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Chapter 7. Responsibility, powerlessness, and conflict

An ethnographic case study of boundary management in translation
  • Hanna Risku , Jelena Milosevic and Regina Rogl
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Translating Asymmetry – Rewriting Power
This chapter is in the book Translating Asymmetry – Rewriting Power

Abstract

A growing body of research shows the existence of tensions, frictions, and conflicts in translation production networks, pointing to the key role therein of agency, trust, communication, and technology. However, there are few empirical investigations that include the different actors in one and the same network and analyse the perspectives and practices of both clients and vendors. This paper draws on an ethnographic field study in which participant observation and qualitative interviews were used to study translation clients in a major international corporation as well as a translation agency with which they collaborate. The research looks at conflicts in their areas of contact, how these are handled and their consequences. The analysis yields rich, emotional narratives on how the different actors perceive each other and deal with power asymmetries. It reveals conflicting and ambiguous expectations regarding mutual responsibilities that lead to mistrust, power plays, fear, and frustration.

Abstract

A growing body of research shows the existence of tensions, frictions, and conflicts in translation production networks, pointing to the key role therein of agency, trust, communication, and technology. However, there are few empirical investigations that include the different actors in one and the same network and analyse the perspectives and practices of both clients and vendors. This paper draws on an ethnographic field study in which participant observation and qualitative interviews were used to study translation clients in a major international corporation as well as a translation agency with which they collaborate. The research looks at conflicts in their areas of contact, how these are handled and their consequences. The analysis yields rich, emotional narratives on how the different actors perceive each other and deal with power asymmetries. It reveals conflicting and ambiguous expectations regarding mutual responsibilities that lead to mistrust, power plays, fear, and frustration.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Contributors ix
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Section I. Revisiting the foundations of asymmetry
  6. Chapter 1. Translating strangers 15
  7. Chapter 2. Negotiating asymmetry 35
  8. Chapter 3. Helpers, professional authority, and pathologized bodies 55
  9. Chapter 4. An information asymmetry framework for strategic translation policy in multinational corporations 77
  10. Chapter 5. Tom, Dick and Harry as well as Fido and Puss in boots are translators 101
  11. Section II. Unveiling the structure
  12. Chapter 6. Child language brokering in Swedish welfare institutions 125
  13. Chapter 7. Responsibility, powerlessness, and conflict 145
  14. Chapter 8. Of places, spaces, and faces 169
  15. Chapter 9. Translating values 197
  16. Chapter 10. EU institutional websites 227
  17. Section III. Resisting asymmetries
  18. Chapter 11. Translation, multilingualism and power differential in contemporary African literature 255
  19. Chapter 12. Small yet powerful 269
  20. Chapter 13. Against the asymmetry of the post-Francoist canon 291
  21. Chapter 14. Citizens as agents of translation versions 313
  22. Chapter 15. (Re)locating translation within asymmetrical power dynamics 335
  23. Chapter 16. Agency and social responsibility in the translation of the migration crisis 361
  24. Index 379
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.157.07ris

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Contributors ix
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Section I. Revisiting the foundations of asymmetry
  6. Chapter 1. Translating strangers 15
  7. Chapter 2. Negotiating asymmetry 35
  8. Chapter 3. Helpers, professional authority, and pathologized bodies 55
  9. Chapter 4. An information asymmetry framework for strategic translation policy in multinational corporations 77
  10. Chapter 5. Tom, Dick and Harry as well as Fido and Puss in boots are translators 101
  11. Section II. Unveiling the structure
  12. Chapter 6. Child language brokering in Swedish welfare institutions 125
  13. Chapter 7. Responsibility, powerlessness, and conflict 145
  14. Chapter 8. Of places, spaces, and faces 169
  15. Chapter 9. Translating values 197
  16. Chapter 10. EU institutional websites 227
  17. Section III. Resisting asymmetries
  18. Chapter 11. Translation, multilingualism and power differential in contemporary African literature 255
  19. Chapter 12. Small yet powerful 269
  20. Chapter 13. Against the asymmetry of the post-Francoist canon 291
  21. Chapter 14. Citizens as agents of translation versions 313
  22. Chapter 15. (Re)locating translation within asymmetrical power dynamics 335
  23. Chapter 16. Agency and social responsibility in the translation of the migration crisis 361
  24. Index 379
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