“Translators of children’s literature should understand children’s language and deliver them their message”: Spouse of the President Nouneh Sarkissian participated at the international conference held in Matenadaran

Spouse of the President Sarkissian Mrs. Nouneh Sarkissian participated at the “East-West: Hovhannes Tumanian and the art of story translation” international conference held at the Mesrop Mashtots Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts - Matenadaran.

In her opening statement at the conference, which is dedicated to the studies and the translations of Tumanian’s folk tales and international translation issues, Mrs. Nouneh Sarkissian noted that “Armenia is famous for its old translating traditions. It is no accident that unique Armenian translations from Greek, Hebrew, Assyrian, and other languages were preserved in our country. Translators of the books for children are carrying out that very tradition. They need to understand children’s language and convey to them their message. Children are our future, and we need to work not only to create a comfortable life for them but also provide them with good translated literature,” Nouneh Sarkissian noted. She underscored that as a writer for children, she is trying through her works to convey different kind of advice and messages to the little ones.

Speaking of Hovhannes Tumanian’s literary works, particularly about his pieces for children, Nouneh Sarkissian noted that the great author had a special talent of understanding children. “He both rendered folk tales and created his own. His books for children are also comprehensible for adults. That’s the talent of Tumanian. He wrote for children but his books totally satisfy adults,” the spouse of the President of Armenia said.

In the framework of the conference Mrs. Sarkissian also presented a report.