The agent-centred translation zone

Abstract

Abstract The concept of the translation zone (Simon 2013) describes spaces of intense language interaction, and has, hitherto, mostly been used to explore bi- or multilingual cities (Cronin and Simon 2014). This paper aims to broaden the concept of the translation zone and adapt it into a heuristic concept with an agent focus. To achieve this, the translation zone is combined with the spatial triad by Rolshoven (2012) – built space, experienced space, representation space. This nuanced, agent-centred conceptualisation has methodological implications: Ethnographic research methods, e.g. participant observation and in-depth interviews, are favoured when investigating plurilingual people’s living environments, requiring researchers to reflect on their own position. The agent-centred translation zone can, therefore, be used to conceptualise interpreting settings (plurilingual schools, for instance) as translational spaces and to examine their interlingual, intralingual and intersemiotic polymorphous translation practices, considering the effects of laws, societal perceptions, personal views, and structural aspects of physical spaces.