Literary translation was the focus of the annual professional conference of the Hungarian Dutchists entitled Studiedag van neerlandici in Hongarije – Vertalen, organized this year by the Department of Dutch Studies of the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Humanities.
Continuing the more than two-decade-old tradition, this year the practitioners of Dutch studies in Hungary gathered to share their new research results within the framework of a study day.
The meeting organized on October 6th at the Headquarters of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Academic Committee in Debrecen also created an opportunity for representatives of Belgian diplomacy to meet with representatives of the Dutchists in Hungary.
The participants of the event were also greeted by the Belgian ambassador to Hungary, Jeroen Vergeylen, and Koenraad Van de Borne, head of the Hungarian representation in Flanders.
The teaching of the Dutch language and the transmission of Flemish culture at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen has a history of several decades, and it is a significant success that our graduates are able to find a job in Debrecen and the region almost immediately thanks to their language skills
– said Péter Csatár.
There are only three universities in Hungary that have Departments of Dutch Studies, the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), the University of Debrecen and the Károli Gáspár Református University (KRE), which each year take turns hosting the professional conference.
This year, translation was at the center of the conference, so the lecturers and students participating in the event could hear presentations on the topics of literary translation, professional translation and interpreting, and could participate in various interactive practical demonstrations
– Gábor Pusztai told.
In addition to the lecturers of the University of Debrecen, Miklós Fenyves, KRE assistant professor, gave a presentation on the issues of literary translation, and Réka Eszenyi, lecturer of the ELTE Department of Translation and Interpreting Education, analyzed the current issues of interpreting in her presentation.
It was a special pleasure that two former Dutch students of the University of Debrecen, Andrea Prostyák, the interpreter of the European Parliament and Péter Urbán, the translator of the Council of Europe, were able to come to the event, and they shared their own international experiences with the audience
– highlighted Gábor Pusztai.
At the conference, Judit Gera, professor emeritus of ELTE, the most productive domestic Dutch translator of recent decades, held a workshop.
At the event, the volumes entitled A History of Dutch Language Literature prepared by Réka Bozzay, associate professor of the UD Faculty of Humanities Department of Dutch Studies, Institutional Historical Relations – Debrecen and Holland, and the volumes of the Debrecen authors, the Dutch thematic publication of the literary journal Műút, and the latest issue of Acta Neerlandica, which can be read electronically by clicking on this link.
(unideb.hu)
