Contextes socio-politiques de la traduction / Translation in sociopolitical context

Note: The following works are referenced in your readings.

1. Admin procedures, syllabus review, bibliographic and reference sources

2. Intro discussion: The field of translation – its practice, professionalization, academic study, and interdisciplinarity.

3. Readings to prepare for discussion @ session 2:

a. David Katan, “Defining culture, defining translation”, Chapter 1, 17-47, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Culture, edited by Sue-Ann Harding and Carbonell Cortés, Ovidi (Routledge 2018)

b. Mila Milani, “Cultural sociology”, Chapter 16, 239-253, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Methodology, edited by Federico Zanettin and Christopher Rundle (Routledge 2022)

c. Diana Bianchi, “Cultural studies”, Chapter 5, 62-77, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Methodology, edited by Federico Zanettin and Christopher Rundle (Routledge 2022)

1. Discussion on prepared weekly readings: “Translation” involves more than linguistic expertise. In practice and in concept, what methods do we use to interpret and analyze it in terms of its “social” and “cultural” parameters, and these in relation to actual social and political organization and structures?

2. Readings to prepare for discussion @ session 3:

a. Fruela Fernández and Jonathan Evans, “Politics”, 414-419, Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, Third Edition, edited by Mona Baker and Gabriela Saldanha (Routledge, 2020)

b. George W. White, “Nation”, 1971-1973, Encyclopedia of Geography, edited by Barney Warf (SAGE Publications 2010)

c. Fiona M. Davidson, “Nationalism”, 1978-1981, Encyclopedia of Geography, edited by Barney Warf (SAGE Publications 2010)

d. Brian James Baer, “Nations and nation-building”, 361-365, Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, Third Edition, edited by Mona Baker and Gabriela Saldanha (Routledge, 2020)

e. Emily Skop and Wei Li, “Ethnicity”, 1016-1019, Encyclopedia of Geography, edited by Barney Warf (SAGE Publications 2010)

f. Michael Cronin, “Minority”, 334-338, Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, Third Edition, edited by Mona Baker and Gabriela Saldanha (Routledge, 2020)

1. Discussion on prepared weekly readings: Nation-building ideologies and nation-state systems have consequences for minority groups. How can we think beyond the categories and homogeneous narratives of nation-state in order to more effectively account for the realities of linguistic, cultural heterogeneity and human diversity?

2. Readings to prepare for discussion @ session 4:

a. Lyle Campbell and Kenneth L. Rehg, “Introduction: Endangered Languages”, 1-19, The Oxford Handbook of Endangered Languages, edited by Kenneth L. Rehg and Lyle Campbell (Oxford University Press, 2018)

b. Sue Wright, “Planning Minority Language Maintenance: Challenges and Limitations”, 637-657, The Oxford Handbook of Endangered Languages, edited by Kenneth L. Rehg and Lyle Campbell (Oxford University Press, 2018)

c. Gabriel González Núñez, “Translation Studies and Public Policy”, Chapter 9, 181-197, The Cambridge Handbook of Translation, First Edition, edited by Kirsten Malmkjaer (Cambridge University Press, 2022)

d. María-Sierra Córdoba Serrano and Oscar Diaz Fouces, “Building a field: translation policies and minority languages”, International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) 2018: 251, 1-17

1. Discussion on prepared weekly readings: Minoritized language situations tend to involve a range of other linguistic activities not typically encountered in majority language contexts, e.g., a need for oral and written language codification and standardization. How do we define language loss and language endangerment? How can we respond through language planning, revitalization, activism, and policymaking? What does it mean to “decolonize”?

2. Readings to prepare for discussion @ session 5:

a. Finex Ndhlovu, “Decolonising sociolinguistics research: methodological turn-around next?”, International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) 2021: 267-268, 193-201

b. Päivi Kuusi, Leena Kolehmainen, and Helka Riionheimo, “Multiple Roles of Translation in the Context of Minority Languages and Revitalisation”, trans-kom 2017, 10:2, 138-163

c. Linda Tuhiwai Smith, “Getting the Story Right, Telling the Story Well: Indigenous Activism, Indigenous Research”, 343-358, Decolonizing Methodologies – Research and Indigenous Peoples, Second Edition, by Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Zed Books 2012)

d. Sarah Henzi, “‘Betwixt and Between’: Alternative Genres, Languages, and Indigeneity”, 487-492, Learn, Teach, Challenge – Approaching Indigenous Literatures, edited by Deanna Reder and Linda M. Morra (Wilfrid Laurier University Press 2016)

e. Carrie Dyck, “Should Translation Work Take Place? Ethical Questions Concerning the Translation of First Nations Languages”, 17-42, Born in the Blood – On Native American Translation, edited with an introduction by Brian Swann (University of Nebraska Press 2011)

3. Choose one of the five articles below as a “case study” to consider!

a. Donna Patrick, “Arctic Languages in Canada in the Age of Globalization”, 257-284, The Palgrave Handbook of Minority Languages and Communities, edited by Gabrielle Hogan-Brun and Bernadette O’Rourke (Palgrave Macmillan 2019)

b. Anne Marie Guerrettaz, “Yucatec Maya language planning and the struggle of the linguistic standardization process”, International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) 2019: 260, 61-83

c. Raquel De Pedro Ricoy and Luis Andrade Ciudad, “Translation and Interpreting in the Indigenous Languages of Peru”, 129-148, The Oxford Handbook of Translation and Social Practices, edited by Meng Ji and Sara Laviosa (Oxford University Press 2021)

d. Rosaleen Howard, Raquel De Pedro Ricoy and Luis Andrade Ciudad, “Translation policy and indigenous languages in Hispanic Latin America”, International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) 2018: 251, 19-36
e. Kirsten Anker, “Reconciliation in Translation: Indigenous Legal Traditions and Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission”, 1-43, Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice, 2016.

1. Discussion on prepared weekly readings: Minoritized language situations lead to unique and different needs and perspectives on practices and questions of translation, e.g., specific social values, community relations, and identity. What specificities do we find in diverse Indigenous contexts? What are some of the ethical implications for translation and research in minoritized Indigenous spaces?

2. Readings to prepare for discussion @ session 6:

a. Kyle Conway, “Anthropology and cultural translation”, Chapter 4, 45-61, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Methodology, edited by Federico Zanettin and Christopher Rundle (Routledge 2022)

b. Rafael Schögler, “Sociology of Translation”, Chapter 41, 399-407, The Cambridge Handbook of Sociology: Specialty and Interdisciplinary Studies, edited by Kathleen Odell Korgen (Cambridge University Press 2017)

c. Chuan Yu, “Ethnography”, 167-171, Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, Third Edition, edited by Mona Baker and Gabriela Saldanha (Routledge, 2020)

d. Hanna Risku, Maija Hirvonen, Regina Rogl, and Jelena Milošević, “Ethnographic Research”, Chapter 21, 324-339, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Methodology, edited by Federico Zanettin and Christopher Rundle (Routledge 2022)

e. Theo Hermans, “Positioning”, 423-428, Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, Third Edition, edited by Mona Baker and Gabriela Saldanha (Routledge, 2020)

f. Moira Inghilleri, “Ethics”, 162-167, Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, Third Edition, edited by Mona Baker and Gabriela Saldanha (Routledge, 2020)

g. Şebnem Susam-Saraeva, “Representing experiential knowledge: Who may translate whom?”, Translation Studies 2020, 14:1, 84-95, and Responses by Moira Inghilleri 95-99, Valerie Henitiuk and Marc-Antoine Mahieu 99-104, Carolyn Shread 104-108, and Temi Odumosu 108-113

h. Bogusława Whyatt & Nataša Pavlović, “Translating languages of low diffusion: sociological and ethnographic current and future avenues”, The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 2021: 15:2, 141-153

i. Recommended: Nike K. Pokorn and Tamara Mikolič Južnič, “Community interpreters versus intercultural mediators – Is it really all about ethics?”, Translation and Interpreting Studies 2020, 15:1, 80-107

1. Discussion on prepared weekly readings: The interdisciplinarity of translation studies allows us to consider translation concepts and practices through many different lenses. Ethical considerations, protocols, and practices constitute a fundamental pillar of translation research today. They are crucial for working with minoritized linguistic-cultural groups. How do we integrate sociological and ethnographic perspectives in our study of translation? Why do best practices and critical reflections on ethical positioning, agency, representation, and experiential knowledge matter?

2. Readings to prepare for discussion @ session 7:

a. Patricia Ehrkamp, “Transnationalism”, 2870-2871, Encyclopedia of Geography, edited by Barney Warf (SAGE Publications 2010)

b. Debbie Folaron, “Challenging the Borders of Nation: Language and Translational Language Policy in the Plurilingual Romani Context”, 279-314, Minority Languages, National Languages, and Official Language Policies, edited by Gillian Lane-Mercier, Denise Merkle, and Jane Koustas (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2018)

c. Amelia Abercrombie, “Introduction/Preamble”, 1-16, Mixing and Unmixing Languages-Romani Multilingualism in Kosovo, by Amelia Abercrombie (Routledge, 2020)

d. Deborah Folaron, “Bute Droma / Many Roads: Romani Resilience and Translation in Contact with the World”, 98-122, At Translation’s Edge, edited by Nataša Ďurovičová, Patrice Petro, and Lorena Terando (Rutgers University Press, 2019)

e. Recommended: Tong King Lee, “Translation and Translanguaging in (Post)multilingual Societies”, Chapter 6, 119-138, The Cambridge Handbook of Translation, First Edition, edited by Kirsten Malmkjaer (Cambridge University Press, 2022)

1. Discussion on prepared weekly readings: Analyses of minoritized language and translation contexts raise critical questions on identities, histories, social and political ‘categories’ of ‘belonging’ in the past and present, along with the rights they imply. Translational relations take different forms in diverse plurilingual, socio-political spaces. What are some of the unique characteristics of the linguistic and translational contexts of Romani peoples, the EU’s largest minority group?

2. Readings to prepare for discussion @ session 8:

a. Reference: European Union, A field guide to the main languages in Europe (Publications Office of the European Union 2016) [English and French versions are available online for download: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/1c672bb8-ffa8-11e5-b713-01aa75ed71a1]

b. Fact Sheet on the European Union: “Language Policy” https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/142/language-policy

c. Fernand de Varennes and Elżbieta Kuzborska, 21-72, “Minority Language Rights and Standards: Definitions and Applications at the Supranational Level”, The Palgrave Handbook of Minority Languages and Communities, edited by Gabrielle Hogan-Brun and Bernadette O’Rourke (Palgrave Macmillan 2019)

d. Bessie Dendrinos, “Multilingualism language policy in the EU today: A paradigm shift in language education”, 9-28, Training, Language and Culture, 2, 3 (2018)

e. Agnieszka Doczekalska, “Comparing Multilingual Practices in the EU and the Canadian Legal Systems: The Case of Terminological Choices in Legislative Drafting”, 102-112, Institutional Translation for International Governance-Enhancing Quality in Multilingual Legal Communication, edited by Fernando Prieto Ramos (Bloomsbury Academic, 2018)

f. Recommended: Reine Meylaerts, “Language and translation policies in a bilingual city with a multilingual population – The case of Brussels”, Chapter 6, 97-111, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and the City, edited by Tong King Lee (Routledge 2021)

g. Recommended: Albert Branchadell, “Less Translated Languages”, Chapter 7, 139-159, The Cambridge Handbook of Translation, First Edition, edited by Kirsten Malmkjaer (Cambridge University Press, 2022)

1. Questions on prepared weekly readings: Official language policies exist in many nation-states around the world. Legislation, management, and governance are dynamic areas of activity for bilingual and multilingual language and translation policies. Operating at the supranational level, the policies implemented within the European Union are insightful for their plurilingual mandate. How is official multilingual policy managed for official national languages and minority languages within the EU? What of specific countries, e.g., Spain, with Spanish, Catalan, Valencian, Galician, Basque, Occitan…?

2. Readings to prepare for discussion @ session 9:

a. Vicente L. Rafael, “Introduction: The Aporia of Translation”, Motherless Tongues: The Insurgency of Language amid Wars of Translation (Duke University Press 2016)

b. Rita Kothari, “Introduction: When We Are ‘Multilingual’, Do We Translate?”, 1-22, A Multilingual Nation: Translation and Language Dynamic in India, edited by Rita Kothari (Oxford University Press, 2018)

c. Hephzibah Israel, “Translation in India: Multilingual practices and cultural histories of texts”, Translation Studies 2021, 14:2, 125-132

d. Yasemin Yildiz, “Conclusion: Toward a Multilingual Paradigm? The Disaggregated Mother Tongue”, 203-222, Beyond the Mother Tongue-The Postmonolingual Condition, by Yasemin Yildiz (Fordham University Press, 2012)

e. Recommended case study: Ana Deumert, Sandrine Mpazayabo and Miché Thompson, “Cape Town as a multilingual city: policies, experiences and ideologies”, Chapter 15, 248-262, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and the City, edited by Tong King Lee (Routledge 2021)

1. Discussion on prepared weekly readings: Multilingual contexts around the globe are all unique in their diverse specificities and histories. At the same time, collectively, they are characteristic of the world’s linguistic situation overall. Beyond their management by official language policy, these multilingual contexts encourage us to reflect on their “translational” nature. What are some of the features of multilingual translational spaces? Is multilingualism itself “translation”? What are the potential implications of using a multilingual rather than monolingual paradigm for translation research?

2. Readings to prepare for discussion @ session 10:

a. Gabriel Popescu, “Borders and Boundaries”, 292-294, Encyclopedia of Geography, edited by Barney Warf (SAGE Publications 2010)

b. Gabriel Popescu, “Deterritorialization and Reterritorialization”, 722-724, Encyclopedia of Geography, edited by Barney Warf (SAGE Publications 2010)

c. Hartmut Behr, “Globalization”, 1338-1342, Encyclopedia of Geography, edited by Barney Warf (SAGE Publications 2010)

d. Tony Capstick, “Human migration, culture, and language”, 1-34, Language and Migration, by Tony Capstick (Routledge, 2021)

e. Loredana Polezzi, “Translation and migration”, Translation Studies 2012, 5:3, 345-356, and Responses by Leslie A Adelson 356-361, Şebnem Bahadur 361-364, and Boris Buden 364-368

f. Recommended: Moira Inghilleri, “Migration, mobility, and culture”, 1-38, Translation and Migration, by Moira Inghilleri (Routledge, 2017)

g. Recommended: Rosina Márquez Reiter and Luisa Martín Rojo, “Introduction: Language and speakerhood in migratory contexts”, International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) 2009: 257, 1-16

1. Discussion on prepared weekly readings: Human migration is one of the oldest, continual activities of human history. Every migration brings about certain linguistic, cultural, social, and political consequences and transformations. How can we rethink translation and translational dynamics in relation to the experiences of migrants, their descendants, and minoritized populations in general? Technologies have given us a new tool with which to reflect on globalization, mobility, borders, and more recent concepts like deterritorialization and reterritorialization. What lessons can we learn?

2. Readings to prepare for discussion @ session 11:

a. Nana Sato-Rossberg, “Translation in oral societies and cultures”, Chapter 16, 314-326, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Culture, edited by Sue-Ann Harding and Ovidi Carbonell Cortés (Routledge 2018)

b. Georgina Collins and Maria López Ponz, “Translation, hybridity and borderlands – Translating non-standard language”, Chapter 21, 398-414, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Culture, edited by Sue-Ann Harding and Ovidi Carbonell Cortés (Routledge 2018)

c. Elena Rodríguez-Murphy, “Depicting a translational and transcultural city – Lagos in Nigerian writing”, Chapter 26, 421-436, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and the City, edited by Tong King Lee (Routledge 2021)

d. Tereza Spilioti and Korina Giaxoglou, “Translation and trans-scripting – Languaging practices in the city of Aθens”, Chapter 17, 278-293, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and the City, edited by Tong King Lee (Routledge 2021)

1. Discussion on prepared weekly readings: The conventional boundaries of “translation” (source/target) are expanded when we endeavour to include “translational” practices. They invoke questions on the nature of translation in relation to orality and oral traditions, non-standardized language use, hybridity, and the currently proposed terms for practices such as translingualism, transculturalism, and trans-scripting. Is it necessary to reconsider and reformulate our classical notions of translation in order to more effectively embrace the realities of inter- and intra-linguistic and -cultural communication? What do we lose and gain in our reflections and discourse?

2. Readings to prepare for discussion @ session 12:

a. Jonathan Evans and Fruela Fernández, “Introduction. Emancipation, secret histories, and the language of hegemony”, 1-14, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Politics, edited by Jonathan Evans and Fruela Fernández (Routledge 2018)

b. Stefan Baumgarten and Jordi Cornellà-Detrell, “Translation and the Economies of Power”, 11-26, Translation and Global Spaces of Power, in the series Translation, Interpreting and Social Justice in a Globalised World (Multilingual Matters 2019)

c. David Karlander, “When political institutions use sociolinguistic concepts”, International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) 2020: 263, 13-18

d. Lionel Wee, “Rethinking agency in language and society”, International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) 2021: 267-268, 271-275

e. Marija Todorova and Kathleen Ahrens, “Development Aid in Translation”, 243-262, The Oxford Handbook of Translation and Social Practices, edited by Meng Ji and Sara Laviosa (Oxford University Press 2021)

f. Recommended: Hassan Belhiah, Mohamed Majdoubi, and Mouna Safwate, “Language revitalization through the media: a case study of Amazigh in Morocco”, International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) 2020: 266, 121-141

1. Discussion on prepared weekly readings: Translation never occurs in a vacuum. Power and politics configure many translation dynamics and activities. They involve factors of language status, social prestige, economic value, political influence, hegemonies of information circulation, technologies, and globalization. How can or do we define and understand translation and its emergence, production, circulation, and reception in terms of diverse economies of power?

2. Readings to prepare for discussion @ session 13:

a. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, “Translated by the author: My life in between languages”, Translation Studies 2009, 2:1, 17-20

b. Sara Pugach, “A Short History of African Language Studies in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries, with an Emphasis on German Contributions”, Chapter 1, 15-32, The Routledge Handbook of African Linguistics, edited by Augustine Agwuele and Adams Bodomo (Routledge 2018)

c. Keir Hansford, “Translation Theory and Practice Past and Present – Applying the Target Audience Criterion to some West African languages”, Chapter 16, 325-342, The Routledge Handbook of African Linguistics, edited by Augustine Agwuele and Adams Bodomo (Routledge 2018)

d. Paul Agbedor, “Language Planning for Sustainable Development – Problems and prospects in Ghana”, Chapter 19, 376-388, The Routledge Handbook of African Linguistics, edited by Augustine Agwuele and Adams Bodomo (Routledge 2018)

e. Arvi Hurskainen, “Sustainable Language Technology for African Languages”, Chapter 18, 359-375, The Routledge Handbook of African Linguistics, edited by Augustine Agwuele and Adams Bodomo (Routledge 2018)

f. Stephanie Rudwick and Sinfrae Makoni, “Southernizing and decolonizing the Sociology of Language: African scholarship matters”, International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) 2021: 267-268, 259-263

1. Final research paper due today through December 12th.

2. Discussion on prepared weekly readings: The African continent, with its highly diverse linguistic, socio-political contexts, offers a fascinating study of the language and translation issues we have discussed throughout the course. Nigeria has over 500 languages, and Cameroon about 250. South Africa has 11 official languages, while the African Union has officialized the use of Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Kiswahili and “any other African language”.

3. Wrap-up: concluding thoughts.