The Translator
Special Issue: International English and Translation (November 2017)
Guest edited by Rita Queiroz de Barros (University of Lisbon and University of Lisbon Centre for English Studies) and Karen Bennett (New University of Lisbon and University of Lisbon Centre for English Studies)
Deadlines: 30 Nov 2015 (abstract); 30 Sep 2016 (article)
The rise of English as an international world language has had a dramatic effect on the practice and effects of translation. In fact, as Stuart Campbell observed (2005: 27), whenever English is involved in the process there can be no illusion of parity between source and target languages. As a consequence, translation into and from English cannot be approached in a neutral way, or as a purely technical matter; instead, it must necessarily be considered within a context of power relations, inextricably linked to questions of culture, history and ideology. This has naturally had repercussions on many aspects of Translation Studies, reigniting debates about (amongst other things) the translator’s ethical responsibility and capacity for intervention in situations of cultural inequality, or the effect that constant calquing from English is having upon other languages.
There is, however, a school of thought which views International English as a de-cultured hybrid construction that has ceased to be the property of mother tongue speakers, so that it can no longer be the covert vehicle of Anglo-Saxon values. This other approach brings a whole new set of issues to the discussion: issues related to source and target text hybridity and linguistic simplification; scale-shifting; translating in a cultural vacuum; implications for translation technologies and translator training; and the coexistence of global with local varieties of English around the world.
This special issue of The Translator will offer a state-of-the-art overview of research into various aspects of the relationship between International English and translation. We invite proposals for papers offering case studies on various text types and translation directions as well as theoretical, methodological and terminological studies.
Suggested topics include but are not restricted to:
• The relative merits of the various models (English as an International Language; Global English; World Englishes; English as a Lingua Franca) in the translational context
• The effects of hybridity and simplification upon the translation process when English is the source or target language
• The impact of the use of English as an international language on the translation of literary, audio-visual and scientific and technical texts
• The implications of International English for translator training
• The implications of International English for translator / translation technologies
• Subtitling and fansubbing
• International English as the intermediary in indirect translation
• Profiling (inter)national literature (in periodicals, volumes, film, radio, TV)
• Presenting (inter)national literature (in prefaces, collections, anthologies, national historiography, literary / scientific historiography)
• Theoretical, methodological and terminological issues in researching the interplay of international English and translation
References
Campbell, Stuart (2005) “English Translation and Linguistic Hegemony in the Global Era”. In Gunilla Anderman and Margaret Rogers (eds.) In and Out of English: For Better, for Worse? Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 27-38.
Submission Guidelines
Articles will be 5000-8000 words in length (including notes and references) and in English. Detailed style guidelines are available on the Instructions for Authors section of the journal homepage:
http://explore.tandfonline.com/cfp/ah/cfp_int_english_translation
Abstracts of 400-500 words should be sent by email to the guest editors at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Schedule
• 30th November 2015: deadline for submitting abstracts (400-500 words) to the guest editors
• 31st March 2016: deadline for decisions on abstracts
• 30th September 2016: submission of papers
• November 2017: publication date
