Translation and power at the European union
Abstract The present article discusses the topic of ‘power and translation’ at European Union institutions. The article starts by warning against over‐generalising any one particular translation situation, and advocates the need for taking into account some of the major differences between countries, between various epochs in history, as well as the translators’ foreign‐language abilities. The article then addresses very specific ‘language and power’ issues. At the European Union, language domination is tied to political power, with English and French being the ‘core languages’ for daily work; however, this domination is eroded when documents are discussed in expert and political fora. Nevertheless, the differences in foreign language acquisition — in the various EU member states — mean that some states have more influence, and more ‘power’, than they would normally be entitled to, according to the number of their inhabitants.
Liaison interpreting: Theoretical challenges and practical problems around the world
Abstract The author discusses themes in translation theory from the point of view of liaison interpreting. Liaison interpreting is rarely discussed but can be used for illustration of many issues in theory. It is practiced in all societies with multilingual populations, but is still short of a strong professional profile. The shift in theory towards production orientation can be viewed from three central points in liaison interpreting. The first is the status of the interpreter, which is affected by many factors, including the dominance of one party in the communicational situation. The second is the training accorded to would‐be interpreters and in which they must learn to handle social and linguistic issues, involving, for instance, emotionally charged situations. The third is the isolation of the liaison interpreter the role of which may be ill‐defined in specific situations, as well as internationally. The author foresees that increased contact between interpreters will lead to increased visibility an...
Espace-temps: Expression gestuelle du temps
Les notions de longueur ou de duree, de parcours, d'interruption, de localisation, de point de depart, de point d'arrivee, de limite, d'intervalle, de distance, de suite ou de prolongement, de posteriorite ou inversement d'anteriorite sont traduites equivalentes dans l'espace et le temps. Les memes prepositions, verbes et adverbes sont indifferemment employes dans l'espace et le temps (Tableau 1).