Introduction to the Special Issue
Indirect translation and sustainable development
In August 2022, the
New York Times published an article entitled
Why is this colorful
little wheel suddenly everywhere in Japan? (
Dooley and Ueno 2022). The
little wheel refers to the logo of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a United Nations (UN) initiative at the core of
Agenda 2030, an extensive “plan of action for people, planet and prosperity” (
UN General
Assembly 2015). As illustrated by the Japanese example, the SDGs enjoy increasing public visibility across the globe
and are frequently appealed to in education, politics and corporate communication. Despite the importance attached to the goals in
both national and international settings, the SDG framework has received little attention in translation studies. This special
collection aims to address this gap. The introduction presents the SDGs and highlights the role played in their dissemination by
indirect translation, understood as translation of translation. The four articles included in the collection are introduced and
further reflections are provided on the position of language as a resource at the interface of economic, social, and environmental
sustainability.
Article outline
- 1.Sustainable development discourse
- 2.Sustainable development and translation
- 3.Indirect translation and the SDGs
- 4.Conference to collection
- 5.Conclusion and outlook
-
References