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International Colloquium - Gender and Genre in Translation
April 27 - 28 , 2017

Do male, female and LGBT translators approach the act of language transfer in the same ways? Is there any differentiation in their approaches along the lines of genre, be the texts literary or pragmatic? In what ways do translators exercise their power through the use of differentiated language-cultures? Is subservience or domination an issue in arriving at acceptable target texts?

These questions have been dealt with by scholars whose research has focused on gender, the exercise of power in translation and genre studies. Current research tends to question this relationship and brings to the fore the issue of gendered genres in translation.

Gendered genres represent a significant challenge for students of translation, translators in practice and translation analysts. At issue is the distinction between sex and gender, one being a biological fact and the other being a social construct. This is particularly interesting with respect to the translation of so-called sacred texts often written in patriarchal styles using standard male discourse patterns and frequently translated by rewriters of a different sex or different sexual orientation into a different language-culture. Another area of similar interest is the translation of legal texts such as court judgments and opinions. These texts are often written in a patriarchal style and have to be translated by professionals faced with both the linguistic and sociological challenges of producing equivalent texts in target language-cultures.

It is a well-known fact that the translation business is populated by an overwhelming majority of female translators. The industry also counts among its practitioners a significant number of individuals whose gender may not be defined as purely biological as is the case of members of the LGBT community. Hence, the ability to role play has an influence on the way in which transgendered or homosexual translators may approach texts authored by what they may intuitively or cognitively identify as the other.

Alterity in this case is a matter of both genre and gender. It may be argued that there are opposing language-cultures in this context: male-dominated language, feminist or feminine language and a multivariate LGBT language-culture.

Papers are invited dealing with gender and genre issues in translation, gendered genres and the transfer of knowledge from one language-culture to another by members of groups sociologically differentiated by gender. Case studies and analyses of translations are welcome. Young researchers are encouraged to make proposals.

CALENDAR

JANUARY 16, 2017 - Deadline for one-page proposals in French, English or Spanish. Please attach a brief biosketch. Send to bryan.jim [at] mcgill.ca.

FEBRUARY 20, 2017 - Notification of acceptance.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

• James Archibald, McGill

• Aron Arnold, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle

• Michèle Bokobza Kahan, Tel Aviv University

• Fayza El Qasem, École Supérieure d’Interprètes et de Traducteurs, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle

• Louise Langevin, Université Laval

• Michael David Miller, McGill

• Anne Wagner, Université du Littoral Côte d’Opale

Call for papers also available in Spanish.