Translation and languages matter! Academic voices in solidarity with Modern Languages

As part of the GLAS research theme and in response to the university's recent proposals, this event is organized to highlight the importance of translation and languages in both research and society. It will bring together a select group of Translation Studies scholars and researchers from Cardiff, Leeds, and Bristol universities - it is their experiences, their voices, that the event aims to echo.

Neil Sadler is Associate Professor in Translation Studies at the Centre for Translation, Interpreting and Localisation Studies at the University of Leeds. His monograph, Fragmented Narrative: Telling and interpreting stories in the Twitter age (2021), examines the implications of the fragmentation characteristic of much contemporary communication for narrative production and reception. Previous publications include articles in The Translator, Encounters in Translation, Translation Studies, New Media & Society, Disaster Prevention and Management and the Journal of North African Studies. He is currently Co-Investigator on the AHRC-funded project (Mis)translating Deceit: Disinformation as a translingual, discursive dynamic, exploring the multilingual dimensions of contemporary disinformation practices.

Carol O'Sullivan is Associate Professor in Translation Studies at the University of Bristol where she teaches graduate and advanced undergraduate modules in translation theory, subtitling and Italian to English translation. She has published widely on audiovisual translation, translation history, literary translation and public representations and perceptions of translation. Her books include Translating Popular Film (2011) and The Translation of Films 1900-1950 (2019, co-edited with Jean-François Cornu). She is the Principal Investigator of the UK Subtitling Audiences and Reception Network project funded by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council (2024-5).

Cristina Marinetti is a Reader in Translation Studies at Cardiff University and Director of Postgraduate Research. She is the co-editor of Translation in the Performing Arts: Embodiment, Materiality, and Inclusion (Routledge, 2025) and has written extensively on translation theory in relation to identity and performance, the history of translation and reception of drama, and the interface between translation theory and practice. A key focus of her current research is contemporary Venice, a city shaped by the tensions between global tourism, cultural commodification, and threats to the survival of its local community. Cristina is actively engaged in the translation community and serves as Chair of the of International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS).

Firial Benamer is a PhD student at the School of Modern Languages at Cardiff University. Her research focuses on the language learning experiences of students from minority ethnic communities and/or those with English as an additional language (EAL learners), within the context of Wales' new curriculum. The aim is to enhance language education. Firial holds a BA in Religious Studies and Italian and an MA in Translation Studies, both from Cardiff University. Additionally, she is involved with the MFL Mentoring Project, a Welsh Government-funded initiative based in the School of Modern Languages. The project supports the New Curriculum of Wales by promoting language learning and multilingualism.

Judy Murray is a PhD student at the school of Modern Languages at Cardiff University. She is researching healthcare interpreting in South Wales. With 35 years of experience as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and a lifelong interest in languages culminating in BA and MA Translation (Spanish and German) at Cardiff University, she is on an ESRC funded doctoral pathway. She has experience of charity translating, working with interpreters in clinics and medical appeal tribunals, and as a volunteer interpreter in her hospital. Her aim is to encourage strategic communication between the healthcare sector and interpreters and to produce an interpreting policy document for Wales.