Translingualism, Translation and Caribbean Poetry: Mother Tongue Has Crossed the Ocean [Paperback]

Linguists estimate that around 7,000 languages exist, but many are under threat. Translingualism, Translation and Caribbean Poetry is a multi-language collection comprising over fifty translations of the poem 'Lenga di mama' ('Mother Tongue') by Cura?ao-born poet Hilda de Windt Ayoubi, published here alongside three additional poems each providing a different perspective on the mother tongue. De Windt Ayoubi's sharp, socially charged poetry has inspired translations from across the world. Collected here for the first time, they serve to protect the native languages and cultures  particularly the minority languages  of their translators, who range from expert linguists to speakers of underrepresented languages. In his accompanying essay, Pieter C. Muysken considers the role of translation in addressing the urgent cultural concern of language loss and revitalization where he discusses bilingual translations and mass translations. Complete with maps, language profiles, interviews with the translators, and the poets essay on Papiamento, this collection explores the emotional, cultural and intellectual importance of language conservation through poetry and translation.Hilda de Windt Ayoubi was born and raised in Cura?ao. She was a secondary school teacher and a lecturer at the University of Cura?ao. She writes in Dutch, French, English, Papiamento and Spanish. Her works include several translations, and (language-related) poetry books, Gedicht, illustrated with her paintings (2018), and the bilingual book Geef me je Taal (2019). For her Papiamento translation of Kahlil Gibrans The Prophet (2014), she was awarded the Kahlil Gibran Chair at the University of Maryland. In 2019, she received UNESCOs Certificate of Merit for her work on Papiamento. Pieter C. Muysken ( 2021) was born in Bolivia but grew up in the Netherlands. He was a Professor of Linguistics at the universities of Amsterdam, Leil“5