privacy policy

32 | South Asia via Translation: Human Factor, Power Relations and Heterolingualism

Keeping in mind the increased number of heterolingual writings by members of marginalised communities in South Asia, we propose to study the act of their translation not as a mere linguistic matter but as an analytical tool for the study of antagonisms that shape homolingual global capitalism.

Convenors:

· Alessandra Consolaro University of Turin (Turin, Italy)
· Monika Browarczyk Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznan, Poland)

Timeslots:

· 07/27 | 09:00-10:30 UTC+2/CEST
· 07/27 | 11:00-12:30 UTC+2/CEST

Long Abstract

Recent decades have seen considerable rise in number of texts rendered from regional languages of South Asia into numerous non-SA languages. Likewise, the body of translations effected between various languages of SA has grown, triggered perhaps by increasing readership. These and other factors spurred the demand for writings by members of marginalised communities, be it Dalits, women, Adivasis, or LGBTQs. Yet, the theoretical and critical reflections on translation relating to languages of SA have to date focused mostly on issues such as (national, colonial or postcolonial) identity construction, or the historical relations between different languages. Such an approach seems limited today in view of the changing power structures when the notion of the ‘language of value’ is in the ascendant, though its semantic structure remains basically a “homolingual address” (Sakai 1997). Analytical study of translation can be a useful tool in investigating antagonisms shaping global capitalism in the context of SA. In the light of critical translations studies and of works by Liu (2000), (Sakai 2006), Spivak (2008), Mezzadra (2010), and Robinson (2017; 2019), we invite papers analysing “the regime of translation” from different critical perspectives and using interdisciplinary approaches, where translation may be viewed not merely as a linguistic or literary matter, but as a locus of production, circulation and exchange of meaning as value. We invite papers presenting original and unpublished research addressing wide range of topics, including but not limited to: human factor in translation, power relations, heterolingualism, ideological/cultural reciprocity.

Presentations