Academic translators of humanities and social sciences texts: An exploratory survey of their profile and translation activity

Xiangdong Li
Xi’an International Studies University

Recent decades have witnessed burgeoning research on the sociology of translators. So far, academic translators of humanities and social sciences (HSS) texts have not received much attention. This exploratory study aims to describe their profile and document their views on their translation activity. A convenience sample of academic translators of HSS texts were invited to participate in an online survey. The results provide evidence of the shared and unique attributes of this little-known group of translators in terms of their gender, working languages, levels of education, areas of disciplinary knowledge, years of professional experience, employment types, qualifications in translation training, and publishing experience as authors. It challenges some assumptions regarding HSS translation, in terms of means of acquiring translation assignments, translation directions, domains of translation, collaboration with other agents, quality management measures, misconceptions of translation, and satisfaction with remuneration.

Publication history

Date received: 10 March 2023

Date accepted: 21 January 2025

Published online: 11 March 2025

Table of contents

Recent years have witnessed a sociological turn in Translation Studies (Wolf 2007; Chesterman 2009; Munday 2014; Georgiou 2018). Researchers are increasingly shifting their attention to the sociology of translation, translators, and translating, focusing, for example, on translation products in the international market, agents in translation, and the translating process in social contexts (Wolf 2007; Chesterman 2009). Compared with the sociology of translation and translating, the sociology of translators has received more attention in research focusing on, for example, the profile (Amit-Kochavi 2010; Muñoz-Miquel 2014; Yilmaz 2020; Tor-Carroggio and Rovira-Esteva 2021), status (Dam and Zethsen 2010; Ruokonen and Svahn 2022), identity (Blum and Hofeneder 2020), happiness (Bednárová-Gibová and Majherová 2021), and translator—author—publisher relationships of specialist and generalist translators (Jansen 2019).

Full-text access is restricted to subscribers. Log in to obtain additional credentials. For subscription information see Subscription & Price. Direct PDF access to this article can be purchased through our e-platform.

References

ACLS
2006 Guidelines for the Translation of Social Science Texts. New York: American Council of Learned Societies. https://​www​.acls​.org​/sstp​.htm
Amit-Kochavi, Hannah
2010 “The People behind the Words: Professional Profiles and Activity Patterns of Translators of Arabic Literature into Hebrew (1896–2009).” Translation and Interpreting Studies 5 (1): 41–58. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Annales
2020 “Une revue en langues: Les défis d’une édition bilingue [A journal in translation: The challenges of a bilingual editorial project].” Annales: Histoire, Sciences Sociales [Annals: History, social sciences] 75 (3): 573–582. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Barabé, Donald
2021 “Translation Status: A Professional Approach.” The Journal of Specialised Translation 36: 165–183. https://​www​.jostrans​.org​/issue36​/art​_barabe​.pdf
Bartholomäus, Elke, Sandy Goldbeck-Wood, Meike Sewering, and Christopher Baethge
2015 “Experiences with Bilingual Publishing: Surveys of Authors and Editors.” Learned Publishing 28 (4): 283–291. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bednárová-Gibová, Klaudia
2021 “How Happy Are Legal Translators at Their Work? Further Findings from a Cognitive-affective Enquiry.” Translation Studies 15 (1): 1–20. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bednárová-Gibová, Klaudia, and Mária Majherová
2021 “Academic Literary Translators: A Happy ‘Elite’or Not? Some Insights from Correlational Research.” The Translator 27 (2): 167–189. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bennett, Karen
2013 “English as a Lingua Franca in Academia.” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 7 (2): 169–193. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Berrichi, Alice
2012 “La traduction en sciences sociales [Translation in the social sciences].” Traduire [Translate] 227: 16–28. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blum, Hanna, and Philipp Hofeneder
2020 “Specialized Translators in the GDR: Professionals across Politics, Scientific Knowledge and Translatorial Competence.” Translation and Interpreting Studies 15 (3): 333–353. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bosser, Sylvie
2012 “Pratiques et représentations de la traduction en sciences humaines et sociales: éditeurs généralistes et maisons d’édition savants [Practices and representations of translation in the humanities and social sciences: Generalist publishers and scholarly publishing houses].” In Traduire la littérature et les sciences humaines: conditions et obstacles [Translating literature and human sciences: Conditions and obstacles], edited by Gisèle Sapiro, 249–271. Paris: Ministère de la Culture — DEPS. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Burrough-Boenisch, Joy
2006 “Negotiable Acceptability: Reflections on the Interactions between Language Professionals in Europe and NNS 1 Scientists Wishing to Publish in English.” Current Issues in Language Planning 7 (1): 31–43. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Caminade, Monique, and Anthony Pym
1998 “Translator Training Institutions.” In The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, edited by Mona Baker, 280–285. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chesterman, Andrew
2009 “The Name and Nature of Translator Studies.” HERMES — Journal of Language and Communication in Business 42: 13–22.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cianflone, Eugenio
2014 “Communicating Science in International English: Scholarly Journals, Publication Praxis, Language Domain Loss and Benefits.” Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación [Circle of applied linguistics for communication] 57: 45–58. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dam, Helle V., and Karen Korning Zethsen
2010 “Translator Status: Helpers and Opponents in the Ongoing Battle of an Emerging Profession.” Target 22 (2): 194–211. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Diéguez Morales, María Isabel, Rosa María Lazo Rodríguez, and Camilo Quezada Gaponov
2014 “Estudio de mercado de la traducción en Argentina, Chile y España: perfil académico y profesional de los traductores [Market study of translation in Argentine, Chile and Spain: Translators’ academic and professional profile].” Onomázein 30: 70–89. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fan, Lingjuan
2017 “English as Lingua Academica: The Case of the Chinese Translation Fund for the Humanities and Social Sciences.” The Translator 23 (4): 428–440. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Frisani, Marcella, Jill Mc Coy, and Gisèle Sapiro
2014 “Les traducteurs de sciences humaines et sociales aux États-Unis et au Royaume-Uni [Humanities and social science translators in the United States and the United Kingdom].” In Sciences humaines en traduction: Les livres français aux États-Unis, au Royaume-Uni et en Argentine [Humanities in translation: French books in the United States, United Kingdom and Argentina], edited by Gisèle Sapiro, 158–174. Paris: Institut Français.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
García-Izquierdo, Isabel, and Tomás Conde
2012 “Investigating Specialized Translators: Corpus and Documentary Sources.” Ibérica: Journal of the European Association of Languages for Specific Purposes 23: 131–156.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Georgiou, Nadia
2018 “Regarding Symbolic Capital: Poetry Translators from Modern Greek into English.” HERMES — Journal of Language and Communication in Business 58: 99–115. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Heilbron, Johan
1999 “Towards a Sociology of Translation: Book Translations as a Cultural World-System.” European Journal of Social Theory 2 (4): 429–444. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
IBM Corp
2010 IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 19.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jansen, Hanne
2019 “I’m a Translator and I’m Proud: How Literary Translators View Authors and Authorship.” Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice 27 (5): 675–688. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Karpińska, Patrycja
2019 “The Sociological Turn in Translation Studies and Pierre Bourdieu’s Sociology: A Case of Convergence or Divergence?” In Languages — Cultures — Worldviews, edited by Adam Głaz, 137–156. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Khoshsaligheh, Masood, and Saeed Ameri
2020 “Video Game Localisation in Iran: A Survey of Users’ Profile, Gaming Habits and Preferences.” The Translator 26 (2): 190–208. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Eun-Young Julia
2019 “Korean Scholars’ Use of For-Pay Editors and Perceptions of Ethicality.” Publications 7 (1): 1–12. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kumar, Ranjit
2014 Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. 4th ed. London: Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Leclerc-Olive, Michèle
2016 “Traduire les sciences humaines: Auteur, traducteur et incertitudes [Translating the humanities: Author, translator and uncertainties].” Meta: Translators’ Journal 61 (1): 42–59. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Limon, David
2010 “Translators as Cultural Mediators: Wish or Reality? A Question for Translation Studies.” In Why Translation Studies Matters, edited by Daniel Gile, Gyde Hansen, and Nike K. Pokorn, 29–40. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Luo, Na, and Ken Hyland
2019 “ ‘I Won’t Publish in Chinese Now’: Publishing, Translation and the Non-English Speaking Academic.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes 39: 37–47. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Madelain, Anne
2018 “La place paradoxale de la traduction dans les revues françaises en sciences humaines et sociales [The paradoxical place of translation in human and social sciences journals in France].” Tracés: Revue de Sciences humaines [Traces: Review of human sciences] 18: 115–125. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Matoussowsky, Charlotte
2019 “La formation en traduction de sciences humaines [Training in social sciences and humanities translation].” Traduire [Translate] 241: 6–18. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Morley, Greg, and Mary Ellen Kerans
2012 “Bilingual Publication of Academic Journals: Motivations and Practicalities.” In Supporting Research Writing: Roles and Challenges in Multilingual Settings, edited by Valerie Matarese, 121–137. Oxford: Chandos.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Munday, Jeremy
2014 “Using Primary Sources to Produce a Microhistory of Translation and Translators: Theoretical and Methodological Concerns.” The Translator 20 (1): 64–80. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Muñoz-Miquel, Ana
2014 “El perfil y las competencias del traductor médico desde el punto de vista de los profesionales: una aproximación cualitativa [The profile and competences of medical translators from the professionals’ point of view: A qualitative approach].” TRANS: Revista de Traductología [TRANS: Journal of Translation Studies] 18: 163–181. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2018a “Differences between Linguists and Subject-Matter Experts in the Medical Translation Practice: An Empirical Descriptive Study with Professional Translators.” Target 30 (1): 24–52. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2018b “Assessing How Closely Postgraduate Translation Programmes Fit the Reality of Professional Practice: A Case Study of the Spanish Context.” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 12 (1): 89–109. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pavesi, Maria, and Elisa Perego
2006 “Profiling Film Translators in Italy: A Preliminary Analysis.” The Journal of Specialised Translation 9: 99–114. https://​jostrans​.org​/issue06​/art​_pavesi​.pdf
Pisanski Peterlin, Agnes
2018 “Self-translation of Academic Discourse: The Attitudes and Experiences of Authors-Translators.” Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice 27 (6): 846–860. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Prieto Ramos, Fernando
2020 “The Use of Resources for Legal Terminological Decision-Making: Patterns and Profile Variations among Institutional Translators.” Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice 29 (2): 278–310. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pym, Anthony, David Orrego-Carmona, and Esther Torres-Simón
2016 “Status and Technology in the Professionalisation of Translators: Market Disorder and the Return of Hierarchy.” The Journal of Specialised Translation 25 (1): 33–53.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pym, Anthony, François Grin, Claudio Sfreddo, and Andy Chan
2012 The Status of the Translation Profession in the European Union. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://​data​.europa​.eu​/doi​/10​.2782​/63429
Robert, Isabelle S., Iris Schrijver, and Ella Diels
2019 “Live Subtitlers: Who Are They? A Survey Study.” Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series — Themes in Translation Studies 18: 101–129.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rochlitz, Rainer
2001 “Traduire les sciences humaines [Translating the human sciences].” Raisons politiques [Political reasons] 2 (2): 65–77. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ruokonen, Minna, and Elin Svahn
2022 “Comparative Research into Translator Status: Finland and Sweden as a Case in Point.” Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice 30 (5): 859–875. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Salager-Meyer, Françoise
2008 “Scientific Publishing in Developing Countries: Challenges for the Future.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes 7: 121–132. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Saldanha, Gabriela, and Sharon O’Brien
2014 Research Methodologies in Translation Studies. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sapiro, Gisèle, Marco Santoro, and Patrick Baert
2020 Introduction. In Ideas on the Move in the Social Sciences and Humanities, edited by Gisèle Sapiro, Marco Santoro, and Patrick Baert, 1–27. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sapiro, Gisèle
2012 “La circulation des sciences humaines et sociales en traduction: Enjeux et obstacles à l’heure de la globalisation [The circulation of human and social sciences in translation: Challenges and obstacles in the age of globalization].” Traduire [Translate] 227: 5–15. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2018 “What Factors Determine the International Circulation of Scholarly Books? The Example of Translations Between English and French in the Era of Globalization.” In The Social and Human Sciences in Global Power Relations, edited by Johan Heilbron, Gustavo Sorá, and Thibaud Boncourt, 59–93. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shih, Tse-Hua, and Xitao Fan
2008 “Comparing Response Rates from Web and Mail Surveys: A Meta-Analysis.” Field Methods 20 (3): 249–271. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Slessor, Stephen
2020 “Tenacious Technophobes or Nascent Technophiles? A Survey of The Technological Practices and Needs of Literary Translators.” Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice 28 (2): 238–252. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Solová, Regina
2015 “The Polish Sworn Translator: Current Training Profile and Perspectives.” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 9 (2): 243–259. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sulaiman, M. Zain, Haslina Haroon, Intan S. Zainudin, and Muhamad, J. H. bin M. Yusoff
2024 “The Professionalisation of Translation Practice: A Systematic Review of the Literature.” Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice 32 (2): 295–318. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tietze, Susanne
2018 “Multilingual Research, Monolingual Publications: Management Scholarship in English Only?” European Journal of International Management 12 (1/2): 28–45.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tor-Carroggio, Irene, and Sara Rovira-Esteva
2021 “El traductor literario del chino en España: Un estudio cualitativo basado en entrevistas [The Chinese literature translator in Spain: An interview-based qualitative study].” Sendebar: Revista de Traducción e Interpretación [Sendebar: Journal of translation and interpretation] 32: 177–195. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Torres-Simón, Esther, and Anthony Pym
2016 “The Professional Backgrounds of Translation Scholars: Report on a Survey.” Target 28 (1): 110–131. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wallerstein, Immanuel
1981 “Concepts in the Social Sciences: Problems of Translation.” In Translation Spectrum: Essays in Theory and Practice, edited by Marilyn Gaddis Rose, 88–98. Albany: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Warnqvist, Åsa
2019 “ ‘Don’t be too upset with your unchivalrous publisher’: Translator–Publisher Interactions in the Swedish Translations of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne and Emily Books.” Barnboken: Tidskrift för barnlitteraturforskning [Children’s books: Journal for research on children’s literature] 42: 1–37. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Warren, Jean-Philippe
2018 “La traduction en sciences humaines et sociales au Canada : Dynamiques générales et impacts du PAES [Translation in the social sciences and humanities in Canada: General dynamics and impact of the ASPP]. Recherches sociographiques [Sociographic research] 59 (3): 385–409. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wirth, Françoise
2012 “Traduire la littérature et les sciences humaines: Conditions et obstacles, sous la direction de Gisèle Sapiro [Translating literature and the humanities: Conditions and obstacles, edited by Gisèle Sapiro].” Traduire [Translate] 227: 121–125.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wolf, Michaela
2007 “Introduction: The Emergence of a Sociology of Translation.” In Constructing a Sociology of Translation, edited by Michaela Wolf and Alexandra Fukari, 1–36. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yilmaz, Simge
2020 “Under the Shadow of the Turkological Legacy: The Current Profile of Translators and Publishers in Literary Translations from Turkish into German.” World Literature Studies 12 (1): 67–81.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ziemann, Zofia
2018 “Translator Profile in the Discourse around Translation: Promotion and Reception of the English Translations of the Fiction of Bruno Schulz.” HERMES — Journal of Language and Communication in Business 58: 139–155. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
 
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue