The Oxford Handbook of Translation and Social Practices

Abstract

The Oxford Handbook of Translation and Social Practices illustrates the manifold interactions between linguistically based translation studies and many research fields in the social and natural sciences. Drawing on a wide array of case studies from across the world, the handbook demonstrates the increasing role of translation studies in identifying and providing practical, innovative solutions to persistent and emerging social and research challenges in the world’s transition toward sustainability. Twenty-nine chapters by scholars and professional translators from all over the world apply translation studies methods to a wide range of fields, including healthcare, environmental policy, geological and cultural heritage conservation, education, tourism, comparative politics, conflict mediation, international law, commercial law, immigration, and indigenous language policy. The essays cover numerous languages, from European and Latin American languages to Asian and Australian languages, giving unprecedented weight to the translation of indigenous languages in Australia, Asia, and the Americas. In this way, the handbook offers a forward-looking and cross-disciplinary survey of the challenges and possibilities of translating in the global world, demonstrating the research potential and social significance of translation studies and reformulating the scope of this discipline as an empirically grounded, socially oriented, technologically enhanced, and ethical research field in the 21st century.