Translating Academic Texts

Károly, Krisztina

doi:10.1017/9781108616119.018

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…In translation studies, it is only very recently that a consciousness has emerged around the distinct significance of academic translation. In a chapter dedicated to the topic that appeared in The Cambridge Handbook of Translation , Krisztina Károly (2022) asserts that the translation of academic texts has received less attention than other fields of non-literary translation (news translation, legal, or business translation, etc.) (p. 340).…”

Section: Progress In Science On An International Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The common practice in literary translation is to acknowledge the translator on the copyright page or sometimes on the front cover (normally if the translator is of renown). Questionably, within translation studies, Károly (2022) presents invisibility as a given fact in academic translation and encourages us to think of the ideal academic translator as a disseminator of science across borders who is communicatively competent and highly specialized, yet should provide these skills and expertise in conditions of invisibility (p. 357). When it comes to the interviewees’ work as translators of academic articles published in international journals, in most cases their name does not appear – anywhere.…”

Section: Academic Translators’ Professional Profiles and Perceptions ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Politics of translation: Assimilation and reflexivity in the transformation of academic texts

Cussel,

Bielsa,

Bestué

2023

Social Science Information

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For many at the periphery and semi-periphery of the global academic field, translation or self-translation into English has become a prerequisite for the pursuit of an academic career. This article focuses on the academic translators who translate humanities and social science texts and the crucial but highly invisible role of their everyday translation practices in relation to the dominance of Anglophone discourses and concepts. It articulates an interdisciplinary theorization of the politics of translation through the concepts of assimilatory and reflexive translation, which are applied to an empirical investigation based on semi-structured interviews conducted with academic translators in the context of Spain. The analysis brings to light their backgrounds, professional profiles, and perceptions of their working conditions, as well as their views of science and good writing. Academic translators predominantly adopt an assimilatory translation strategy, reformulating texts to adapt them to Anglophone academic conventions. However, habitual collaboration between translators and authors gives rise to deliberation among both actors on how to recreate texts in the new linguistic situation. Such collaboration holds great potential for the development of more reflexive forms of translation in which an invitation to consider translation strategies and decisions is extended to authors and users of translations at large.

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Section: Progress In Science On An International Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Academic Translators’ Professional Profiles and Perceptions ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Politics of translation: Assimilation and reflexivity in the transformation of academic texts

Cussel,

Bielsa,

Bestué

2023

Social Science Information

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“…Bourdieu had book translation in mind. Yet, if we consider translated journal articles, these texts often appear in international journals as if they were not translations at all; they pass as originals (Károly, 2022).…”

Section: Reframing Academic Translation Practices and Flows In Global...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Academics in the semi-periphery: Translation and linguistic strategies on the rocky road to publishing in English

Cussel,

Raigal Aran,

Barranco

2023

Social Science Information

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Publishing in English is now essential for securing tenure and promotion in the social sciences and humanities in Spain, as academic performance is largely evaluated by number of publications in journals indexed in Journal Citation Reports (JCR) or Scimago Journal Rank (SJR). This relatively new situation has forced academics with varying levels of English to dedicate significant time, effort, and money to obtaining publishable texts. This article investigates academic translation in terms of widespread and invisible translation and editing practices into English, providing a different perspective from previous studies of the transnational circulation of knowledge. Based on semi-structured interviews with scholars from sociology and translation studies, it reflects on their strategies, choices, and preferences for how their texts should be translated or edited, as well as the relationships and routines they develop with their trusted language professionals. All the interviewees expressed a preference for assimilatory strategies or, in other words, the assimilation of their texts into standard or ‘native’ academic English, which should be seen as a means to covet the prestige unfairly reserved for Anglophone scholars. One of the key contributions of this article is to move beyond the popular notion of epistemicide, exploring through empirical detail the linguistic, methodological, and structural issues that these semi-peripheral academics highlight in relation to publishing in the lingua franca for global academia.

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Translating ‘understanding’/ understanding translation: A reflexive approach

Bielsa

2024

The Sociological Review

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This article has its starting point in an apparently marginal undertaking: Bridget Fowler’s translation of Pierre Bourdieu’s ‘Comprendre’, a methodologically oriented chapter which appeared at the end of the collectively authored book La Misère du monde. Its objective is to show how translation, beyond its apparent marginality, is in fact a key component of sociological practice, and inseparable from sociological interpretation and theorizing. Because of this, translation can provide an original and unexpected point of view that sheds light on little considered sociological matters and relations which usually escape from critical consideration. First, Fowler’s translation is discussed in the context of her critical engagement with Bourdieu’s sociology. Second, sociological approaches to the mostly neglected craft of academic translation are examined. Third, the project of a reflexive sociology is related to that of reflexive translation through what can be characterized as a translational sociology.

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Translating Academic Texts

Cited by 3 publications

References 48 publications

Politics of translation: Assimilation and reflexivity in the transformation of academic texts

Politics of translation: Assimilation and reflexivity in the transformation of academic texts

Academics in the semi-periphery: Translation and linguistic strategies on the rocky road to publishing in English

Translating ‘understanding’/ understanding translation: A reflexive approach

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