Questions in the sociology of translation

A broad distinction is proposed between cultural and sociological research into translation. Cultural research focuses on the level of ideas (or memes) while sociological research focuses on people and their observable behaviour. Some theoretical frameworks have been proposed for the analysis of some of the relevant sociological issues. However, their application has remained limited, and many areas are relatively neglected or undertheorized. These include research on team translation and teamwork revision processes, co-editing, institutional multilingual document production, translator-client relations, translation policy, translator networks, translators’ use of technical and other resources, translator status and mobility, the discourse of translation, and accreditation systems. The central notion linking these areas is that of translation as a social practice.