Calls for papers

We welcome proposals for conceptual papers as well as case studies and empirical research contributions that address the labour and work of translation and interpreting in both theory and practice. Please send your extended abstract (700-800 words, excluding references) to both editors Cornelia Zwischenberger (cornelia.zwischenberger@univie.ac.at) and Alexa Alfer (A.Alfer01@westminster.ac.uk) by 15 January 2023. Further Information: https://transcultcom.univie.ac.at/news-and-events/news-detail/news/call-for-papers-special-issue-of-traget/

Co-editors: Ashley RIGGS and Lucile DAVIERWe seek contributions for an edited volume on constructive news across cultures, to be published byRoutledge in 2025 as the IATIS (International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies)Yearbook. Deadline for abstracts: 19 November 2023 For more information, click here.

Following the resounding success of the 1st International Conference Translation and Cultural Sustainability, which took place in November 2018, the Department of Translation and Interpreting of the University of Salamanca, Spain, will hold the second edition from 17 to 19 April 2024. The aim of this second gathering is to discuss the numerous challenges, research and development avenues and new scenarios (physical, technological as well as social and cultural) that we face in the field of Translation and Interpreting, be they in professional, research, intercultural mediation or teaching-learning activities. Procedure In our call for papers, we invite researchers and practitioners from all over the world to submit their abstracts for research, development and innovation in the wide range of areas encompassed by Translation and Interpreting. To this end, there will be five parallel paper presentation sessions and a physical space in which we will encourage participants to discuss emerging research, which will be presented in the form of posters. Some sessions will be moderated by outstanding guest speakers, who will also present their research or editorial projects in those sessions. The three-day programme will include six keynote lectures and five roundtable discussions, in which prestigious experts in the discipline and profession will participate to help us reflect and debate on these new challenges, scenarios and research and development avenues. For more information, click here. Deadline for abstracts: 31 October 2023

The conference Legal Translation & Interpreting on the move is the closing event of the 2022-2023 edition of the 1st-Level Master programme in Legal Translation offered by the Department of Legal, Language, Interpreting and Translation Studies of the University of Trieste.The conference is also part of the events organised on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting (SSLMIT) as well as the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the University of Trieste.The conference aims to contribute to the discussion on the key role of legal translators and interpreters in a wide variety of areas, providing a forum in which academics and practitioners can benefit from the exchange of ideas based on research projects as well as professional experiences. With a view to exploring the new opportunities and threats related to the fast-paced technological advancement and the rapidly changing professional landscape, in terms of both job profiles and market developments, the conference intends to encourage reflection on the various themes listed below and will address issues including, but not limited to, the following topics:   - Law, language, translation & interpreting and Artificial Intelligence - Legal/community/court interpreting - Training the legal translators and interpreters of the future - Legal translation & interpreting competence: research and practice - Legal institutional translation & interpreting - Emerging demands and professional profiles - Law, literature and translation - Law on the screen: legal translation & audiovisual translation - Legal translation, clear writing and language simplification - Legal translation and transcreation - Legal translation and legal design - Legal translation & interpreting and crisis/risk communication - Legal translation & interpreting and migration - Legal translation & interpreting and human rights - Ideology in legal translation & interpreting research and practice - Gender, law, translation & interpreting Deadline for abstracts: 30 November 2023 For more information, click here.

This conference is organized by a collaboration between Stockholm University, Uppsala  University (Sweden), Heriot-Watt University (UK) and the Children In Translation Network at the University of Galway (Ireland) to promote the intersection between Children’s Literature and Translation Studies. We understand this intersection as a space that includes the translation of all forms of multimodal fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults or what Borodo (2007) refers to as “Child-centered Translation Studies” in desire to broaden the field of study to different media. The field of children’s literature has proved a fertile ground for research in translation in recent decades, but the time has come to take stock of past developments and innovations to forge new theoretical and practical paths for the future development of the discipline. Drawing from the first interdisciplinary conference organized in Belgium by KU Leuven and the University of Antwerp in 2017, our goal is to solidify what has been achieved so far and to provide a space for discussion on the future of children's literature in translation. This workspace will serve as a forum for practitioner and academic voices to work together to share new ideas and to further shape the arena for the discipline. Deadline for abstracts: 30 November 2023 For more information, click here

The International Conference on Intercultural Pragmatics and Communication (INPRA) is a biennial meeting, and this will be its 10th edition. The main aim of the INPRA conference is to bring together researchers from around the world who have diverse scientific backgrounds and share the same field of interest – pragmatics, being perceived as a cognitive, philosophical, social, and intercultural perspective on language and communication. The conference promotes connections between pragmatic theory and its application in practice. We welcome contributions on the following topics: Pragmatics theories: neo-Gricean approaches, relevance theory, theory of mind, meaning, role of context, semantics-pragmatics interface, explicature, implicature, grammaticalisation, speech act theory, presuppositions, im/politeness, experimental pragmatics, etc. Experimental pragmatics: models of language and meaning, experimental techniques, scalar implicatures, reference resolution, interpretation of figurative language, etc. Intercultural, cross-cultural and societal aspects of pragmatics: research involving more than one language and culture or varieties of one language, variational pragmatics, lingua franca, computer mediated communication (CMC), bilinguals’ and heritage speakers’ language use, intercultural misunderstandings, effect of dual language and multilingual systems on the development and use of pragmatic skills, language of aggression and conflict, etc. Applications: usage and corpus-based approaches, pragmatic competence, teachability and learnability of pragmatic skills, pragmatic variations within one language and across languages, developmental pragmatics, cyber pragmatics, etc. Abstracts must be in English, max. 300 words in length and should include no more than 5 references. Choose the most appropriate topic category for your proposal among those indicated in the conference description (e.g., Pragmatic theories). Abstracts should be anonymous and will be double-blind peer-reviewed. They should include sufficient details to allow reviewers to judge the scientific merits of the work. The file should not include any information identifying the author(s). Self-references that reveal the author’s identity, e.g., “We previously showed (Gordon, 1991) …”, should be avoided. Instead, use citations such as “Gordon previously showed (Gordon, 1991) …”. For more information, click here. Deadline for submissions: 15 November

To mark the 35th anniversary of the journal TTR, the conference “Redefining translation? Historical fluctuations, new practices, and epistemologies in the making” will bring together established and emerging scholars to address themes related to translation (including interpretation), terminology, and writing. Translation, together with terminology and professional writing, constitutes a complex set of practices, processes, and epistemologies that, no matter what they are called, (e.g., translation, adaptation, transfer, intertextuality, transformation), have always played a prominent role in civil society while also being used as tools of colonization and discrimination. Translation thus raises crucial ethical issues that call for serious reflection. Starting from the tripartite definitions of translation proposed by Roman Jakobson (1959) and Gideon Toury (1995), among others, this conference invites scholars to reflect on the (re)definitions of translation and interpretation and their ethical implications throughout history. The following questions can serve as points of departure: Does translation (along with interpretation) only involve transfer between languages, individuals, texts, communities or nation states? Or does it also concern any material, even biosemiotic, form of transfer that may or may not include interlingual exchange? Are translation and interpretation always synonymous with transfer? Can we move from a restricted to an enlarged view of translation while also ensuring that this field of knowledge retains its specificity and common foundations? If so, what would these be (see Nouss, 2012)? Is translation exclusive to human beings, that is to say, does it only take place between humans? What role does or should technology play in the translation process in light of the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and neural machine translation (NMT)? How do these changes affect human translation? What are the characteristics of the contemporary translating subject? To what extent can advances in AI and the ethical issues they raise enrich our analysis of the production of bilingual or multilingual content? Given the complex power dynamics that characterize the Anthropocene, what roles can translation and interpretation play in mediating and raising awareness of contemporary issues? Clearly, the mediating role that both translation and interpretation play, whether in community settings or times of crisis, is a pressing current issue. Insofar as translation can also be considered a cognitive act that precedes and facilitates communication despite differences, what cognitive theories can help us better understand translation and its practices? As an interpretative act, translation is a heuristic tool that has the potential to participate in the production and circulation of knowledge. How might this potential be achieved? This conference seeks to encourage dialogue on the important social role that translation plays in the formation and transformation of knowledge as well as in the movement and mediation of ideas. We welcome proposals focusing on historical fluctuations (e.g., definitions of translation), new practices (e.g., linguistic revitalization thanks to translation), and epistemologies (e.g., the science of translation, hermeneutics, the interpretive school, various sociologies of translation, and complexity theory) that have defined, still define, and will define translation in the broader sense going forward.  Deadline for submissions: 1 November 2023 For more information, click here  

Call for paper available here: https://old.linguistlist.org/issues/34/34-1920.html Deadline for submissions: 30 September

Conference at NOVA University of Lisbon, 12th to 14th December 2023. Extended deadline for proposals: 30th September 

Deadline extended! Round trips wanted! Travelling concepts between Translation Studies and the Social Sciences, and beyond. Guest editor Cornelia Zwischenberger New deadline for abstracts: 15th of October, 2023! For more information, click here

transLogos Translation Studies Journal invites original articles addressing subjects such as Translation Theory, Translation Criticism, History of Translation and Translation Studies, Applied Translation, Machine Translation, Computer Technologies in Translation, Translator Training, Technical Writing as well as interdisciplinary issues in Translation Studies for Volume 6, Issue 2 to be published in December 2023. You can submit your articles to translogos@diye.com.tr. The deadline is October 16, 2023. For more information, click here

The notion of instability, which evokes an absence of stability relative to a point or state of reference, can be understood both as referring to a non-fixed position, revealing a lack of maintenance or an imbalance, and as relating to movement. In this way, instability can be defined as the character of being mobile, moving, shifting, or moveable. But instability can also be fundamentally tied to temporality, in that it can be considered as unlasting and precarious, with the potential to deteriorate or be transformed. This leads us to consider the identity of an unstable element, begging the question of how a given element can stay the same if its characteristics are continually fluctuating or evolving. In turn, we may question the idea of instability being an intrinsic or extrinsic characteristic, since a domain or an element may be unstable by nature, or made unstable when destabilized by its environment. Negative connotations can be associated with the term “instability”, especially in psychology, though it is valued in some fields. In the arts, for example, the ephemeral character of certain objects can represent a point of appeal, since instability may be seen as a creative force. By setting the scene for play and possibilities, instability provides the subject with an emancipating freedom that unleashes it from linguistic standards or from the canon, thereby contributing to the establishment of new forms of expression. Stability, on the other hand, can lead to a certain stasis, a form of immobility. It would seem, then, that stability is likened to tradition (at the root of normalization processes), while instability can be associated with transgression (which may give rise to counter-cultures). The notions of stability and instability evidently reflect different means of relating to the world. The notion of instability therefore raises a number of questions pertinent across and within the domains of language, translation, cognition, the arts, and literature, as well as when it comes to reception. When it comes to language, instability regarding the evolution (or perhaps disappearance) of language forms is inherent to its functioning, and may be considered in relation to the question of potential resistance to change. The instability of meaning in synchrony is instrumental in phenomena such as deixis, polysemy and homonymy, which can be examined in relation to the impact they have on mutual understanding. Functional instability is also a fundamental aspect of language, surfacing in constant recategorization phenomena (e.g. grammaticalization). One could assert that the question of instability is ultimately integral to the very system of language, since it is characterized by the necessary features of deformability and plasticity. Phenomena of variation (especially in oral speech) can be observed in the transition from language to discourse. Indeed, the alteration of set phrases and ensuing efforts to play with words in various 5 discursive productions raises questions relating to interpretation or reception. This is also the case with double meanings (innuendos, euphemisms, metaphors) which sometimes lead to fluctuating interpretations. In the field of translation, we can question the very status and interpretative stability of the original text, since the text is always subject to new readings and new interpretations made possible by the “language of continuation” that characterizes translation. One major question lies in the degree of proximity to the source text, illustrated by the difficulties involved in translating texts featuring, for instance, humour, puns, or slogans. The translation of minority voices also provides a source of fluctuation, paving the way for the destabilization of certain ideological legacies. Furthermore, the translator’s status should be considered, as well as the potentially precarious nature of their profession, constantly facing reinvention. This reinvention is visible in the emergence of non-professional translators, but also in the rapid developments in machine translation. The place of artificial intelligence is, more generally, a source of destabilization in certain human practices and cognitive functioning, since humans rely, consciously or not, on machines, which leads to a transformation of our intellectual mechanisms. Our attention span is also impacted by new technologies, which distract individuals, or draw them in, raising the question of free will. Instability plays a vital role in various artistic and literary strategies. The process of destabilization in literary texts in particular comes to mind, when texts contain, for instance, unreliable narrators, self-correcting voices, enunciative and referential blurring, shifting and unclearly marked points of view. Such destabilizing aspects provide stimulus for rich experimentation and even for the reworking of myths. The very term “representation”, involving “presenting again”, may lead to reflections around the gap between the reality of the represented entity and the ensuing imagined conception, in aesthetic approaches that may or may not subscribe to a mimetic tradition. The study of the political stakes of this gap allows us to take into account the potentially subversive dimension of the work, and the ideological context of such transformations or transgressions can be examined. Literature also frequently addresses the link between memory and identity, both of which are not necessarily stable, since they can evolve and reinvent themselves, and depend heavily on stylistic choices. In the field of theater, the transition from page to stage can constitute a major source of distortion. Moreover, the question of destabilizing representations, or the established order, lies at the heart of dramaturgy and of contemporary stagings. Accordingly, representations of the threshold, of the liminal, of the in-between are of major importance for the arts and literature whose practices and limits can be redefined. Likewise, the question of intermediality offers rich material for reflection, but can also generate forms of blurring, leading to the hybridization of genres and, sometimes, to significant tension between tradition and countercultures. In audiovisual arts (and more specifically in TV series), new means of experimentation can result in the breaking of traditional codes, giving rise, for instance, to works that challenge the usual linear order and offer unique viewing experiences by reorganizing episodes according to receivers’ individual preferences. 6 For literary texts, as well as theatrical or audiovisual productions, and even ordinary conversations, the question of reception is a domain where instability prevails. The interpretation of the works necessarily leads to individual appropriation, which is in its turn influenced by the environment of the receiver. Although certain new media outlets are attempting to influence the way in which different works are interpreted, they can also be the target of distortion. Deadline for submissions: 15 September 2023 For more information, click here