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Article published In: Translation in Society
Vol. 1:2 (2022) ► pp.200–223

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Translaboration

Translation and labour

ORCiD logo with link | University of Vienna
 | University of Westminster
Published online: 20 September 2022
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/tris.21016.zwi
Abstract
Translaboration, a concept derived from blending ‘translation’ and ‘collaboration,’ has the concept of labour at its core. This paper investigates the dimension of labour in online collaborative translation, relates translational labour to Arendt’s categories of work and action, and proceeds to broaden the discussion to the labour involved in translation more generally. It also considers what effect the application of these concepts has on the interests of translators and other stakeholders. Probing the labour of translation has a profound bearing on framings of both voluntary and professional translation practices and potentially reshapes discussions of the translation concept as such. Rather than pitting ‘work’ and ‘labour’ as competing concepts, this paper shows that labour, work, and action all apply to translation and can be brought into productive dialogue in the translaborative space.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Labour and work
    • 2.1The roots of the differentiation between labour and work and their connotations
    • 2.2The Marxist perspective: The labour theory of value
    • 2.3Two alternative and philosophical perspectives
  • 3.Online collaborative translation as labour, work, or action?
  • 4.Translation as labour
  • 5.Translational labour and the translation concept
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
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