Managing Trust: Translating and the Network Economy

Abstract

In order to understand recent developments in the field of professional translation, we focus in this article on the contemporary network-based translation industry using Albert-Lázsló Barabási’s model of real-world networks and combining it with sociological studies of social capital and trust. According to Barabási, networks are scale-free and therefore fundamentally undemocratic. Barabási’s findings can be used not only by researchers in explaining the topology and organizing principles of production networks but also by professional translators as a conceptual tool in making sense of their current working environment. We use empirical evidence from interviews with six Finnish translators, relating what we discover to be the roles of trust, loyalty, and social capital in networks. The findings suggest that (a lack of) trust may be the Achilles’ heel of these economic networks.À partir de la théorie des réseaux d’Albert-Lázsló Barabási et des concepts sociologiques de capital social et de confiance, cet article propose une analyse de l’industrie de la traduction afin de rendre compte des changements qui affectent depuis peu la profession. Selon Barabási, les réseaux n’ont pas d’échelle et sont donc foncièrement non démocratiques. Les conclusions de Barabási invitent les chercheurs à dresser une typologie des principes qui régissent l’organisation des réseaux de production et offre du même coup aux professionnels la possibilité de développer des outils conceptuels qui leur permettront de saisir leur environnement de travail. Sur la base de données empiriques recueillies par voie d’entretiens auprès de six traducteurs professionnels finlandais, cet article met en évidence l’importance des relations de confiance, de loyauté et du capital social dans le fonctionnement des réseaux, et suggère donc indirectement que la confiance – ou son absence – pourrait bien être le talon d’Achille de ces réseaux

Investigating Real Work Situations in Translation Agencies. Work Content and Its Components

“…Lebtahi/Ibert 2000, Hébert-Malloch 2004, Abdallah/Koskinen 2007, Dam/Zethsen 2008, and in those that directly focus on the organization and management of translation services (Gouadec 2002, 2005a, 2005b, 2007, Davico 2005, Risku 2006) and on the cognitive aspects of the work in the organizational, translationrelated context (Risku 2000(Risku , 2002.…”

The translator as expert — a realistic or an idealistic model? How recent empirical findings fit into existing models of translation

“…However, as Abdallah and Koskinen (2007) argue, there are so many stakeholders in modern translation that in the majority of cases the model of translation which places the translator in the middle is no longer an accurate picture of real life. And most importantly in the present context: there is often no direct contact between the client and the translator, which means that the translators lose the possibility of interacting with the client, making themselves and their expertise known (and perhaps educate the client a little).…”

“…This model is in some form still widely used today and comes in many variations, but the basic model, which is not that different from Nida's model, apart from the direct mention of the translator, the sender and the receiver, looks as follows (Figure 2 The model acknowledges the fact that the translator plays an active role in the transfer of the message, but according to Abdallah and Koskinen (2007) fails to capture the complex network involved in the production of a translation today (see also Buzelin 2005:211-212, 214, who in addition emphasizes the technological development and its huge influence on the translation process). A translation is not produced in isolation, in a vacuum so to speak, but its production is influenced by the many stakeholders surrounding the translation.…”

“…A general picture has emerged from our empirical data: translators see themselves as having relatively low status, they consider themselves to be experts, but they do not feel recognized as such. Inspired by Abdallah and Koskinen's (2007) network-based production model of translation (based on Barabási's 2002 network model) we investigate and discuss how this picture, emerging from our empirical studies, fits in with the current theoretical models of translation and the translator. To this end we have also turned to Bourdieu's conceptual framework to reach an understanding of the gap between the translators' self-image as experts and their lack of recognition and their low status.…”

Translation process research as interaction research: from mental to socio-cognitive processes

“…Accordingly, one of the goals of the present project is to investigate and understand the relevance and consequences-in terms of practical decisions in translation process research projects-of translation not being an internal symbol-manipulation process that is independent of time, place and history. The research design takes into account those recent professional developments that can be characterized as a move towards a computer-assisted network economy (Abdallah 2010, Risku 2009, Risku & Dickinson 2009, Abdallah & Koskinen 2007. The research focuses on the interaction between translators and their environments and the resulting dependencies.…”