11 research outputs found
The Translatorsâ Personae: Marketing Translatorial Images as Pursuit of Capital
This paper examines the collective self-images of Israeli literary translators, assuming that their desired idealized personae are no less effective than their actual performances in regulating the ârules of the gameâ in their field. In view of translatorsâ popular image of âinvisibilityâ and âsubmissiveness,â my argument is that translators are compelled to make intensive use of self-promotional discourse in their endeavor to establish their profession as a distinctive source of cultural capital. The present analysis is based on around 250 profile articles and interviews, reviews, surveys of translators and other reports in the printed media from the early 1980s through 2004. Three main self-images emerge from this self-presentational discourse: (1) The translator as a custodian of language culture; (2) The translator as an ambassador of foreign cultures and an innovator, and (3) The translator as an artist in his/her own right.Cet article examine les autoreprĂ©sentations que partagent les traducteurs littĂ©raires israĂ©liens, en supposant que leurs personnages idĂ©alisĂ©s dĂ©sirĂ©s ne soient pas moins efficaces que leurs performances rĂ©elles dans lâĂ©tablissement des « rĂšgles du jeu » dans leur champ. Vu lâimage populaire de traducteurs comme « invisibles » et « dociles », mon argument est que les traducteurs sont contraints Ă tirer le parti intensif de discours promotionnel de soi dans leurs efforts pour Ă©tablir leur profession comme une source distinctive de capital culturel. La prĂ©sente analyse se fonde sur environ 250 articles de profils et dâinterviews, de critiques, dâenquĂȘtes de traducteurs et dâautres rapports dans les mĂ©dias imprimĂ©s Ă partir du dĂ©but des annĂ©es 1980 jusquâen 2004. Trois autoreprĂ©sentations principales Ă©mergent du discours : 1) le traducteur comme gardien de la culture et de la langue ; 2) le traducteur comme ambassadeur de cultures Ă©trangĂšres et innovateur ; et 3) le traducteur comme artiste dans son propre droit
âStarsâ or âprofessionalsâ: the imagined vocation and exclusive knowledge of translators in Israel
Inquiring into the suspended professionalization of the translation occupation in Israel, this article examines two types of self-presentational discourses and status strategies â that of top literary translators, on the one hand, and that of technical translators, subtitlers and non-elite literary translators, on the other. Analysis of the former is based on several hundreds of profile articles and other reports in the media, which foreground 23 acclaimed translators, while that of the latter is based on interim findings from openâended interviews with 22 nonâelite translation workers (selected from a larger sample accumulated in an ongoing research project; Sela-Sheffy & Shlesinger 2008). Whereas the former show unambiguous use of a vocational rhetoric, which includes denial of economic considerations, artisticâlike occupational competence and a claim for the role of culture custodians, the latter betray an ambivalent use of this elitist discourse, wavering between embracing and rejecting it. This complex discursive dynamics suggests an artization process which, so I hypothesize, serves as a buffer to professionalization in the field.Amb lâexamen de la professionalitzaciĂł suspesa de lâocupaciĂł traductora a Israel, aquest article estudia dos tipus de discursos dâautopresentaciĂł i estratĂšgies dâestatus: dâuna banda, els dels traductors literaris, i de lâaltra, els dels traductors tĂšcnics, subtituladors i traductors literaris que no pertanyen a lâelit. LâanĂ lisi del primer grup es fonamenta en diversos centenars dâarticles retrat i altres reportatges en els mitjans de comunicaciĂł, que situen en primer pla 23 traductors reconeguts, mentre que la del segon grup es basa en resultats provisionals dâentrevistes obertes amb 22 treballadors de la traducciĂł no pertanyents a lâelit (seleccionats a partir dâuna mostra mĂ©s Ă mplia reunida en un projecte de recerca en curs; Sela-Sheffy & Shlesinger 2008). Mentre que el primer grup fa palĂšs un Ășs inequĂvoc dâuna retĂČrica vocacional, que inclou la negaciĂł de consideracions econĂČmiques, competĂšncies laborals amb valors artĂstics i la reivindicaciĂł dâuna funciĂł de guardians culturals, el segon revela un Ășs ambivalent dâaquest discurs elitista, que oscil·la entre lâassimilaciĂł i el rebuig. Aquesta complexa dinĂ mica discursiva Ă©s indicativa dâun procĂ©s dâartitzaciĂł que, dâacord amb la hipĂČtesi que plantejo, serveix per amortir la professionalitzaciĂł del camp.The paper reports interim findings of research sponsored by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF 619/06), âStrategies of Image-Making and Status Advancement of a Marginal Occupational Group: Translators and Interpreters in Israel as a Case in Pointâ by Rakefet Sela-Sheffy and Miriam Shlesinger