HOW “NATURAL” IS “THE NATURAL”? ECOCRITICISM AND TRANSLATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1344/transfer.2022.17.36-71Keywords:
Translation Thought; Cultural Ecology; Ecocriticism.Abstract
Many scholars have recently highlighted the relevance of Eco-criticism for Translation theory and practice, and have revealed some of the many approaches from which an ecological awareness of Translation can be developed including –but not limiting itself to environmental awareness.
Beyond the recognition of globalization as one of the multiple forces that impact and are impacted by the work of translators/ interpreters, and the awareness of translation as a global phenomenon and a practice that can work for and/or against human rights (including the rights of disadvantaged groups in society), our starting point in this paper is the assumption that the social spaces in the global era are actually translation zones where linguistic and cultural encounters occur. The study of the geo-political economy of exchanges among cultures, identities, communities and individuals in the global sphere shows that they are far from being symmetrical and bidirectional, even if this imbalance in not always noticed, especially in official discourse(s) on diversity. In that sense, carrying out the analysis of these asymmetrical processes and spaces (which are currently and increasingly ethnodiverse, multilingual and multicultural) from the point of view of Translation and from an Ecocritical perspective can be significantly relevant for the enhancement of social cohesion in multicultural societies with regard of the negotiation of difference, and the spread of equity, including gender equity.
Starting from a brief overview of Ecocriticism, in this paper we will aim at analysing the contributions of Ecological thought to Translation in the last decades, as well as the opportunities and challenges they have posed. Namely, we will reflect on key con-cepts in this field, such as “nature” and “natural”, and consider the demand of a new translation ethic from an Ecocritical approach.
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