Translation and the Construction of Identity

Special Panel: The Verbal, The Visual, The Translator

Chaired by: Klaus Kaindl and Riitta Oittinen

The visual is a central issue in many branches of translation, not just in comics and picture book translation but also in such fields as audiovisual translation and technical writing. Even interpreters - especially signed language interpreters - need to interpret gestures and body language. Visual elements range from typography and layout to illustrations, graphics, pictures and photographs. Yet far too often translators are assumed to be dealing with the verbal only, which is why visual elements and visual literacy tend to be neglected both in translator training and in research on translation and interpreting.

Although the so-called cultural turn has opened up new research angles and opportunities in translation studies, scholars in the field still tend to show a distinct preference for researching the linguistic dimension of texts. Little research has been done on translating the visual dimension of written and spoken texts (mainly Poyatos 1997, Schopp 1995, Oittinen (in press), Kaindl 2003). Yet the growing reliance on iconic elements in recent years is profoundly changing the conventions of text production and reception. Today, the verbal is no longer the central means of representing and communicating meaning in many contexts; more often, the verbal and visual modes work together to communicate multiple and complex messages simultaneously.

This panel aims to address questions relating to the role and function of the visual in translated and interpreted texts and in other forms of cross-cultural communicaton: its impact on the receiver, how the integration of the visual influences our conception of translation, cultural aspects of the visual (e.g., symbolism of colours), and the impact of the 'iconic turn' on translator and interpreter training. Participants are invited to consider the role of the visual in such fields as audiovisual translation, stage translation, translating comics and picture books, technical writing and localization, interpreting (including sign language interpreting), and various forms of cross-cultural interaction.

The interdisciplinary character of the panel makes contributions from other disciplines more than welcome.

We invite contributors to address the following (and other related) issues:

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