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Article published In: Translation in Society
Vol. 1:2 (2022) ► pp.177–199

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The agent-centred translation zone

Researching the people within translational spaces

ORCiD logo with link | University of Graz
Published online: 22 September 2022
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/tris.22015.fhe
Abstract
The concept of the translation zone (. 2013. “Translation Zone.” In: Handbook of Translation Studies Volume 41, edited by Yves Gambier, and Luc van Doorslaer, 181–185. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) describes spaces of intense language interaction, and has, hitherto, mostly been used to explore bi- or multilingual cities (Cronin, Michael, and Sherry Simon. 2014. “Introduction: The City as Translation Zone.” In Translation Studies 7 (2): 119–132. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). This paper aims to broaden the concept of the translation zone and adapt it into a heuristic concept with an agent focus. To achieve this, the translation zone is combined with the spatial triad by Rolshoven, Johanna. 2012. “Zwischen den Dingen: der Raum. Das dynamische Raumverständnis der empirischen Kulturwissenschaft.” In Schweizerisches Archiv für Volkskunde 1081: 156–169.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar – built space, experienced space, representation space. This nuanced, agent-centred conceptualisation has methodological implications: Ethnographic research methods, e.g. participant observation and in-depth interviews, are favoured when investigating plurilingual people’s living environments, requiring researchers to reflect on their own position. The agent-centred translation zone can, therefore, be used to conceptualise interpreting settings (plurilingual schools, for instance) as translational spaces and to examine their interlingual, intralingual and intersemiotic polymorphous translation practices, considering the effects of laws, societal perceptions, personal views, and structural aspects of physical spaces.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Cities as translation zones
    • 2.1The translation zone: A spatial concept with social roots
    • 2.2From multilingual to translational cities
  • 3.The agent-centred translation zone in ethnographic research
    • 3.1Translation zones as spaces
    • 3.2Researching agent-centred translation zones
  • 4.Case example: Plurilingual schools as translation zones
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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2025. Introduction. In Field Research on Translation and Interpreting [Benjamins Translation Library, 165], ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Jerkovic, Tiana
2024. Space, body and presence. Interpreting. International Journal of Research and Practice in Interpreting 26:2 ► pp. 201 ff. DOI logo

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