Lost and found in translation_Chmutina et al_accepted.pdf (271.19 kB)
Download fileLost (and found?) in translation: Key terminology in disaster studies
journal contribution
posted on 2020-12-08, 08:53 authored by Ksenia ChmutinaKsenia Chmutina, Neil Sadler, Jason von Meding, Amer AbukhalafPurpose: Disaster Studies has emerged as an international interdisciplinary body of knowledge;
however, similarly to other academic disciplines, its terminology is predominantly Anglophone. This
paper explores the implications of translating disaster studies terminology, most often theorised in
English, into other languages and back.
Design/methodology/approach: We chose six of the most commonly used (as well as debated and contested) terms that are prominent in academic, policy and public discourses: resilience, vulnerability, capacity, disaster, hazard, and risk. These words were translated into 54 languages and the meanings were articulated descriptively in cases where the translation didn’t have exactly the same meaning as the word in English. We then analysed these meanings in order to understand implications of disaster scholars working between dominant and “peripheral” languages.
Findings: Our findings demonstrate that many of the terms so casually used in Disaster Studies in English do not translate easily – or at all, opening the concepts that are encoded in these terms for further interpretation. Moreover, the terms used in disaster studies are not only conceptualised in English but are also tied to an Anglophone approach to research. It is important to consider the intertwined implications that the use of the terminology carries, including the creation of a ‘separate’ language; power vs. communication; and linguistic imperialism.
Originality: Understanding of the meaning (and contestation of meaning) of these terms in English provides an insight into the power relationships between English and the other language. Given the need to translate key concepts from English into other languages, it is important to appreciate their cultural and ideological ‘baggage’.
Design/methodology/approach: We chose six of the most commonly used (as well as debated and contested) terms that are prominent in academic, policy and public discourses: resilience, vulnerability, capacity, disaster, hazard, and risk. These words were translated into 54 languages and the meanings were articulated descriptively in cases where the translation didn’t have exactly the same meaning as the word in English. We then analysed these meanings in order to understand implications of disaster scholars working between dominant and “peripheral” languages.
Findings: Our findings demonstrate that many of the terms so casually used in Disaster Studies in English do not translate easily – or at all, opening the concepts that are encoded in these terms for further interpretation. Moreover, the terms used in disaster studies are not only conceptualised in English but are also tied to an Anglophone approach to research. It is important to consider the intertwined implications that the use of the terminology carries, including the creation of a ‘separate’ language; power vs. communication; and linguistic imperialism.
Originality: Understanding of the meaning (and contestation of meaning) of these terms in English provides an insight into the power relationships between English and the other language. Given the need to translate key concepts from English into other languages, it is important to appreciate their cultural and ideological ‘baggage’.
History
School
- Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Published in
Disaster Prevention and Management: an international journalVolume
30Issue
2Pages
149 - 162Publisher
EmeraldVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Rights holder
© EmeraldPublisher statement
This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Disaster Prevention and Management: an international journal and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-07-2020-0232Acceptance date
2020-11-19Publication date
2020-12-04Copyright date
2020ISSN
0965-3562Publisher version
Language
- en