Cross-cultural Communication in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative

Mutual understanding is the basis for cooperation. This webinar will discuss how to successfully communicate across borders.

Adopted in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to connect nearly 70 countries on three continents. The huge infrastructure and development project is not merely economic in nature, but also a quest for cultural exchange and integration. In order to establish fruitful cooperation, mutual understanding is critical. Here translation and interpretation comes in – the effort to bridge cultural and linguistic gaps that hinder communication.

Prof. Dr. Irene Zhang, Dean of Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation at Shanghai International Study University (SISU), will talk about Chinese as a pivot language in the context of the BRI. She will explore how Chinese, rather than English, could be used as an intermediary language for the translation between two languages. Moreover, Prof. Dr. Zhang will explain how to leverage the technology of machine translation to effectively remove language barriers.

Machine translation will also feature in the presentation of Prof. Dr. Zhengren Li, Executive Dean of Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation at SISU. Even though promising in many ways, an overreliance on machine translation can lead to a loss of nuance and a decreased effort in mastering the languages one is translating. However, as Prof. Dr. Li will point out, even small details can make a huge difference in cross-cultural communication.

Prof. Dr. Hannelore Lee-Jahnke will examine the Silk Road that connected East and West starting from the 2nd century BC. Once the largest transportation network on the planet, the Silk Road offers many lessons for today’s Belt and Road Initiative. Prof. Dr. Lee-Jahnke will talk about how these lessons can inform sustainable decisions for the future.

Event Rundown

16:00                          Webinar Starts

 

16:00-16:10               Introduction
(Libing Gu – Head of Academic Relations at Swissnex in China)

 

16:10-16:20               Presentation
(Prof. Dr. Hannelore Lee-Jahnke – Co-Chair of Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Translation & Interpretation at SISU)

 

16:20-16:30               Presentation
(Prof. Dr. Irene Zhang – Dean of Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation at SISU)

 

16:30-16:40               Presentation
(Prof. Dr. Zhengren Li – Executive Dean of Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation at SISU)

 

16:40-17:00               Q&A and Conclusion

Speakers

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