Seong Woo Yun | Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
As early as 1963, the FIT adopted the Translator’s Charter during the Congress at Dubrovnik, stipulating the rights,
obligations, and social responsibilities of translators. The document inspired many professional translator associations to draft their own
codes. These codes share a common goal: to inform the ethical decision-making of translators. However, some practitioners as well as
scholars have questioned their value, pointing to the inconsistencies within or between codes and the difficulty of applying them to
real-life situations. They view the codes as declarative documents that lay down the most basic ethical principles. Why does this gap exist
between codes and practice? What should be addressed first to answer this question? We believe that these codes tend to overlook a
fundamental aspect of translation. Their focus is on the relationship between translators and clients. In other words, gaining the
confidence and meeting the expectations of clients are often treated as the most important elements of a code. However, the act of
translation, like any human act, is a social one that impacts the community the translator belongs to. Therefore, a translator is a social
agent who supports the ethical goal of living better together in a community. How can these codes be improved? To explore this question, we
review the discussions of authors who have emphasized the social role of translators and interpreters, including Chesterman, Baker, and
Inghilleri. We finally suggest community-related ethical principles and virtues for translator codes of ethics.
2004The promise of Politics. New York: Schocken Books.
Baker, Mona
2006Translation and Conflict: A Narrative Account. London: Routledge.
Baker, Mona; and Chesterman, Andrew
2008 “Ethics of renarration: Mona Baker is interviewed by Andrew Chesterman”. Cultus 1 (1): 10–33.
Berman, Antoine
1984L’épreuve de l’étranger: Culture et traduction dans l’Allemagne romantique. Paris: Gallimard.
Berman, Antoine
1992The Experience of the Foreign: Culture and Translation in Romantic Germany, transl. by Heyvaert, Stefan. New York (NY): State University of New York Press.
Berman, Antoine
1999La Traduction et La Lettre ou L’Auberge du Lointain. Paris: Seuil.
2001 “Proposal for a Hieronymic Oath”. The Translator 7 (2): 139–154.
Chesterman, Andrew
2018 “Translation ethics”. In A History of Modern Translation Knowledge: Sources, concepts, effects, ed. by D’hulst, Lieven; and Yves Gambier, 443–448. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Dolmaya, Julie McDonough
2011 “Moral ambiguity: Some shortcomings of professional codes of ethics for translators”. The Journal of Specialised Translation 151: 28–49.
Drugan, Joanna
2017 “Ethics and social responsibility in practice: interpreters and translators engaging with and beyond the professions”. The Translator 23 (2): 126–142.
Drugan, Joanna; and Tipton, Rebecca
2017 “Translation, ethics and social responsibility”. The Translator 23 (2): 119–125.
Goodwin, Phil
2010 “Ethical Problems in Translation Why We Might Need Steiner After All”. The Translator 16 (1): 19–42.
Inghilleri, Moira
2008 “The ethical task of the translator in the geo-political arena: From Iraq to Guantánamo Bay”. Translation Studies 1 (2): 212–223.
Lambert, Joseph
2018 “How ethical are codes of ethics? Using illusions of neutrality to sell translations”. The Journal of Specialised Translation 301: 269–290.
MacIntyre, Alasdair
1984After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theology. Notre Dame (IN): University of Notre Dame Press.
Nord, Christiane
1997Translating as a Purposeful activity: Functional Approaches Explained. Manchester: Saint Jerome.
Pym, Anthony
2006 “Andrew Chesterman interviewed by Anthony Pym in Tarragona, January 20, 2006”. [URL]
Rafael, Vicente L.
2012 “Translation and the US Empire: Counterinsurgency and the Resistance of Language”. The Translator 18 (1): 1–22.
Steiner, George
1975After Babel: aspects of language and translation. Oxford: OUP.
Wood, Greg; and Rimmer, Malcolm
2003 “Codes of Ethics: What Are They Really and What Should They Be”. International Journal of Value-Based Management 16 (2): 181–195.
Yun, Seong woo; and Lee, Hyang
2013 “Hermeneutic Turn in Antoine Berman’s Philosophy of Translation: The Influence of Heidegger and Ricoeur”. Filozofia 68 (3): 205–219.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 28 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.