TRANSLATION: BORDER CREATION OR BORDER CROSSING?

15th Annual Portsmouth Translation Conference, 14 November 2015

About the Conference

We live in an era when crossing a border is no longer always a difficult task, thanks to advanced means of transportation and digital communication. However, the concept of ‘border’ still looms over us; sometimes as an obstacle to overcome, other times as a method of protection. The concept of ‘border’ is also pertinent to the practice and discussion of translation and interpreting. In a professional situation, translators and interpreters can serve as mediators at borders between cultures or powers, but their presence may also unwittingly reinforce the existence of such borders. At the same time, the border between ‘professional’ and ‘amateur’ translators is being eroded by new technologies. Research into translation and interpreting often crosses disciplinary boundaries and may be motivated by the observers’ desire to diminish the boundaries between systems or, on the contrary, it may serve as a force to highlight the borders between them.

Call for Papers

The aim of this conference is to explore the notion of border in the context of translation and interpreting from the diverse viewpoints of academics, practitioners and users of translation and language services. We welcome proposals of around 200 words for 60-minute practical translation or interpreting workshops and 20-minute research papers related to the topic. We are open to a wide range of disciplinary approaches (e.g. historical, practical, sociological, linguistic and many others).

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Translation as border crossing / border creation
• Border between adaptation and translation
• Interpreters at national borders
• National linguistic policy for border control
• Transnational language use and its effect on translation and interpreting
• Localisation and translation: where do you draw the line?
• Interdisciplinary borders in translation studies
• Border between academic / professional / amateur / student
• Crossing the border from the bulk to premium market

See: University of Portsmouth