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Article published In:
Translation Practice in the Field: Current research on socio-cognitive processes
Edited by Hanna Risku, Regina Rogl and Jelena Milosevic
[Translation Spaces 6:1] 2017
► pp. 27–43

“It was on my mind all day”

Literary translators working from home – some implications of workplace dynamics

| University of Vienna

This paper explores authentically situated translation processes of literary translators, based on an empirical study of five professional German literary translators translating a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It focuses on macro-level workplace dynamics: How do translators working from home organize their task? With whom do they interact? Situational factors will emerge as constitutive elements of translatorial cognition and action, and it will be shown how the fragmentation of the translation process and the blurring of boundaries between the professional and personal spheres of life significantly impact the emergence of the translator’s voice and the translation product.

Keywords: Translation process, literary translation, workplace, cognition, situatedness, voice
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Study design
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Material for translation
    • 2.3Tools and production of data
    • 2.4Nature of data
  • 3.Outline of task organization
    • 3.1Timelines and sessions
    • 3.2Phases
    • 3.3Fragmentation of the translation process
    • 3.4Hybridity of the translator’s voice
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 26 October 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.6.1.02kol
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