The gains of reduction in translational processes: illness blogs and clinical-ethics cases

Abstract

Translational processes in clinical contexts and literature studies are ubiquitous. This article first outlines three different models of translation, which describe how source text and target text relate to one another, namely as sameness, reduction, and production. The article makes a case for understanding translation as a relational ontology and focuses on the role of reduction in translational processes. Rather than condemning reduction a priori for its many problems, the authors suggest reevaluating reduction as a necessary and welcome dynamic and dialogical process. Reduction is approached from a double perspective: In literary studies, reduction is a process that entails condensation, rawness and directness, and thus reduction is associated with a positive ethos. In science studies and comparative studies, reduction has been described as a heuristic mechanism that enables theory building. The article makes a contribution to translation in clinical contexts by describing the gains of reduction in translational processes. These claims are exemplified through the analysis of two text genres: an illness blog and clinical-ethics cases. Our analysis suggests that reduction is not necessarily an antonym to production or complexity but a practice that makes visible the ties that motivate translation or are its result. In doing so, the contribution aims to provide a more positive account of the processes of reduction in translational practices.