Translating for International Organisations

1. Translating for International Organisations Recap Institutional translation

2. Recap (1) • EU and UN • structure; organisation; modes of operation; language policy; translation activities; translator employment; other roles for linguists • Other international organisations • structure; organisation; translation practice • Texts • legislative and non-legislative; genre conventions; writing and translating guidelines

3. Recap (2) • Resources • termbanks and glossaries; document repositories; records of legislative processes; translation memories; project management tools; guidelines for writing and translating

4. For thought (1) • Notions of equality, equivalence, heteroglossia, minority languages • Translating for IOs vs. institutional translation • international vs. national/regional/local contexts • modes of operation and communication • explicit or implicit language and translation policies

5. For thought (2) • Language/translation policy vs. practice • Institutional discourse vs. other discourses

6. Implications for TS (1) • Emphasis on production of translations (by institutions in particular historical conditions), rather than on their TC reception • Priority to a sociological focus on translation as a unique form of cultural production (Mossop 1988)

7. Implications for TS (2) • Attempt at explaining the approach taken in particular translations, rather than just describing translations formally using comparative grammar and stylistics • Attention to non-equivalence as well as equivalence, in order to elucidate the notion of sameness of meaning in translation, and perhaps in language generally (Mossop 1988)

8. Further Reading Blommaert, Jan (2006) ‘How Legitimate is My Voice? A Rejoinder’, Target 18(1): 163-176. Cronin, Michael (1995) ‘Altered States: Translation and Minority Languages’, TTR 8(1): 85-103. Gagnon, Chantal (2006) ‘Language Plurality as Power Struggle, or: Translating Politics in Canada’, Target 18(1): 29-90. Mossop, Brian (1988) ‘Translating Institutions: A Missing Factor in Translation Theory’, TTR 1(2): 65-71.

9. Class Debate Topic • “The EU should adopt the language policy of the UN i.e. restrict translation and interpreting activities to a limited number of languages.”