listed. We do not discriminate, nor require any advanced experience in literary translation. The only requirement is the desire to produce authentic and verifiable translations that can communicate a story in one’s own language. And while we do not compensate financially for now, we are looking into possibilities of funding and developing a financial model that would allow the sustainability of the work. As we engage more and more translators, the network grows, and opportunities are easily spread across the team for the benefit of diligent translators.