This year, Voyages in Translation Studies will explore the role of translation in shaping languages and challenge the notion of “living languages” in political, social and cultural spheres. We are honoured to welcome Myriam Suchet, professor of French language and literature at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle—Paris 3, and Director of Paris 3’s Centre d’études québécoises, as our keynote speaker.
Language, according to Russian semiotician Mikhail Bakhtin ([1975] 1981), “is not an abstract system of normative forms but rather a concrete heteroglot conception of the world.” Yet, as Suchet (2016) notes, being immersed in one language on a daily basis may lead us to define language boundaries where none exist. Languages interact and overlap, and in examining their history and the role of translation in that history, it is clear that the strategy of portraying languages as unitary entities has been repeatedly used to assist in the construction of national identities.
Works by France Daigle, Ahmadou Kourouma, Juan Goytisolo and Paul Celan challenge dominant narratives by revealing how language boundaries have been historically established. According to Rainier Grutman (1997), heterolingual texts are characterized by their use of multiple languages, idioms or varieties; for Suchet (2014), they also conjure up alternative representations that redefine one’s relationship with the Other. Suchet has called for translation to be studied from the perspective of heterolingual writing, which would involve questioning prevalent linguistic assumptions and examining how heterolingual texts transgress such assumptions.
Indigenous storytellers have long been aware of how reciprocal relations in translation are closely associated to the vitality of a language, and they have made use of heterolingual techniques to create bonds within and outside of their communities. Authors such as Tomson Highway, Marilyn Dumont and Joséphine Bacon often contribute to the tremendous efforts undertaken in their communities to revitalize Indigenous languages, leading to various questions about the function of these voices in translation and whether concepts such as “dormant languages” can dispel myths of extinction. Such work presents new ways of envisioning our relationship with language itself, and as Niigaanwewidam Sinclair (2014) has stated, “It is not to assume that we own language. It is to know that we are only a participant in its energy, a relation, a cousin that visits and shares tea, drinking in its power.”
In Eco-Translation (2017), Michael Cronin builds on this idea in a more environmental sphere, calling into question the anthropocentrism of translation theory and describing the alarming state of the planet on which we speak and translate. Cronin invites us to reflect on the role translation studies research could play in restructuring the boundaries of communication that we have built in order to account for interactions with other living species and our environment.
The “living” component of languages can also be studied through a more biological lens. Maria Tymoczko (2005) has suggested that in the near future, neuroscientists and translation studies scholars will join forces, “radically [changing] the way translation is thought about and approached.” Such joint efforts could lead to new insights into how brain processes such as perception, memory and brain plasticity contribute to the translation process (Tymoczko 2012).
The following is a non-exhaustive list of other topics that relate to the conference theme:
—The history of languages and the impact of (re)translation on a language’s development
—The impact of intercultural contact and migration on languages
—The evolution and translation of Indigenous languages, oral histories and narratives
—The role of linguistics and translation in the revitalization of endangered languages and cultural heritage (the notion of “living” and “dead” languages, the revival of Hebrew, invented languages, etc.)
—Political resistance of languages in colonial and postcolonial contexts
—Translation and terminology issues in the life sciences
—User-centered translation
—Gender-related language issues
We welcome proposals for oral presentations (20 minutes in length, followed by a 10-minute question period) and poster presentations on these and other topics related to the conference theme. Proposals may be written in English or French. They must include a title and a 300-word abstract accompanied by the following information: name, email address, university and program of study, as well as a brief bio-bibliography (100 words). Please indicate whether you have a preference for an oral presentation or a poster presentation. Given the limited number of oral presentation slots, the Organizing Committee may suggest that you prepare a poster instead of an oral presentation.
Proposals must be sent to tragrad1@gmail.com by December 22, 2017.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11oLwS0jNiSIyUJJEQR7S-ukZjMo609nSER8lyPatbfA/edit
Guest editors:Anna Strowe (University of Manchester)Richard Mansell (University of Exeter)Helle V. Dam (Aarhus University)This special issue focuses on the normative expectations around translators, including norms around translator identity, as well as around hiring or selection processes and understandings of competence or expertise. By applying the concept of norms to the area of translators and translatorship, we hope to connect conversations about the multiple intersecting systems of values that underpin those norms, often silently, ranging from beliefs about education, language skill, and qualification, to understandings of professionalism, economics, and translation itself, while continuing to explore the dimensions and qualities of translator identity and presentation. The norms themselves are at the centre of the topic, along with the values from which they emerge and with which they engage, but as with investigation of other types of norms, they must be extrapolated from available forms of data, for example texts by and about translators, or trends in hiring or training.As scholarship in translation studies has broadened, first from linguistic approaches to cultural and sociological approaches, and then to a focus on the translator, we have increasingly come to understand that we must view translation as a socially-situated practice or set of practices, carried out by agents whose behaviour and choices are influenced by a variety of external as well as internal factors. A large part of the focus has been on using this perspective to better understand the choices that are made in translating – that is, the specific textual decisions made by translators – but interest has also grown significantly in questions that move beyond textual choices and comparative textual analysis. There are significant threads of scholarship for example on the cultural or structural aspects of non-professional translation and interpreting (e.g. Antonini et al. 2017; Pérez-González and Susam-Saraeva 2012), the relationships between translation and activism (e.g. Boéri 2024; Gould and Tahmasebian 2020; Tymoczko 2010), and the impact of emerging technologies and digital spaces on perceptions of translatorship (e.g. Zhang et al. 2024), among many others.Norms have long been a productive tool for translation studies, but existing articulations and uses have focused on the translational norms that we understand as governing micro- and macro-level translation choices. Meylaerts (2008) discusses individual translators and their identities and profiles in relation to the norms of translation and the profession, following Simeoni (1998) in connecting these to Bourdieu’s notion of habitus. However, behaviour around translator identities and characteristics, such as hiring or self-presentation, can also be examined in terms of norms. In a recent article, Strowe (2024) suggests considering translator selection as norm-driven could help us better recognize the values and decisions around translator recruitment and deconstruct assumptions around translator choice and identity.These norms are reflected in patterns in hiring trends, the translation industry, job advertisements, and translators’ websites or blogs, for example, but they also inform a variety of aspects of how translatorship is constructed. The self-image and presentation or representation of translators is informed by beliefs about what responsibilities, tasks, and capacities are involved in being a translator, areas that intersect both with culturally constructed notions of what constitutes and delimits translation itself (see Tymoczko 2007) and with what forms of social, cultural, and legal understandings we have about various agents’ forms of responsibility for texts (see Bantinaki 2020; Pym 2011).The special issue will collect both empirical studies that explore areas related to translator norms, and articles exploring either the theorization of translator norms or the methodological possibilities of this kind of work. Potential questions to explore include (but are not limited to) the following:How might we theorize norms around translator identity, self-presentation, hiring etc.?What kinds of translator norms can be identified within the LSP industry or in other contexts in which translation is done?What differences are there in translator norms across different contexts or domains, and how do these differences affect practices of translation?How can we understand projections of translator image as a form of representation of translator norm? • How are translator norms changing in the face of developments in digital technology?What kinds of research methods facilitate the exploration of translator norms?This is an open call, and the editors particularly welcome proposals from researchers whose workintersects with translator identity or self-presentation;looks at industry expectations around translators and hiring practices;seeks to describe and delimit the spaces of human agency and identity around translation amidst the growing presence of AI.Submission Abstracts of up to 300 words should be submitted by November 24 to Anna Strowe by email (anna.strowe@manchester.ac.uk). Once invited to do so by the editors, selected authors will be asked to submit an article of between 7000 and 8000 words, including references, through the journal’s online portal no later than May 30, 2026.A full schedule of dates plus the bibliography is available here: https://benjamins.com/series/ts/callforpapers.pdf
Life Writing and Translation Thursday 18 – Friday 19 June 2026 University of Geneva Abstract of no more than 250 words (bibliography excluded) in English or French are now invited and should be submitted to lifewritingtranslation@unige.ch by 16 November 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be distributed at the beginning of February 2026. Please find more information on abstracts on the Conference website: https://www.humanmovement.cam.ac.uk/events/translating-conflict-and-refuge-language-displacement-and-politics-representation
APTIS25 Online Conference at the UCL Centre for Translation Studies (3–4 November 2025) “Better together: how can industry and academia collaborate to empower future language professionals?” The UCL Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS) is looking forward to hosting the APTIS25 online conference. The APTIS25 conference (“Better together: how can industry and academia collaborate to empower future language professionals?”) will take place on 3–4 November 2025 via Zoom Webinar. We encourage submissions from both academic and industry speakers. Please see our Call for Contributions as well as the Types of Contributions section to know more about the contributions that APTIS25 will be welcoming. If you would like to contribute to APTIS25 by presenting a talk or a roundtable, please visit the Submit a Proposal section, where you will find the link to send your abstract. Please kindly refer to the Key Dates to know more about submission and registration deadlines. https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/aptis25ucl
APTIS25 Online Conference at the UCL Centre for Translation Studies (3–4 November 2025)“Better together: how can industry and academia collaborate to empower future language professionals?”The UCL Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS) is looking forward to hosting the APTIS25 online conference. The APTIS25 conference (“Better together: how can industry and academia collaborate to empower future language professionals?”) will take place on 3–4 November 2025 via Zoom Webinar.We encourage submissions from both academic and industry speakers. Please see our Call for Contributions as well as the Types of Contributions section to know more about the contributions that APTIS25 will be welcoming. If you would like to contribute to APTIS25 by presenting a talk or a roundtable, please visit the Submit a Proposal section, where you will find the link to send your abstract.Please kindly refer to the Key Dates to know more about submission and registration deadlines.https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/aptis25ucl
Hieronymus is the first Croatian journal dedicated exclusively to publishing research and professional articles in the field of translation studies and terminology. The journal has the following key goals: (1) to promote translation studies and terminology in Croatia and the broader region, where these two disciplines are not always recognized; and (2) to enhance local researchers’ visibility in the international translation studies community. For the Research Section of the journal, we welcome empirical studies with clear goals and well-defined methodology in any area of translation studies or terminology. In addition, papers presenting and discussing any area of professional translation or terminological practice are invited for the Professional section. Contributions by early career researchers (pre-Ph.D. or recently obtaining a Ph.D.) as well as young professionals are gladly accepted. In both sections of the journal, contributors from Croatia and the broader region are particularly welcome, in line with the journal’s mission outlined above. The preferred languages are English and Croatian. We accept submissions throughout the year, but for consideration in issue 12 (to be published in December 2025), submissions need to be sent by 30 March 2025 at the latest. Submissions will first be considered by the Editorial Team and, if they pass this initial screening, they will be forwarded for a double-blind peer review. Authors whose papers are accepted for publication must certify that their work has not been previously published. All papers are published in Open Access under the Creative Commons 4.0 open license. For information on citation style and formatting, please consult our Contributors page and Submission Guidelines. Please send your contributions to the following addresses: knikoli@ffzg.unizg.hr sveselic@ffzg.unizg.hr If you have any queries regarding this call, please do not hesitate to contact us
