1st Edition

Translation and Conflict A Narrative Account

By Mona Baker Copyright 2006
    220 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    218 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Translation and Conflict demonstrates that translators and interpreters participate in circulating as well as resisting the narratives that create the intellectual and moral environment for violent conflict. Drawing on narrative theory and using numerous examples from historical and contemporary conflicts, the author provides an original and coherent model of analysis that pays equal attention to micro and macro aspects of the circulation of narratives in translation, to translation and interpreting, and to questions of dominance and resistance.

    The study is particularly significant at this juncture of history, with the increased interest in the positioning of translators in politically sensitive contexts, the growing concern with translators’ and interpreters’ divided loyalties in settings such as Guantanamo, Iraq, Kosovo, and other arenas of conflict, and the emergence of several activist communities of translators and interpreters with highly politicized agendas of their own, including Babels, Translators for Peace, Tlaxcala and ECOS.

    Including further reading suggestions at the end of each chapter, Translation and Conflict will be of interest to students of translation, intercultural studies and sociology as well as the reader interested in the study of social and political movements.

    Acknowledgements  List of Figures  1. Introduction  1.1 Translation, Power, Conflict  1.2 Why Narrative?  1.3 Overview of Chapters  Core References  Further Reading  2. Introducing Narrative  Core References  Further Reading  3. A Typology of Narrative  Core References  Further Reading  4. Understanding How Narratives Work: Features of Narrativity I  Core References  Further Reading  5. Understanding How Narratives Work: Features of Narrativity II  Core References  Further Reading  6. Framing Narratives in Translation  Core References  Further Reading  7. Assessing Narratives: The Narrative Paradigm  7.5 Concluding Remarks  Core References  Further Reading  Glossary  Bibliography  Index

    Biography

    Mona Baker is Professor of Translation Studies and Director of the Centre for Translation and Intercultural Studies, University of Manchester. She is author of In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation; Editor of The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, Founding Editor of The Translator, and Vice President of the International Association of Translation and Cultural Studies.

    '… a compelling account and an intellectually honest enquiry into the issues involved in handling competing narratives, of vital interest not only to translators and translation theorists but also to users of translation products.' - Ian Mason, Heriot Watt University, UK

    'Translation and Conflict undoubtedly constitutes a turning point in Translation Studies.' - África Vidal Claramnote, University of Salamanca, Spain

    'Perceptive, provocative and always engaging, …. a timely investigation into a hidden realm of translation practice where the stakes – human, political and international – are growing ever higher.' - David Johnston, Queen’s University Belfast, UK

    'Conclusively, this interdisciplinary publication complete with a practical and clearly-written glossary is perfectly illustrated by lively, interesting and telling contemporary examples throughout, which not only help the reader understand the main points put into practice but, at the same time, serve as a many-faceted backdrop to the soulful conflicts and instances of political aggression currently interweaving the texture of our global planet.' - Károli Gáspár University of Hungarian Reformed Church