Translation and Immigration

The reciprocal relationship between translation and migration is a topical subject due to the centrality of both in today’s global world. Immigrants come into contact with translation, whether when translating for themselves or when consuming translation. The “translational” turn in the humanities and social sciences, and the cultural and sociological shift in translation studies, has led researchers to study immigration as a form of translation in itself—indicating the transformation and power imbalances experienced by individuals and groups migrating across geographical spheres. In addition to the study of the reciprocal relationship between translation and immigration in theoretical and metaphorical terms (translation-as-migration and migration-as-translation), there has been ethnographic and sociological work on migrant-interpreters who are involved in both translation and cultural translation - their practices, self-perceptions, and social implications.