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In:Translation Studies between Disciplines and Practices
Edited by Luc van Doorslaer and Yves Gambier
[Benjamins Translation Library 174] 2026
► pp. 288–310

Chapter 15
Travel writing and translation studies

Translation is travel, travel is translation

 | University of Tartu | KU Leuven | Stellenbosch University
 | University of Groningen
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This chapter explores the conceptual and methodological intersections between travel writing and translation studies, arguing that travel is inherently a form of translation — linguistic, cultural, ideological, and affective. Through a dialogic structure, the authors examine how travel texts mediate otherness, construct identity, and negotiate values through processes of selection, representation, and aestheticisation. Drawing on historical examples from the heyday of modern travelling — from Trollope and Dickens to Douglass and Lowell — the authors highlight the hybrid, subjective, and often politicized nature of travel narratives. Emphasizing translation as a metonymic and transformative act, the chapter situates travel writing within broader discourses of globalization, colonialism, and epistemic transfer. Ultimately, it advocates for interdisciplinary collaboration between translation studies and travel writing studies to better understand the dynamics of cultural mobility and representation.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Travel as (many types of) translation
  • 3.Selection: Mimetic and/or metonymic
  • 4.Subjectivity / rewriting / bias
  • 5.(Self-) representation, image building and aestheticization
  • 6.Transfers: Geographical, cultural, mental, epistemic
  • 7.Negotiation of values and emotions
  • 8.Conclusion
  • Author queries
  • Note
  • References
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