Call for papers: Lost and Found in Transcultural and Interlinguistic Translation

In the words of Salman Rushdie, (im)migrants who have been borne across the world are translated (wo)men. Through the process of translation, i.e. transculturalism, they come from one culture and enter another one, while during the process something can get lost, but something can also be gained. The special issue of the interdisciplinary translation and cultural studies journal TranscUlturAl, “Lost and found in transcultural and interlinguistic translation,” will explore what can be lost and found in the process of cultural and linguistic translation, or transculturalism and interlingualism.

Canada is a country of colonization and (im)migration, of settlers and newcomers who have been borne across, and who have (had) to deal with the various challenges that arise from the move from one culture to another, from one sociolinguistic system to another, and of Indigenous groups who have been subjected to the arrival of colonizing settlers and immigrants, and who have been subsequently faced with the challenges of forced “transculturation” into the immigrant cultures and languages. While the latter Indigenous groups have benefited little, if at all, from transculturalism, many, if not most, settlers and immigrants have gained from their transcultural and interlinguistic experience. In fact, it is the potential for gain that motivates them to take the often difficult decision to be borne across. Clearly then these forms of translation are double-edged swords.

Articles on gainful, productive or successful transcultural (cultural translation) and interlinguistic (linguistic translation) experiences of Indigenous peoples, settlers and (im)migrants as possible models will be welcome, in addition to research on failed attempts at transcultural and interlinguistic translation, notably on the impact of immigration on Indigenous populations. We are seeking a broad range of disciplinary perspectives: Indigenous studies, linguistics, literature, political science, sociology, translation studies, for example, as well as a broad range of ethnic (for example, Armenians, First Nations, Jews, German-speaking Transylvanians) and geographical perspectives (Brazil, Canada, European countries, the United States, among others, to open up possibilities for comparative analyses).

Possible topis include, but are not limited to:

• Canada’s First Nations and Inuit peoples, and transcultural and interlinguistic translation
• Canada’s (im)migrant populations, transcultural and interlinguistic translation
• Other countries or regions built on (im)migration and issues of transcultural and interlinguistic translation: Australia, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Latin America, the United States
• Displaced persons (emigrants, (im)migrants and refugees), and transcultural and interlinguistic translation: e.g., Armenians, Jews, German-speaking Transylvanians (e.g., Banat Schwaben and Saxons)
• Feeling “at home,” Heimat and identity

Please send your 250-word proposal and a short biobibliography (maximum 1 page), in English or French, to Gillian.lane-mercier@mcgill.ca, Michel.mallet@umoncton.ca, and denise.merkle@umoncton.ca by 1 September 2017. The deadline for submitting your 6000 to 8000-word article is 31 December 2017. Evaluator reports will be sent to authors by the end of March 2018.

Further details: https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/tc/index.php/TC/announcement/view/342