Translation Studies and Public Policy

Chapter 9 discusses relationships between translation and public policy. When challenges of organizing public spaces involve the use of more than one language, translation is often employed, and, in such circumstances, translation may serve a variety of functions, including the deployment of language policies alongside other policy aims such as the promotion of human rights or multiculturalism. The chapter explores this link between public policy and translation, presenting a survey of insights that have been provided by scholars, and suggesting areas where scholarship can provide further understandings. These insights are important, given the continuing multilingualism and diversity of societies

Translating (or Not) a South American Philosopher The paratexts of the works of José Enrique Rodó in English

This study will consider translation as a tool to transfer ideas from Latin America to North America (and the rest of the English-speaking world). It will do so by exploring some of the paratextual strategies that have been employed in transmitting the ideas of Latin American philosophers to the English-speaking world. Specifically, it will rely on a case study, namely, the translation into English of the works of José Enrique Rodó, an important South American philosopher from the early twentieth century. The paper will outline Rodó’s work as translated into English, focusing not on the quality of the translated texts themselves but rather on what the translations were expected to do. As a way to understand their expected functions, the present study will describe the paratextual apparatuses that surround the translations. Such an analysis will rely on Gérard Genette’s work on paratexts to draw conclusions regarding the role of translation in the flow of ideas from the Global South to the Global North

Law and translation at the U.S.-Mexico border: Translation policy in a diglossic setting

Language regimes adopted by states can favour one group over all the others in a way that undermines minority groups. In essence, when multilingual societies are administered through a one-language regime, inequalities arise. This growing understanding has led States to come up with varying solutions, which in turn create a wide array of language policies. One aspect that all these policies have in common is that they involve choices about translation. Hoping to contribute to our understanding of such translation policies, this chapter describes translation policies as found in the judiciary and local government in Brownsville, Texas, USA. This can provide new insights on the use of translation policy among populations that are reported to be close to fully bilingual

Translating for minorities in Wales: a look at translation policies

In many parts of the world, state languages come in contact with a number of regional languages and with many immigrant languages. In such complex, multilingual societies, language policies play an important role. And such language policies must, of necessity, include translation policies, either to integrate or exclude speakers of regional and/or immigrant languages. In the studies that have been made by political philosophers about language policy or by translation scholars about translation itself, translation policy remains somewhat of a blind spot. This paper attempts to address this under-researched area. Specifically, this paper will address translation policy in Wales. In so doing, it will consider the use of translation as a tool for granting access to three important areas of a democratic society: courts, healthcare and local government

When a Translator Joins the Revolution: A Paratextual Analysis of Manuel García de Sena’s La independencia

During the complex period of Latin American independence, new states began to emerge and new ideas were implemented. Some of these ideas were made available in part due to the efforts of translators in the United States. Among them was Manuel García de Sena, a Venezuelan translator who published translations of North American texts. His translations enjoyed a prompt distribution. One of them became a vehicle that facilitated legal transplants from the United States to the new republics. While much has been lost to history regarding the details of the printing of this translation, its paratextual apparatus provides insights that help modern readers understand some things regarding the people involved, their ideas, and the times they lived in. By analyzing the title, the dedications, and the notes, we can see the translation’s intended function in changing the culture repertoire. In essence, the paratext allows us to see what this translator did as he joined the revolution

Translating to Communicate with Linguistic Minorities: State obligations under international law

In the on-going debate about language rights, the role of translation remains somewhat of a blind spot. And yet, because there are very few truly monolingual societies in the world, any language policy implies a translation policy. Translation policies will vary from place to place, and they are often the result of ad hoc choices by policy makers at the local level. Even so, by looking at international law, we can find a sort of lowest common denominator for what is to be expected of translation policies. Sources of international law that can have an effect in shaping domestic policies include treaties/conventions and the judicial decisions of international tribunals. In Europe, in particular, a number of regional treaties from the Council of Europe weigh on translation as an instrument to guarantee the rights of minority speakers. The European Union – with its own treaties, regulations and directives – also helps set minimum standards for domestic translation policies. We will see that in Europe translation is usually cast as a means to secure other rights. Unfortunately, international law seems to set a rather low bar for this, with the most explicit protections afforded in the judicial realm but with relatively little elsewhere

Crossing Linguistic Borders: Teaching Writing Skills in Two Languages to Translators-in-Training

This paper argues that linguistic borders are cultural borders without sharp lines of demarcation. They become a middle space where cultural and linguistic elements from two different cultures meld into an interculture. One of the traits of this interculture as found in Brownsville, Texas, is a high incidence of natural bilingualism. A number of naturally bilingual students walk into translation classes at UTRGV. They have a basic building block for becoming translators, which is their ability to switch back and forth between languages. Other important translator competences include the ability to write professionally in at least two languages. This ability must often be developed in naturally bilingual students, because their upbringing in an interculture makes it hard for them to intuitively distinguish between what is seen as good writing by monolingual speakers of English on the one hand and what is seen as good writing by monolingual speakers of Spanish on the other. The paper describes the two-pronged approach used in training translators at UTRGV in order to develop students’ natural bilingualism into professional writing skills in both Spanish and English

On Translation Policy

The term translation policy has become problematic for the field of Translation Studies because it has meant so many things to so many authors that it threatens to lose some of its efficacy (see Meylaerts 2011a, 163–166). In light of this, the concept of translation policy should be developed so that it will be broad enough to account for diverse phenomena in different places with multiple agents, while retaining specific parameters that make the concept methodologically useful. This article will consider insights from Translation Studies and from other fields, especially from the field of Language Policy, in order to develop such a concept of translation policy. To illustrate how the understanding of translation policy that will be proposed may be used in a descriptive paradigm, the article will present translation policy in Scotland’s local government as a case study

When a Translator Joins the Revolution: A Paratextual Analysis of Manuel García de Sena’s La independencia

During the complex period of Latin American independence, new states began to emerge and new ideas were implemented. Some of these ideas were made available in part due to the efforts of translators in the United States. Among them was Manuel García de Sena, a Venezuelan translator who published translations of North American texts. His translations enjoyed a prompt distribution. One of them became a vehicle that facilitated legal transplants from the United States to the new republics. While much has been lost to history regarding the details of the printing of this translation, its paratextual apparatus provides insights that help modern readers understand some things regarding the people involved, their ideas, and the times they lived in. By analyzing the title, the dedications, and the notes, we can see the translation’s intended function in changing the culture repertoire. In essence, the paratext allows us to see what this translator did as he joined the revolution

Translation Policy in a Linguistically Diverse World

In Europe, policy approaches toward old minority languages (i.e., ‘regional’ minority languages) and new minority languages (i.e., ‘immigrant’ languages) are different. This is seen in language policy throughout much of the continent. And yet this distinction between speakers who belong to old minorities and those who belong to new minorities can be questioned, or at least the existence of distinct policy approaches for both groups when dealing with their languages. This paper will argue that if the ultimate goal of social policies – such as language and translations policies – is to bring about a more inclusive state, it may be helpful to think about speakers of old minorities and new minorities not as being essentially different in terms inclusion, but as having specific contextual needs which may or may not be the same. To do so, the paper will focus on the United Kingdom as an example of how things are and how they might be different. In particular, the paper will consider policies regarding translation, which must of necessity arise whenever the state makes choices about language that affect a multilingual population