Translation as Social Justice

This book analyzes the translation policies and practices of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), engaging in critical questions around the ways in which translation can redress power dynamics between INGOs and their beneficiaries and the role of activist researchers in contributing to these debates.

This book analyses the translation policies and practices of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), engaging in critical questions around the ways in which translation can redress power dynamics between INGOs and the people they work with, and the role of activist researchers in contributing to these debates.

The volume examines the duality of translation and interpreting in INGOs, traditionally undervalued and under-resourced while simultaneously acknowledged as a powerful tool in ensuring these organisations work according to their own values of equal access to information, dialogue, and political representation. Drawing on over ten years of ethnographic fieldwork and interview data with a wide variety of INGOs, Tesseur offers unique insights into if and how INGOs plan for translation and interpreting needs while also critically reflecting on her own experience and the ways in which activist researchers like her can ensure social justice efforts are fully reflected in their own working practices. Encouraging a new interdisciplinary research agenda, the volume seeks to raise the profile of language and translation in humanitarian and development contexts and cross-disciplinary dialogue in scholarship on these issues.

The book will be of interest to scholars in translation and interpreting studies, sociolinguistics, development studies, and international relations.

Autorentext

Wine Tesseur is Coordinator of External & Internal Communications at the Belgian NGO Trias and also freelances as an NGO consultant. She has published extensively in international journals and guest-edited special issues for Translation Spaces (2018) and the Journal of War & Culture Studies (2019). She is the co-author of Development NGOs and Languages: Listening, Power and Inclusion (2020).

Inhalt

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

1. Introduction

2. INGOs, language, and T&I

3. Conceptual framework

4. Engaged research and critical reflexivity

5. A note on international development terminology

6. Underpinning research

7. Structure of the book

8. References
   Chapter 2: Translation management in INGOs throughout history

9. Introduction

10. Save the Children UK: a history of language silence?

11. Organisational growth and restructuring as an incentive for translation management

12. Translation management choices and challenges: limitations of policies and internal services

13. Translation as a resource, as risk management, or as inclusion?

14. Concluding remarks

15. References
    Chapter 3: Translating One Global Amnesty: Managing Amnesty's message and voice in translation

16. Introduction

17. Becoming One Global Amnesty

18. Amnesty press releases

19. Diverging views on the role of translation in a changing Amnesty

20. Discussion and concluding remarks

21. References
    Chapter 4: Managing volunteer translation: On quality, risk, and ethics in Amnesty's Urgent Action translations

22. Introduction

23. Amnesty's global Urgent Action network

24. Managing volunteer translation: Amnesty Flanders (AIVL) network of Urgent Action translators

25. Translation output

26. Volunteer translation, risk, and social justice

27. Improving practice

28. Discussion and concluding remarks

29. References
    Chapter 5: Language and translation ideologies in international NGOs: Explaining the paradox between English as a lingua franca and social justice values

30. Introduction

31. Language and translation ideology

32. Interview data

33. Narrative 2: Encourage mutual language learning and translation

34. Narrative 1: English as a lingua franca as the best possible solution

35. Concluding remarks

36. References
    Chapter 6: Informal translation practices as empowerment? Balancing the need for access and dialogue with risk reduction

37. Introduction

38. Case study 1: Multilingual staff as informal translators and interpreters

39. Case study 2: Free machine translation at work: A tool for empowerment or risky business?

40. Case study 3: Translating COVID-19 health information as part of humanitarian crisis response

41. Concluding remarks

42. References
    Chapter 7: Towards a more comprehensive approach to translating for social justice in international NGOs

43. Introduction

44. Key findings on T&I provision in INGOs in light of social justice values

45. Ideas for a more socially just approach to language and translation in INGOs

46. Key findings and implications for translation research and training

47. Limitations of the research

48. References
    Chapter 8: Influencing translation policies as an activist researcher: Evaluating research impact and learning from linguistic choices

49. Introduction

50. Evaluating Research Impact

51. Linguistic reflexivity: a critical account of linguistic research choices

52. Concluding remarks