Cover not available

Article published In: Translation and Interpreting in Non-Governmental Organisations
Edited by Wine Tesseur
[Translation Spaces 7:1] 2018
► pp. 143–161

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

Interdisciplinary multilingual practices in NGOs

Addressing translation and interpreting at the ‘Human Rights Investigations Lab’ and ‘Translators Without Borders’

ORCiD logo with link | University of California, Los Angeles
Published online: 10 August 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.00008.mor
Abstract
Emanating from the recent sociological turn of translation studies scholarship (Wolf, Michaela. 2006. “Translating and Interpreting as a Social Practice – Introspection into a New Field.” In Übersetzen – Translating – Traduire: Towards a ‘social Turn’?, edited by Michaela Wolf, 9–19. Münster-Viena: LIT Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, . 2007. “The Emergence of a Sociology of Translation” Constructing a Sociology of Translation, edited by Michaela Wolf and Alexandra Fukari, 1–36. Amsterdam- Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, . 2009. “The Implications of a Sociological Turn – Methodological and Disciplinary Questions.” In Translation Research Projects 2, edited by Anthony Pym and Alexander Perekrestenko, 73–79. Tarragona: Intercultural Studies Group.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar and . 2010. “Translation “Going Social”? Challenges to the (Ivory) Tower of Babel.” MonTI 21: 29–46. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), translation and interpreting practices in non-governmental organizations has become a field of research that imperatively requires cross-disciplinary approaches. This paper investigates multilingual initiatives carried out by the Human Rights Investigation Lab (HRIL) and Translators Without Borders (TWB) and their contribution to ensuring language access in crisis scenarios. Based on interviews with delegates from both organizations, and taking into consideration legal and sociological perspectives, it sets out a broad reflection on how translation studies research is evolving in the area of NGOs. It intends to address the caveats that can arise from both conceptual and empirical approaches in the design of future projects, as it explores the notion of discipline-specific knowledge and relevant concepts in translation training and external collaborations.
Article outline
  • Interview 1: Dr. Alexa Koenig (University of California, Berkeley)
    • The Human Rights Investigations Lab – University of California, Berkeley (Law School)
    • Exploring interdisciplinary collaborations
    • Wider context: Connecting human rights with languages and translation
  • Interview 2: Dr. Nada Ghandour-Demiri (American University of Beirut)
    • Language & Comprehension barriers in Greece’s Migration Crisis (Translators Without Borders and Save the Children)
    • Interdisciplinary collaboration: Translators Without Borders, NGOs and academia
    • The role of translation and interpreting studies in current crisis scenarios
  • Reflecting on translation and interpreting practices in NGOs: Interdisciplinarity and further collaborations
  • Notes
  • References
References (31)
References
Cornu, Gérard. 2005. Linguistique juridique. 3rd Edition. Paris: Montchrestien.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Diaz Fouces, Óscar, and Esther Monzó-Nebot. 2010. “What Would a Sociology Applied to Translation Be Like?” MonTI 21: 9–18. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ditlevsen, Marianne. 2011. “Towards a Methodological Framework for Knowledge Communication.” Current Issues in Specialized Communication, edited by Margrethe Petersen and Jan Engberg, 187–208, Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Engberg, Jan. 2016. “Emphasising the Individual in Legal Translation: Consequences of Knowledge Communication and Post-Structuralist Approaches.” In Languages for Specific Purpose: Research and Translation across Cultures and Media, edited by Giuliana Elena Garzone, Dermot Heaney and Giorgia Riboni, 41–61. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gémar, Jean-Claude. 1982. “Fonctions de la traduction juridique en milieu bilingue et langage du droit au Canada.” In Langage du droit et traduction. Essais de jurilinguistique, edited by Jean-Claude Gémar, 121–137. Montreal: Linguatech.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2011. “Aux sources de la ‘jurilinguistique’: texte juridique, langues et cultures.” Revue Française de Linguistique Appliquée 16(1): 9–16. Paris: Publications linguistiques.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gémar, Jean-Claude and Nicholas Kasirer. 2005. La jurilinguistique. Entre langues et droits. Montreal/Brussels: Thémis/Bruylant.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Glasser, Bill. 2018. Language Access and Social Justice. A Framework for Interpreters in the Time of Division, Demonization, and Despair. Keynote address, 18th Annual Educational Conference of California Healthcare Interpreting Association, Irvine, California. Accessed April, 6, 2018. [URL]
Inghilleri, Moira. 2005. “The Sociology of Bordieu and the Construction of the ‘Object’ in Translation and Interpreting Studies.” The Translator 11(2): 125–145. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2016. Translation and Migration. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kastberg, Peter. 2010. “Knowledge Communication – Formative Ideas and Research Impetus.” Programmatic Perspectives 2(1): 59–71.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kelly, Dorothy. 2002. “Un modelo de competencia traductora: bases para el diseño curricular.” Puentes 11: 9–20. Granada: Universidad de Granada.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2005. A Handbook for Translator Trainers. Manchester: St Jerome Publishing.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2007. “Translator Competence Contextualized. Translator Training in the Framework of the Higher Education Reform: In Search of Alignment in Curricular Design.” In Across Boundaries: International Perspectives on Translation Studies, edited by Dorothy Kenny and Kyongjoo Ryou, 128–142. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Martín Ruano, María Rosario. 2014. “From Suspicion to Collaboration: Defining New Epistemologies of Reflexive Practice for Legal Translation and Interpreting.” Journal of Specialised Translation 221: 194–213.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2017. “Developing Public Service Translation and Interpreting under the Paradigm of Recognition: Towards Divesity-Sensitive Discourses on Ethics in PSIT.” In Ideology, Ethics and Policy Development in Public Service Interpreting and Translation, edited by Carmen Valero Garcés and Rebecca Tipton: 21–37. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Monzó-Nebot, Esther and Juan Jiménez-Salcedo (eds). 2018. Translation and Justice in a Postmonolingual Age. Delaware: Vernon Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Moreno-Rivero, Javier and Juan Jiménez-Salcedo. 2017. “On Jurilinguistics: The Principles and Applications of Research on Language and Law.” In Revista de Llengua i Dret/ The Journal of Language and Law 681: 1–4.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
PACTE. 2003. “Building a Translation Competence Model.” In Triangulating Translation: Perspectives in Process Orients Research, edited by Favio Alves, 43–66. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2017. Researching Translation Competence by PACTE Group. Amsterdam/ Philadelphia: John Benjamins.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pérez-González, Luis. 2017. “Investigating Digitally Born Amateur Subtitling Agencies in the Context of Popular Culture.” In Non-professional Subtitling, edited by David Orrego-Carmona and Yvonne Lee, 15–37. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tesseur, Wine. 2014. Transformation through Translation: Translation Policies at Amnesty International. Unpublished PhD thesis, Aston University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2017. “Incorporating Translation into Sociolinguistic Research: Translation Policy in an International Non-governmental Organisation.” Journal of Sociolinguistics 21(5): 629–649. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Valero Garcés, Carmen and Rebecca Tipton (eds). 2017. Ideology, Ethics and Policy Development in Public Service Interpreting and Translation. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vidal Claramonte, María del Cármen and María del Rosario Martín Ruano. 2013. Traducción, política(s), conflictors: legados y retos para la era del multiculturalismo. Granada: Comares.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vidal Claramonte, María del Cármen. 2013. “Towards a New Research Model in Legal Translation: Future Perspectives in the Era of Asymmetry.” Linguistica Antverpiensia 121: 182–196.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wallace, Melissa and Carlos Iván Hernández. 2017. “Language Access for Asylum Seekers in Bordeland Detention Centers in Texas.” Revista de Llengua i Dret/ The Journal of Language and Law 681: 143–156.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wolf, Michaela. 2006. “Translating and Interpreting as a Social Practice – Introspection into a New Field.” In Übersetzen – Translating – Traduire: Towards a ‘social Turn’?, edited by Michaela Wolf, 9–19. Münster-Viena: LIT Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2007. “The Emergence of a Sociology of Translation” Constructing a Sociology of Translation, edited by Michaela Wolf and Alexandra Fukari, 1–36. Amsterdam- Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2009. “The Implications of a Sociological Turn – Methodological and Disciplinary Questions.” In Translation Research Projects 2, edited by Anthony Pym and Alexander Perekrestenko, 73–79. Tarragona: Intercultural Studies Group.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2010. “Translation “Going Social”? Challenges to the (Ivory) Tower of Babel.” MonTI 21: 29–46. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Haddy, Emily, Julia Brown, Faith Burden, Zoe Raw, Juliane Kaminski & Leanne Proops
2023. Sustainability in NGO Programming: A Case Study of Working Equid Welfare Organizations. Sage Open 13:4 DOI logo
Kunreuther, Laura & Sonya Rao
2023. The Invisible Labor and Ethics of Interpreting. Annual Review of Anthropology 52:1 ► pp. 239 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 6 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue