REDEFINING TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION IN CULTURAL EVOLUTION

June 10, 2016 Mona Baker Call for Papers, Translation

Call for Chapters: Redefining Translation and Interpretation in Cultural Evolution

Editors

Dr. Olaf Immanuel Seel,
Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting,
Ionian University, Corfu, Greece

Call for Chapters

Proposals Submission Deadline: July 30, 2016
Full Chapters Due: November 30, 2016
Submission Date: March 30, 2017

Introduction

Since the mid 80’s, when the cultural turn took place in translation studies, our awareness of the importance of culture for translation and interpreting has to be taken for granted. Since then, translation has been regarded predominantly as a special form of intercultural communication on the basis of language and not only as early translation theories of the 50’s and 60’s believed, as a mere linguistic operation which focused on the central but rather static aspect of “equivalence”. However, in the beginning of the cultural turn, the concept of “culture” (Göhring, 2002) was still regarded from a relativist point of view as being identical with the rather rigid one of “national culture” (Goodenough, 1964). Yet, since the 1990’s, when globalization has started its impact on human life and societies, cultural theorists (e.g. Bhabha, 1999, 2000, Robertson, 1992, Tomlinson, 1999, Beck, 1997) began investigating the multi-perspective nature of cultural evolution and cultural change predominantly in view of globalization and its multidimensional impact on culture in its conventional perception. Key words of post-modern cultural evolution, e.g. homogenization, glocalization, tribalization, hybridization, have since then become eminent. At the same time, translation studies started to investigate and analyze a world that has become more complex, diversified and continuously changing, focusing on issues such as e.g. the establishment of a new age of information, communication and knowledge and the importance of electronic tools for the translator (Austermühl, 2001), the major changes in world economies and their impact on contemporary translation (Cronin, 2003), or the emerging of the localization industry as a new translation domain (Esselink, 2000, O’Hagan/Ashworth, Göpferich, 2002).
Nonetheless, cultural evolution as such and its permanent diversifications rarely have been brought into relation with translation and interpreting, although, given its universal presence, cultural evolution must be considered as being of primary importance for translation and interpreting, as it is very likely constantly reflected in the dominant working instruments of the translator and the interpreter, i.e., language and text.

References

Austermühl, F. (2001). Übersetzen im Informationszeitalter: Überlegungen zur Zukunft fachkommunikativen und interkulturellen Handelns im ‘global village’. Trier: WVT wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier.
Beck, U. (1997). Was ist Globalisierung? Irrtümer des Globalismus-Antworten auf Globalisierung. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Bhabha, H. K. (1999). One of Us. In H. Ziegler (Ed.), The translatability of cultures: proceedings of the Fifth Stuttgart Seminar in Cultural Studies, 03.08.-13.08.1998/Stuttgart Seminar in Cultural Studies (pp 107-123). Stuttgart: Metzler.
Bhabha, H. K. (2000). Die Verortung der Kultur. Tübingen: Stauffenburg.
Cronin, M. (2003). Translation and Globalization. London/New York: Routledge.
Esselink, B. (2000). A Practical Guide to Localization. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins.
Göpferich, S. (2002). Textproduktion im Zeitalter der Globalisierung. Entwicklung einer Didaktik des Wissenstransfers. Tübingen: Stauffenburg.
Göhring, H. (2002) Interkulturelle Kommunikation: Anregungen für Sprach- und Kulturmittler. Tübingen: Stauffenburg.
O’Hagan, M. & Ashworth, D. (2002). Translation-Mediated Communication in a Digital World: Facing the Challenges of Globalization and Localization. Clevedon/Buffalo /Toronto/Sydney: Multilingual Matters LTD.
Robertson, R. (1992). Globalization. Social Theory and Global Culture. London/Thousand Oaks/New Delhi: Sage Publications.
Tomlinson, J. (1999). Globalization and Culture. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Objective

This book will aim to provide relevant theoretical framework and the latest empirical research findings in the area of culture-related translation research in the context of cultural evolution. It will be written for researchers, professionals and trainees who want to improve their understanding of the changes and diversifications that cultural evolution has brought about and is still bringing about, primarily but not exclusively, to language and text as the dominant working instruments of the translators and, consequently, to the translation/interpreting process and product and, finally, to the translator/interpreter as a cultural agent, as well as to culture-orientated translation and interpreting theory. Ultimately, this books hopes to contribute in improving translation and interpreting practice.
Target Audience
The target audience of this book will be composed of researchers, professionals and trainees working in the fields of translation studies, interpreting studies, translation and/or interpreting. Moreover, the book will provide insights and support to all other researchers, professionals and trainees concerned with culture and communication, e.g. cultural studies, cultural management, communication science, sociolinguistics, pragmalinguistics.

Submission Procedure

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before July 30, 2016, a chapter proposal of 1,000 to 2,000 words clearly explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed chapter. Authors will be notified by August 15, 2016, about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by November 30, 2016, and all interested authors must consult the guidelines for manuscript submissions at http://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write/ prior to submission. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.
Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book publication, Redefining the Role of Translation and Interpreting in Cultural Evolution. All manuscripts are accepted based on a double-blind peer review editorial process.
All proposals should be submitted through the E-Editorial DiscoveryTM online submission manager.
Publisher
This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group Reference), “Medical Information Science Reference,” “Business Science Reference,” and “Engineering Science Reference” imprints. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com. This publication is anticipated to be released in 2017.
Important Dates
July 30, 2016: Proposal Submission Deadline
August 15, 2016: Notification of Acceptance
November 30, 2016: Full Chapter Submission
January 30, 2017: Review Results Returned
March 15, 2017: Final Acceptance Notification
March 30, 2017: Final Chapter Submission
Inquiries
olaf.imm.seel@gmail.com
seel@ionio.gr
Direct link to the CfP: http://www.igi-global.com/publish/call-for-papers/call-details/2248