“The language of Europe is translation”: EST amidst new Europes and changing ideas on translation

Michaela Wolf
University of Graz

Abstract

Umberto Eco’s statement “the language of Europe is translation” suggests that translation is one of the main assets of daily communication in Europe. While such a statement undoubtedly is a stand against national—or, in many instances, nationalistic—language cultures, it also raises a series of questions which can be discussed within a re-formulation of EST’s aims and scope: Which ‘Europe’ is meant here? What sort of translation concept underpins this statement? In which way do migration movements shape today’s translation landscapes? What are the control mechanisms behind the phenomenon of translation understood in Eco’s sense? This paper discusses the limits of Europeanness and its potentially transgressive nature against the backdrop of EST’s founding moment in Vienna and the city’s central shaping force in pluricultural issues in the Habsburg Monarchy. It argues that translation has the task of breaking the deadlock of identitarian differences and the political practices based on them. So, what is the impact of these reflections for future activities in EST?

Keywords:
Table of contents

The name European Society of Translation Studies suggests that this is a European institution. Of course it is not. A quick glance at the EST membership list proves the contrary, as will be shown later. So what is EST? How much Europeanness does the Society carry? How Eurocentric is it? Can we ever talk of a ‘European’ perspective on Translation Studies? Or of a ‘European’ perspective on translation? The very name of EST seems to be biased, or—at best—erroneous and deceptive. Or maybe not?

Full-text access is restricted to subscribers. Log in to obtain additional credentials. For subscription information see Subscription & Price. Direct PDF access to this article can be purchased through our e-platform.

References

Balibar, Étienne.
2004 We, the People of Europe? Reflections on Transnational Citizenship. Translated by James Swenson. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Boyden, Michael.
2011 “Beyond ‘Eurocentrism’? The Challenge of Linguistc Justice Theory to Translation Studies.” Translation and Interpreting Studies 6 (2): 174–188. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Buden, Boris, and Stefan Nowotny.
2009 “Cultural Translation: An Introduction to the Problem.” Translation Studies 2 (2): 196–208. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Buden, Boris, Birgit Mennel, and Stefan Nowotny.
2011 “European Cultural Policies: The Perspective of Heterolinguality.” Transversal 12. http://​eipcp​.net​/policies​/buden​-mennel​-nowotny​/en.Google Scholar
Chakrabarty, Dipesh.
2000 Provincializing Europe. Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Cheung, Martha P.Y.
2005 “ ‘To Translate’ Means ‘to Exchange’? A New Interpretation of the Earliest Chinese Attempts to Define Translation (‘Fanyi’).” Target 17 (1): 27–48. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cooper, Thomas.
2010 “Translation and the Rediscovery of the Multinational Central European.” In The Translator as a Mediator of Cultures, ed. by Humphrey Tonkin, and Maria Esposito Frank, 127–137. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Swaan, Abraham.
2001 Words of the World: The Global Language System. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Don Juan Archiv.
2010 “Europe as a Space of Translation.” http://​www​.donjuanarchiv​.at​/kooperationen​/biennale​-est​.html.
Delabastita, Dirk.
2011 “Continentalism and the Invention of Traditions in Translation Studies.” Translation and Interpreting Studies 6 (2): 142–156. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Eco, Umberto.
1993 Lecture at the Assises de la Traduction littéraire in Arles, Sunday 14 November 1993 http://​www​.eutrio​.be​/language​-europe​-translation.Google Scholar
European Society for Translation Studies.
2012a “EST Membership by Country.” http://​www​.est​-translationstudies​.org​/about​/membership​.html.
2012b “EST Symposium: Same Place, Different Times.” http://​www​.est​-translationstudies​.org​/events​/2012​_vienna​/2012​_vienna​_program​.html.
EuroLex. [
2000] “Decision No 508/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 February 2000 Establishing the Culture 2000 Programme.” http://​eur​-lex​.europa​.eu​/LexUriServ​/LexUriServ​.do​?uri​=CELEX:32000D0508:EN:HTML.
European Commission.
2008 “Multilingualism: An Asset for Europe and a Shared Commitment.” http://​europa​.eu​/legislation​_summaries​/education​_training​_youth​/lifelong​_learning​/ef0003​_en​.htm.
European Parliament.
2001 “Motion for a European Parliament Resolution on Culture and the Economy.” http://​www​.europarl​.europa​.eu​/sides​/getDoc​.do​?type​=MOTION​&reference​=B5​-2001​-0417​&language​=EN.
Foucault, Michel.
1990 The History of Sexuality. An Introduction. Translated by Robert Hurley. New York: Vintage Books.Google Scholar
Glasson Deschaumes, Ghislaine, and Boris Buden.
2008 “Europe – A Construction Site of Translation.” Transversal 3. http://​eipcp​.net​/transversal​/0908​/glassondeschaumes​-buden​/en.Google Scholar
[ p. 237 ]
Glettler, Monika.
1972 Die Wiener Tschechen um 1900. Strukturanalyse einer nationalen Minderheit in der Großstadt. München: Oldenbourg.Google Scholar
Grutman, Rainier.
1997 Des langues qui résonnent. L’hétérolinguisme au XIXe siècle québécois. Montréal: Fides.Google Scholar
John, Michael, and Albert Lichtblau.
1993 Schmelztiegel Wien – einst und jetzt. Zur Geschichte und Gegenwart von Zuwanderung und Minderheiten. Wien: Böhlau. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kaufmann, Therese.
2006 “Strategies of (Self-)Empowerment and Spaces of Resistance.” http://​eipcp​.net​/policies​/dpie​/kaufmann2​/en.
Lepenies, Wolf.
1997 “Die Übersetzbarkeit der Kulturen. Ein europäisches Problem, eine Chance für Europa.” In Die Sprache der Anderen. Übersetzungspolitik zwischen den Kulturen, ed. by Anselm Haverkamp, 95–117. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer.Google Scholar
2006 “Wolf Lepenies on Europe’s Soul.” EuroTopics/Süddeutsche Zeitung, Accessed October 9, 2006 http://​www​.eurotopics​.net​/en​/home​/presseschau​/archiv​/results​/archiv​_article​/ARTICLE10829​-Wolf​-Lepenies​-on​-Europe​-s​-soul.Google Scholar
Meschnonnic, Henri.
2008 “The Europe of Translation.” Translation Studies 1 (1): 34–40. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Meylaerts, Reine.
2006 “Heterolingualism in/and Translation: How Legitimate are the Other and His/Her Language? An Introduction.” Target 18 (1): 1–15. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mezzadra, Sandro.
2007 “Living in Transition. Toward a Heterolingual Theory of the Multitude.” Transversal 6. http://​eipcp​.net​/transversal​/1107​/mezzadra​/en.Google Scholar
Österreichische Statistik.
1912 Herausgegeben von der K.K. Statistischen Zentralkommission. Neue Folge, 1.Band, 1.Heft: Die Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1910 in den im Reichsrate vertretenen Königreichen und Ländern. Wien: Gerold.Google Scholar
Osten, Marion von.
2000 “MoneyNations. EUroland and the Economy of the Borderline.” Transversal 1. http://​eipcp​.net​/transversal​/1100​/vonosten​/en.Google Scholar
Pratt, Mary Louise.
2010 “Response [Forum: Cultural Translation].” Translation Studies 3 (1): 94–97. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Said, Edward.
1978 Orientalism. New York: Pantheon.Google Scholar
Sakai, Naoki.
1997 Translation and Subjectivity. On “Japan” and Cultural Nationalism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Schleiermacher, Friedrich.
1813/1997 “On the Different Methods of Translating.” Translated by Douglas Robinson. In Western Translation Theory from Herodotus to Nietzsche, ed. by Douglas Robinson, 225–238. Manchester: St Jerome.Google Scholar
Statistik Austria.
2013 “Bevölkerung zu Jahresbeginn seit 2002 nach detailliertem Geburtsland.” http://​www​.statistik​.at​/web​_de​/services​/datenbank​_superstar/.
Steiner, George.
1975 After Babel. Aspects of Language and Translation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tymoczko, Maria.
2007 Enlarging Translation, Empowering Translators. Manchester: St Jerome.Google Scholar
Tymoczko , Maria.
2011 “Position Paper.” In Eurocentrism in Translation Studies, ed. by Luc van Doorslaer, and Peter Flynn. Special issue of Translation and Interpreting Studies 6 (2): 230–233.Google Scholar
van Doorslaer, Luc.
2011 “(More than) American Prisms on Eurocentrisms. An Interview Article.” In Eurocentrism in Translation Studies, ed. by Luc van Doorslaer, and Peter Flynn. Special issue of Translation and Interpreting Studies 6 (2): 225–234. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
van Doorslaer, Luc, and Peter Flynn,
eds. 2011 Eurocentrism in Translation Studies. Special issue of Translation and Interpreting Studies 6 (2): 113–234.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
[ p. 238 ]
Wallerstein, Immanuel.
2006 European Universalism. The Rhetoric of Power. New York: The New Press.Google Scholar
Wandruszka, Adam.
1985 “Katholisches Kaisertum und multikonfessionelles Reich.” In Die Habsburgermonarchie 1848-1918. Band IV: Die Konfessionen, ed. by Adam Wandruszka, and Peter Urbanitsch, XI–XVI. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.Google Scholar
Wolf, Michaela.
2009 “The Implications of a Sociological Turn – Methodological and Disciplinary Questions.” In Translation Research Projects 2, ed. by Anthony Pym, and Alexander Perekrestenko, 73–79. Tarragona: Universitat Rovira I Virgili.Google Scholar
2011 “The Invention of a ‘Habsburg Culture’: Multilingualism and Cultural Translation – Two Sides of the Same Coin?” In La traduction dans les cultures plurilingues, ed. by Lieven D’hulst, Reine Meylaerts, Francis Mus, and Karen Vandemeulebroucke, 109–121. Arras: Artois Presses Université. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2012 Die vielsprachige Seele Kakaniens. Übersetzen und Dolmetschen in der Habsburgermonarchie 1848 bis 1918. Wien: Böhlau.Google Scholar
“
Yale Books in Brief” 2006. Yale Bulletin & Calendar 34 (31). http://​www​.yale​.edu​/opa​/arc​-ybc​/v34​.n31​/story34​.html.Google Scholar
Žižek, Slavoj.
2010 “Zeit der Monster. Ein Aufruf zur Radikalität.” Le Monde Diplomatique 9342 (November 12, 2010): 16–17.Google Scholar