TY - CHAP
T1 - Introduction: self-translating, from minorisation to empowerment
AU - Castro, Olga
AU - Mainer, Sergi
AU - Page, Svetlana
N1 - © The Author(s) 2017. Castro, O., Mainer, S., & Page, S., Introduction: self-translating, from minorisation to empowerment. In O. Castro, S. Mainer, & S. Page (Eds.), Self-translation and power: negotiating identities in multilingual Europe, 2017, Palgrave Macmillan, reproduced with permission of Palgrave Macmillan'. This extract is taken from the author's original manuscript and has not been edited. The definitive, published, version of record is available here: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-50781-5_1
PY - 2017/5/30
Y1 - 2017/5/30
N2 - This introductory chapter discusses the implications of self-translation in multilingual contexts in Europe, aiming at mapping out innovative perspectives to the study of power and, by so doing, empowering self-translation. We start by critically engaging with the ‘cultural’ and ‘power turns’ in translation studies, as a way of delineating what the particularities of self-translation are when practised by author-translators in multilingual spaces. Focusing on the European milieu, defined broadly in terms of its geographies, we then discuss multilingualism, cultural awareness and ethnic diversity as staple terms in both academic and political ideologies across Europe, emphasising that one of the aspects of multilingualism is precisely the power differentials between languages and cultures. We explore these unequal power relations and centre–periphery dichotomies of Europe’s ‘minorised’ languages, literatures and cultures, suggesting the usage of ‘minorised’ in preference to the others discussed, inasmuch as it highlights both hegemonic power hierarchies and also the continual resistance to them. This is followed by a brief overview of the emerging debates in the subdiscipline of self-translation in recent times. It is within them that we situate our contribution, arguing that the self-translators’ double affiliation as authors and translators turns them into powerful cultural and ideological mediators and places them in a privileged position to challenge (or submit to) power. Here another term, ‘self-censorship,’ is suggested as invaluable to self-translation studies where self-editing often occurs before translation is begun. Finally, the introduction presents the organisation of the book and the main ideas discussed by the 11 authors in their individual chapters.
AB - This introductory chapter discusses the implications of self-translation in multilingual contexts in Europe, aiming at mapping out innovative perspectives to the study of power and, by so doing, empowering self-translation. We start by critically engaging with the ‘cultural’ and ‘power turns’ in translation studies, as a way of delineating what the particularities of self-translation are when practised by author-translators in multilingual spaces. Focusing on the European milieu, defined broadly in terms of its geographies, we then discuss multilingualism, cultural awareness and ethnic diversity as staple terms in both academic and political ideologies across Europe, emphasising that one of the aspects of multilingualism is precisely the power differentials between languages and cultures. We explore these unequal power relations and centre–periphery dichotomies of Europe’s ‘minorised’ languages, literatures and cultures, suggesting the usage of ‘minorised’ in preference to the others discussed, inasmuch as it highlights both hegemonic power hierarchies and also the continual resistance to them. This is followed by a brief overview of the emerging debates in the subdiscipline of self-translation in recent times. It is within them that we situate our contribution, arguing that the self-translators’ double affiliation as authors and translators turns them into powerful cultural and ideological mediators and places them in a privileged position to challenge (or submit to) power. Here another term, ‘self-censorship,’ is suggested as invaluable to self-translation studies where self-editing often occurs before translation is begun. Finally, the introduction presents the organisation of the book and the main ideas discussed by the 11 authors in their individual chapters.
UR - https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057%2F978-1-137-50781-5_1
U2 - 10.1057/978-1-137-50781-5_1
DO - 10.1057/978-1-137-50781-5_1
M3 - Chapter (peer-reviewed)
SN - 978-1-137-50780-8
T3 - Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting
SP - 1
EP - 22
BT - Self-translation and power: negotiating identities in multilingual Europe
A2 - Castro, Olga
A2 - Mainer, Sergi
A2 - Page, Svetlana
PB - Palgrave Macmillan
CY - Basingstoke (UK)
ER -