• +1 (877) 708-0005
  • info@chang-castillo.com
Chang-Castillo and Associates
Chang-Castillo and Associates
Translators and Interpreters

One World, Many Languages,
One Company, Worldwide™

  • Home
  • Services
    • Translation Services
    • Interpretation
    • Teleconferences
    • Interpreting Equipment Rentals
    • Subtitling and Transcription Services
  • Languages and Locations
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Contact
MENU CLOSE back  

The Making of Emoji Dick

You are here:
  1. Home
  2. Language
  3. The Making of Emoji Dick

emoji dick

It’s hard to imagine that Herman Melville didn’t roll over in his grave several times when the first hard cover copy of Emoji Dick was rolled off the presses. Yet, it seems somehow fitting that one of English literature’s most celebrated novels would be translated into the new iconic language of our time: Emoji. And, the fact that the Emoji translation of Moby Dick has been accepted into the Library of Congress is just par for the course in an era when the familiar landscapes of communication, human relationships, and even language are being rapidly altered by modern technological innovation.

Step One: Choose the right piece of literature to translate

The Emoji Dick project is the brain child of Fred Benenson, who is captivated by the way that language, communication and culture have been affected by digital technology. To his way of thinking, “Emoji are either a low point or a high point in that story, so I felt I could confront a lot of our shared anxieties about the future of human expression…by forcing a great work of literature through such a strange new filter.”

In choosing piece of literature to translate, Benenson wanted something that was in the public domain, less cliché than the Bible, and was long enough to demonstrate the scale of Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Obviously, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick fit the bill in all regards. Plus, Benenson admits, “I also really like the whale Emoji, so that seemed like a good fit, too.” Thus, a new Emoji translation odyssey was begun.

Step Two: Kickstart a crazy idea for a major pictorial translation of Moby Dick

So, the next step of the journey was to get funding. Where better in this modern age than to put a query out on Kickstarter? This is especially true when you happen to work for Kickstarter as a data engineer, which Benenson does. He set up the Kickstarter profile for 29 days in 2009, with a funding goal of $3500. The Emoji Dick project raised $3676, and was off to the Emoji translation races.

Depending on one’s funding tier, investors could earn anything from their name and an Emoji sentence of their choice in the “Thank You” appendix or a limited edition of the hardback version of the published work.

Step Three: Get your project up and running on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk

Benenson divided his Amazon Mechanical Turk workers into two groups: those who would do the translating and those who would vote on the translations to select the best versions. Moby Dick has 6,438 sentences. The Emoji translators provided three different translations for each sentence, and then the voting group cast their ballots. Everyone was paid.

The result of the collective efforts is a hard cover version with 736 color pages of Moby Dick, with the Emoji translations on the top and the original Melville text below. You can order hardback copies for the holidays to the tune of $200 or the soft cover version is available for $40.

Step Four: Get your “never-seen-anything-like-it” book accepted to the Library of Congress

It seems like this may have been the easiest step of all. Michael Neubert, a recommending officer for The Library of Congress’s collections, heard about Benenson’s project and was immediately taken. This version of the novel will be right at home with previous versions of the Moby Dick in the Library’s shelves, including a graphic novel and a pop-up version.

Emoji Dick is an impressive physical symbol of the intersection between the digital age, language, and modern day communication.

Posted on January 3, 2014
By Chang-CastilloLanguage
Tags:amazon mechanical turkdigital languageemoji dickenglish to emojikickstarterlanguagelanguage translationliteraturemoby dicksimultaneous translatorthe library of congresstranslation

Related posts

language preservation
Language Preservation: How Countries Preserve Their Language(s)
January 18, 2019
politics of language
The Politics of Language: The Best Interpreters Facilitate Diplomacy
September 13, 2018
African mother and young girl.
Africa: the future of the French language?
January 8, 2018
interpreters working languages
Interpreters Know Their ABCs – In Working Languages
August 23, 2017
africa language professionals dream continent
Africa – The Language Professional’s Dream Continent
April 27, 2017
Mixed group in business meeting
Selecting The Ideal Mode Of Interpretation For Your Meeting
September 23, 2016
Recent Posts
  • Language Preservation: How Countries Preserve Their Language(s)
    January 18, 2019
  • Languages of India
    December 25, 2018
  • Social Media is Changing Language and Companies Should Adapt
    November 28, 2018
Categories
  • (3)About CCA
  • (13)Business
  • (3)Company Materials
  • (2)Ethics
  • (2)Events
  • (9)Holiday Traditions
  • (5)Interpretation
  • (7)Interpreting
  • (35)Language
  • (3)Press Release
  • (2)Simultaneous Interpretation
  • (20)Translation
  • (6)Travel
  • (5)Uncategorized
Recent Comments
    Archives
    • January 2019 (1)
    • December 2018 (1)
    • November 2018 (1)
    • October 2018 (1)
    • September 2018 (2)
    • July 2018 (1)
    • June 2018 (1)
    • May 2018 (1)
    • April 2018 (1)
    • March 2018 (1)
    • February 2018 (1)
    • January 2018 (2)
    • December 2017 (3)
    • November 2017 (2)
    • October 2017 (1)
    • September 2017 (1)
    • August 2017 (1)
    • July 2017 (1)
    • June 2017 (2)
    • April 2017 (2)
    • February 2017 (2)
    • December 2016 (1)
    • November 2016 (1)
    • October 2016 (1)
    • September 2016 (2)
    • August 2016 (1)
    • June 2016 (1)
    • May 2016 (2)
    • April 2016 (1)
    • March 2016 (1)
    • February 2016 (2)
    • December 2015 (2)
    • November 2015 (2)
    • October 2015 (2)
    • September 2015 (3)
    • August 2015 (2)
    • July 2015 (3)
    • June 2015 (1)
    • May 2015 (2)
    • April 2015 (2)
    • March 2015 (1)
    • September 2014 (1)
    • June 2014 (1)
    • March 2014 (1)
    • January 2014 (5)
    • December 2013 (5)
    • November 2013 (5)
    • October 2013 (4)
    • September 2013 (5)
    • August 2013 (2)
    Connect
    Follow Us On Facebook Join us on LinkedIn Follow Us On Twitter
    (877) 708-0005
    info@chang-castillo.com

    Proud Member Of:
    Member AIIC Member Calliope Member Taals
    Latest Blog Posts
    • Language Preservation: How Countries Preserve Their Language(s)
      January 18, 2019
    • Languages of India
      December 25, 2018
    • Social Media is Changing Language and Companies Should Adapt
      November 28, 2018
    Contact Us





    Copyright 2015 Chang-Castillo and Associates