Sociologies of translation
Anthony Pym
Spring School for Translation Studies in Africa
29 November – 4 December 2010
How many turns?
“Cultural turn”: Lefevere and Bassnett (1990)
“Return to ethics” (Pym 2001)
“Performative turn” (Hardwick 2003)
“Creative turn” (Perteghella and Loffredo 2006)
“Linguistic re-turn” (Vandeweghe 2007)
“social /sociological turn” Wolf (2006)
“Technological turn”…
“Professional turn”…
How many sociologies?
Cultural pragmatics of texts (Nida; equivalence
paradigm)
Role of translations in cultural systems (Russian
Formalists, Prague School, Even-Zohar)
Role of translators and editors in publishing systems
(Bourdieu)
Social explanation of translation flows (Heilbron,
Sapiro)
Norms and professionalism of translators (Tel Aviv
School)
How many sociologies?
Intercultural location of translators (Pym)
Habitus of translators (Meylaerts, Tel Aviv)
Agency of translators (Koskinen)
Movement and transformation of ideas between
social locations (Callon, Latour, Law)
Movement and transformation of ideas in order to
serve social causes (not professions) (Wolf)
The problem of agency
If the actions of translators are determined by their
social location, then how can they bring about social
change?
Polysystem theory: they can’t really
Habitus theory: they can’t really (habitus dissolves the
problem)
Actor-network theory: translation is an act of power
Even-Zohar on agency
“the ‘normal’ position assumed by translated literature
tends to be the peripheral one” (1978: 50)
“intellectual energy” is necessary for a system, even
if it changes nothing
Simeoni on habitus
Hypothesis: “Translators, not unlike the scribes of
ancient or premodern civilizations, have always
occupied subservient positions among the dominant
professions of the cultural sphere.”
“…this attitude of assumed subservience is not
innate. It must have a history, both individual and at
group level.”
“…the same practice can be observed today, within
the ranks of professional translators and their
organizations, this time in references ad nauseam to
the authority of the ‘client.’”
ANT “translation”
By “translation” we mean the set of negotiations, intrigues, acts
of persuasion, calculations, acts of violence by which an actor or
a force accords or allows itself to be accorded the authority to
speak or to act in the name of another actor or force: “your
interests are our interests,” “do what I want,” “you cannot
succeed without me.” As soon as an actor says “we,” he or she
translates other actors into a single aspiration [volonté] of which
she or he becomes the master or spokesperson.
(Callon and Latour 1981/2006: 12–13; our translation)
Intercultural theory
Translators are never wholly in a society.
A border:
© Intercultural Studies Group
Intercultural theory
Professional intercultures bring together groups of
intermediaries
Group formation is based on diversity of provenance
and complementarity of skills.
The more technical the communication, the more
agency in the interculture.
Intercultures are short-lived.
Bourdieu’s capitals
Economic
Money and material resources
Cultural
Skills and competencies (degrees and diplomas)
Symbolic
Social prestige (perhaps degrees and diplomas)
Social
Who you know
Bourdieu’s publishers:
© Intercultural Studies Group
Research:
Michaela Wolf on feminist publishers
Szu-Wen Cindy Kung on David Wang and Columbia
University Press
The first Latin translators of the Qur’an
Henri Albert, the main French translator of Nietzsche
© Intercultural Studies Group
Agency resolved by…
Determination by multiple systems
Movement between different kinds of economies
So what is to be done?
And who should do it?
For or against the profession?
Research on expertise, competence, habitus and
intercultures assumes professionalization:
Common Sense Advisory (2008): 700,000?
Process studies: 234?
New technologies allow mass voluntary translation
(crowd-sourcing, collaborative translation, citizen
translation, community translation, TC3.
The profession reacts…
Ordre des Traducteurs, terminologues et
interprètes agréés du Québec
Par réserve inadéquate du titre, nous entendons le
fait que n’importe qui au Québec peut se proclamer
traducteur, terminologue ou interprète, à condition de
ne pas accoler au titre le qualificatif « agréé ». Cela
crée une situation de doubles appellations, source
d’ambiguïté dans le public, avec les risques que cela
comporte. (2009: 4)
Ordre des Traducteurs, terminologues et
interprètes agréés du Québec
***Mise en garde***
Comme le reconnaissent les concepteurs de logiciels
de traduction automatique eux-mêmes, nous
sommes encore loin du jour où ces outils pourront
produire une traduction de qualité comparable à celle
des traductions produites par les êtres humains.
Dans le cadre de son mandat de protection du public,
l'OTTIAQ vous recommande donc la plus grande
prudence et vous invite à faire affaire avec un
traducteur agréé pour tous vos besoins de
traduction.
Translation…
Allows debate and comparison of different views of
the issues at stake in society.
Improves the general quality of life of immigrants.
Improves the general quality of life of linguistic
minorities.
Informs consumers about products that have been
produced in foreign languages.
Enables exports to foreign markets
Enables mass tourism by improving the experiences
of tourists.
And 130 more…
Wolf’s social turn…
Translation should serve social needs.
So we need a concept wider than professional
translation.
And we need to look at more than translators.