Chapter 7
Responsibility, powerlessness, and conflict
An ethnographic case study of boundary management in
translation
A growing body of research shows the existence of
tensions, frictions, and conflicts in translation production
networks, pointing to the key role therein of agency, trust,
communication, and technology. However, there are few empirical
investigations that include the different actors in one and the same
network and analyse the perspectives and practices of both clients
and vendors. This paper draws on an ethnographic field study in
which participant observation and qualitative interviews were used
to study translation clients in a major international corporation as
well as a translation agency with which they collaborate. The
research looks at conflicts in their areas of contact, how these are
handled and their consequences. The analysis yields rich, emotional
narratives on how the different actors perceive each other and deal
with power asymmetries. It reveals conflicting and ambiguous
expectations regarding mutual responsibilities that lead to
mistrust, power plays, fear, and frustration.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction: When something feels amiss in the field
- 2.Exploring conflicts
- 2.1Defining conflict
- 2.2Studies on conflicts in translation research
- 3.Case study and methods
- 3.1An ethnography of multiple sites: TechCo and TransAg
- 3.2Method
- 4.Results
- 4.1The customer perspective
- 4.1.1Lack of time, money, and recognition
- 4.1.2Discord regarding accountabilities and
responsibilities
- 4.1.3Complex social and technical network structures
- 4.2The translation agency perspective
- 4.2.1Technical problems
- 4.2.2Lack of trust
- 4.2.3Quality of the interfaces
- 4.2.4Compromises and conflict avoidance
- 5.Discussion: Insights from organisational studies and
reconceptualisation
- 6.Conclusions
-
Note
-
References
-
Appendix
References (41)
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