Google Translate, Past, Present, and Future: A Conversation with Josh Estelle

This Monday, November 26th, the Translation Mondays Series at North Quad welcomed UM grad Josh Estelle, now a Staff Software Engineer at Google. Estelle, a lead developer on Google Translate, discussed 6 years of progress towards bringing fast, accurate translation to hundreds of millions of people, and what this means for the future of communication.

When students come into the Undergraduate Library asking for a good book to read, Learning Librarian Emily Hamstra recommends the Browsing Collection of the latest fiction and nonfiction. The Browsing Collection currently has a display of recommended reading in translation, including Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood and Jussi Adler-Olsen’s latest chilling novel of murder and suspense, The Absent One, translated from Danish.

The theme semester was recently featured in an article in Publishing Perspectives entitled “Translation Gains New Ground in American Academia.” The article, reproduced on our blog, cites the translation theme semester as a good way of highlighting both the University of Michigan’s language resources and its dedication to intercultural awareness.

Translating Slavery, Translating Freedom panel, November 28

This Wednesday, join Michigan faculty panelists Martha S. Jones and Jean Hébrard, along with Françoise Massardier-Kenney of Kent State University, as they discuss issues related to translation in the contexts of slavery and emancipation. Professor Massardier-Kenney studies literature, gender and feminism in translation and the pedagogy of translation. She is a co-author (along with Doris Kadish) of Translating Slavery.

Silence and Translation symposium, December 3-4

And we’re looking forward to next week’s Silence and Translation Symposium, which brings renowned filmmakers Trinh T. Minh-ha and Sarah Bouyain to campus December 3-4. Click here for more details.

Upcoming Events, November 26-30

The (medieval) Andalusian Cosmos and the (modern) Arabic Novel: Translation and Transculturation—a lecture by William Granara (Harvard). Part of the lecture series Spain and the Modern Arab World (1492-2012).
Monday, November 26, 4pm, 2022 Thayer (202 S. Thayer St.)

The Story of Google Translate: Past, Present, and Future—a conversation with Josh Estelle.
Monday, November 26, 7pm, 2435 North Quad

Translating Slavery, Translating Freedom—a panel discussion with Françoise Massardier-Kenney (Kent State U.), Martha S. Jones, and Jean Hébrard. Moderated by Christi Merrill.
Wednesday, November 28, 4pm, The Gallery, Hatcher Graduate Library

The Ethics of Medieval Translation—a lecture by Emma Campbell (University of Warwick).
Thursday, November 29, 4pm, 4th Floor Commons, Modern Languages Building