Episode 6 - Hawaiian and the Challenge of Language Revitalisation: A Conversation with Dr. Keao NeSmith

What can the parallels between Pele, the deity of volcanoes and fire, and Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland reveal about the task of translating from English to Hawaiian? Can exact equivalence between the source and target language ever actually be attained? And should equivalence even be an aim when translating? This week, I'm joined by Dr. Keao NeSmith to unpick the complexities that come with translation and language revitalisation. Dr. NeSmith works as a translator, linguist and educator who has translated works of English literature into Hawaiian, including the Harry Potter series, The Hobbit and Alice in Wonderland. Alongside translating literature, he researches language revitalisation and advocates for native speakers' rights in Hawaii, often working as a translator for native Hawaiians who are unable to understand the widespread 'Neo-Hawaiian' spoken today. He coined the term 'Neo-Hawaiian' to distinguish between the form of Hawaiian emerging from classroom settings and native Hawaiian, an endangered language in need of revitalisation. Our discussion is concerned with how genres translate between cultures and languages, and the influence that the target audience has on translation methods. Dr. NeSmith describes the iterative nature of translation, conceptualising his movement across the gap between Hawaiian and English as a kind of movement between 'moments of frailty'. We touch upon how academic theories of translation can help guide translation, discussing Lawrence Venuti's theory to unpick how far a translation should actually feel 'smooth' and equivalent to the source text. Dr. NeSmith speaks of the popularity of translated works, including The Arabian Nights, in 19th-century Hawaiian literature before turning to the question of how Hawaiian literary traditions have been influenced by these translations and adaptations. We draw an unexpected connection between the endangered state of Torwali, a language spoken primarily in Pakistan, and Hawaiian, discussing how it is that Hawaiian and native Hawaiian, specifically, can be revived. Dr. NeSmith foregrounds issues in policy and curriculum, focusing on the lack of native speaker presence in government as a key problem. Drawing upon his experiences as a translator for native Hawaiian speakers in courtroom and hospital settings, he speaks about the cognitive divide between Neo-Hawaiian and native Hawaiian before seguing into matters of linguistic reinvention. This episode invites rumination on what it truly means to translate from one language, one culture to another. We invite you to reflect on the ways social, governmental, and educational institutions may privilege some linguistic communities while marginalising others.For further information about Dr. Keao NeSmith, please visit these links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Keao_NeSmith; https://independentresearcher.academia.edu/KeaoNeSmithIf you enjoyed this episode and want to stick around for the next one, do hit follow and review the show!Music credits go to Isobel (Issi) Marklew.