In Translation Studies (TS), the notion of agent has received various definitions. For Juan Sager (quoted in Milton & Bandia 2009: 1), an agent is anyone in an intermediary position (i.e. a commissioner, a reviser, an editor, etc.) between a translator and an end user of a translation whereas for Milton & Bandia (2009) an agent of translation is any entity (a person, an institution, or even a journal) involved in a process of cultural innovation and exchange. A third avenue was suggested by Simeoni (1995) who defined the agent as “the ‘subject,’ but socialized. To speak of a translating agent, therefore, suggests that the reference is a ‘voice,’ or a pen (more likely a computer today), inextricably linked to networks of other social agents” (Simeoni 1995: 452; see Networking and volunteer translators). As this definition reminds us, agent is a sociological concept. It designates an entity endowed with agency, which is the ability to exert power in an intentional way. Agents are usually understood to be human, although some paradigms, such as actor-network theory, maintain that non-humans are also endowed with agency.

References

Bourdieu, Pierre

1977 Outline of a theory of practice. Transl. Richard Nice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Dam Helle V. & Zethsen, Karen Korning

(eds) 2009 Translation Studies: Focus on the Translator. Special issue of Hermes (Journal of Language and Communication Studies) 42.

Giddens, Anthony

1984 The constitution of society. Berkeley and Los: University of California Press.

Gouanvic, Jean-Marc

1999 Sociologie de la traduction. La science-fiction américaine dans l’espace culturel français dans années 1950. Arras: Artois Presses Université.  TSB

Inghilleri, Moira

2003 “Habitus, field and discourse: Interpreting as a socially situated activity.” Target 15 (2): 243–68.  TSB

Kinnunen, Tuija & Koskinen, Kaisa

(eds) 2010 Translators’ agency. Tampere: Tampere University Press.  TSB

Meylaerts, Reine

2008 “Translators and (their) norms: Towards a sociological construction of the individual.” In Beyond Descriptive Translation Studies. Investigations in homage to Gideon Toury, Anthony Pym, Miriam Schlesinger, Daniel Simeoni (eds), 91–202. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins  TSB.

Milton, John & Bandia, Paul

(eds) 2009 Agents of Translation. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.  BoP

Sela-Sheffy, Rakefet

2005 “How to be a (recognized) translator: Rethinking habitus, norms, and the field of translation.” Target (17) 1: 1–26.  BoP

Simeoni, Daniel

1995 “Translating and studying translation: The view from the agent.” Meta 40 (3): 445–460.  TSB

Simeoni, Daniel

1998 “The pivotal status of the translator’s habitus.” Target 10 (1): 1–36.  TSB

Simeoni, Daniel

2001 Traduire les sciences sociales. L’émergence d'un habitus sous surveillance: Du texte support au texte-source. Doctoral dissertation. Paris: École des hautes études en sciences sociales.

Wolf, Michaela & Furaki, Alexandra

(eds) 2007 Constructing a Sociology of Translation. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.  BoP

Further reading

Buzelin, Hélène

2005 “Independent Publisher in the Networks of Translation.” TTR 19 (1):135–173.  TSB

Inghilleri, Moira

(ed.) 2005 Bourdieu and the Sociology of Translation and Interpreting .Special issue of The Translator 11 (2)..  TSB

Koskinen, Kaisa

2008 Translating Institutions: An ethnographic study of EU translation. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing.  TSB

Pym, Anthony

1998 Methods in Translation History. Manchester: St Jerome Publishing.

Toury, Gideon

1995 Descriptive Translation Studies and beyond. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.  BoP