Article published in:
Cognitive space: Exploring the situational interface
Edited by Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow and Birgitta Englund Dimitrova
[Translation Spaces 5:1] 2016
► pp. 38–58

Translate live to generate new knowledge

A case study of an activist translation project

| University of New South Wales
This paper discusses findings of an investigation into the real-life practice of Yuan Tianpeng, a new-generation translator whose work, based on Robert’s Rules of Order, involved translating live as well as publishing a translation. This investigation adopted a qualitative method and analyzed both first-hand and second-hand data, focusing on how Yuan delivered live translation, what strategies he used, and especially how he and his target audiences engaged in the co-production of new knowledge required to drive urgently needed social changes in China. The investigation found that Yuan’s practice constituted a distinct new mode of translation, which is called ‘live translation’ in this paper. In the light of recent development of translation theories, this new mode of translation constitutes an interesting case study for exploring the interface between cognitive and situational levels of translation.
Keywords: situational translation, translation event, translation act, live translation, rules of order, Yuan Tianpeng, intersemiotic translation
Published online: 20 October 2016
https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.5.1.03zho
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