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- Volume 5, Issue, 2010
Translation and Interpreting Studies. The Journal of the American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association - Volume 5, Issue 1, 2010
Volume 5, Issue 1, 2010
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Habitus and self-image of native literary author-translators in diglossic societies
Author(s): Reine Meylaertspp.: 1–19 (19)More LessSince in many cases past and present the professional translation field is not — or is only weakly — differentiated, the transposability of dispositions acquired through experiences related both to other fields and to translators’ larger life conditions and social trajectory may play a fundamental role in a translator’s habitus. Research on translators’ socio-biographies therefore deserves special attention. For native literary author-translators who live and work in a diglossic society characterized by socio-linguistic conflicts between the translators’ working languages, the plural and dynamic internalization of this conflict and of broader linguistic and cultural hierarchies is likely to form one of the constitutive aspects of their habitus and self-image, of their literary and translational behavior. In the first part of this article, I propose a tentative typology of Belgian native author-translators’ habitus and self-image according to potentially different internalizations of the Belgian linguistic conflict in their broader socialization process. In the second part, I present relevant aspects of the socio-biography of Camille Melloy, a native literary author-translator who translated between conflicting cultures in early twentieth century Belgium.
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Images of the court interpreter: Professional identity, role definition and self-image
Author(s): Ruth Morrispp.: 20–40 (21)More LessToday’s legal system generally demands that the interpreter function as a “faceless voice,” a conduit, that is, in a “neutral” and non-intrusive way. However, research has shown that in practice this is not the case, and interpreters themselves are increasingly coming to see their role as going beyond the narrow linguistic one. This article argues that inevitably, as interpreters exert influence on the proceedings in which they perform, these proceedings have a greater or lesser impact on the interpreters. The researcher often has little if any direct access to the recipients or the providers of interpreting services, and hence court records are generally used as a source of information on attitudes toward interpreters and interpreted events. A seventeenth-century murder trial in England provides valuable insights into views on interpreting on the part of the bench, the clerk of the court, and the accused. In addition, several modern cases are discussed, indicating a gradual change in attitudes, with an increasing emphasis on competency rather than availability, and a greater acceptance of a more comprehensive role for the interpreter. Finally, this article examines a rare case of an interpreter reporting on an interpreted event at which he worked, indicating that the interpreter does not “check his humanity” at the courtroom door.
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The people behind the words: Professional profiles and activity patterns of translators of Arabic literature into Hebrew (1896–2009)
Author(s): Hannah Amit-Kochavipp.: 41–58 (18)More LessDrawing on recent sociological trends in Translation Studies, the present article describes the making of those translators who were active in the field of Arabic-Hebrew literary translation in Palestine (later Israel) and their special characteristics as a particular group of professionals. An attempt will be made to describe and explain the ethnic, educational, professional and ideological characteristics of this particular population and its activity patterns, with special attention to patterns of cooperation among its members.
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Revised translations, revised identities: (Auto)biographical contextualization of translation
Author(s): Elena Baibikovpp.: 59–74 (16)More LessThis article is a case study that aims to illustrate the process of formation of one translator’s professional identity and to discuss the shifts in translators’ professional behavior at different stages of the translators’ life in relation to changing social and personal settings. It will focus on three Japanese versions of one Russian text, Anton Chekhov’s letters to his wife, all produced by Yuasa Yoshiko (family name first), a female translator of Russian literature, whose professional career began in the late 1920s. From the 1990s on, especially after the establishment of the Yuasa Yoshiko Award for the best translation of a foreign language stage play in 1994, she has become the focus of several academic studies and biographical works. Surprisingly enough, none of these emphasizes her translation activities or focuses on the texts of her translations. The purpose of the present study is to fill this lacuna in the research on Yuasa.
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Conference interpreters and their perception of culture: From the narratives of Japanese pioneers
Author(s): Kumiko Torikaipp.: 75–93 (19)More LessThis paper seeks to explore the perception of culture held by conference and diplomatic interpreters in post-WWII Japan. Based on oral history research with five Japanese pioneers, interpreters’ perceptions about culture and cultural barriers in communication are studied and then compared with their role perceptions and their actual practice. Although the pioneering conference interpreters perceived their role as more or less invisible, showing little interest in the discussion of culture and cultural mediation, their narratives in life-story interviews demonstrate that they were essential participants in intercultural communication, bridging cultural barriers. Without being aware of their role as cultural mediators, the five interpreters were actively and autonomously involved in intercultural communication as indispensable co-participants.
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A professional ideology in the making: Bilingual youngsters interpreting for their communities and the notion of (no) choice
Author(s): Claudia V. Angelellipp.: 94–108 (15)More LessResearch on circumstantial bilinguals who become young interpreters for their families and communities contributes to our understanding of the life experiences of individuals who begin to interpret early in their lives. With the exception of early work on young interpreters and recent historical work on translation and interpreting, very little has been written about the lived experiences of interpreters and/or about the development of such exceptional types of bilingualism. When a family of Latino immigrants settles in America and the parents do not speak the societal language, it is often the case that young bilinguals act as language interpreters, brokering communication and advocating for their families’ needs. The ways in which these circumstantial bilinguals go about mediating communicative needs reveal much about these youngsters’ abilities. While interpreting for their families, young interpreters develop a sense of how to be linguistic advocates between speakers of minority languages and a society that struggles to accommodate the communicative needs of its members. In multilingual and diverse societies, it is imperative that the linguistic talents of young bilinguals be fostered and enhanced.
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“Boundary work” as a concept for studying professionalization processes in the interpreting field
Author(s): Nadja Grbićpp.: 109–123 (15)More Less“Boundary work” is a concept that was introduced by Thomas Gieryn in the early 1980s in order to study the construction of differences between “us” and “them.” Although it was used in the first instance to study the rhetorical construction of differences between science and non-science, boundary theories have been further developed since then and are now used in various disciplines to focus on a range of topics, including the construction of boundaries between profession and non-profession. In this article I will present the concept of boundary work and outline a research project I have launched to examine the construction of sign language interpreters as an occupational group in Austria.
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The task of the interpreter in the struggle of the other for empowerment: Mythical utopia or sine qua non of professionalism?
Author(s): Şebnem Bahadırpp.: 124–139 (16)More LessInterpreters perceive, listen, see and speak in the name of the Other, both in the language of the symbolically and/or practically oppressed Other and in the language of the oppressor. Yet in doing so, they paradoxically use their own voice and language. As there can be no neutral part in mis/communication and as there is no objective way of perceiving, analyzing, and processing information and emotions, professional interpreters must position themselves. Numerous examples from situations where interpreters act as intermediaries between the dominating and violating agents of societies/states and migrants, refugees, and members of minoritized and oppressed communities illustrate the challenges involved in simultaneously representing and mediating the speech of the Other. In settings like detention camps, asylum seekers’ sanctuaries, refugee camps, and prisons where asylum seekers are kept under custody before deportation, as well as in occupied territories and areas of military conflict, the interpreter is faced with the responsibility of serving as the “expert” of the in-between. Interpreters play a participant role in the interplay of power as an active performer. Their gaze disrupts and their voice intervenes. Thus, I argue that, as an important pillar of professionalism, interpreters must be sensitized and trained to cope with the dangers and opportunities of their in-between position and of their status as the third party to a communicative act. Interpreters should be trained to reflect critically and honestly on their involvement as participant observers.
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The task of the interpreter in the struggle of the other for empowerment: Mythical utopia or sine qua non of professionalism?
Author(s): Şebnem Bahadırpp.: 124–138 (15)More LessInterpreters perceive, listen, see and speak in the name of the Other, both in the language of the symbolically and/or practically oppressed Other and in the language of the oppressor. Yet in doing so, they paradoxically use their own voice and language. As there can be no neutral part in mis/communication and as there is no objective way of perceiving, analyzing, and processing information and emotions, professional interpreters must position themselves. Numerous examples from situations where interpreters act as intermediaries between the dominating and violating agents of societies/states and migrants, refugees, and members of minoritized and oppressed communities illustrate the challenges involved in simultaneously representing and mediating the speech of the Other. In settings like detention camps, asylum seekers’ sanctuaries, refugee camps, and prisons where asylum seekers are kept under custody before deportation, as well as in occupied territories and areas of military conflict, the interpreter is faced with the responsibility of serving as “expert,” standing in-between. Interpreters play a participant role in the interplay of power as an active performer. Their gaze disrupts and their voice intervenes. Thus, I argue that, as an important pillar of professionalism, interpreters must be sensitized and trained to cope with the dangers and opportunities of their in-between position and of their status as the third party to a communicative act. Interpreters should be trained to reflect critically and honestly on their involvement as participant observers.
Volumes & issues
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Volume 19 (2024)
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Volume 18 (2023)
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Volume 17 (2022)
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Volume 16 (2021)
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Volume 15 (2020)
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Volume 14 (2019)
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Volume 13 (2018)
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Volume 12 (2017)
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Volume 11 (2016)
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Volume 10 (2015)
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Volume 9 (2014)
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Volume 8 (2013)
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Volume 7 (2012)
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Volume 6 (2011)
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Volume 5 (2010)
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Volume 4 (2009)
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Volume 3 (2008)
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Volume 2 (2007)
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Volume 1 (2006)
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