Translation and the Global City showcases fresh perspectives on translation in a global context, drawing on case studies from Montreal and other multilingual cosmopolitan cities to examine the historical, sociological and cultural factors underpinning the travel of languages, ideas and cultures across borders. Building on the "spatial turn" in translation studies, the book adopts a bridge metaphor to explore the complexities of translational spaces and the ways in which translation acts can both unite and divide in the global city. The collection initiates the discussion with a focus on the Canadian context and specifically the city of Montreal, where historical circumstances, public policy and shifting language politics have led to a burgeoning translation industry. It goes on to address issues of translation in other regions and cities of the world, generating new insights and opening avenues for further research into the relations between languages and cultures. This volume will be of particular interest to students and scholars in translation studies, especially those with an interest in translation theory and the sociology of translation.

INTRODUCTION: Translational Spaces and the Bridges that Span Them / Judith Weisz Woodsworth -- (Re)claiming Space: Translational Landscapes in Canada. The Jews of Montreal: At the Crossroads of Languages and Translation / Pierre Anctil -- Translating the American Counterculture in/for Quebec / Carmen Ruschiensky -- An Ultraminor Literature: English Writing in Montreal / Marie Leconte -- Indigenous Peoples-Settler Relations and Language Politics in 21st Century Canada / Daniel Salée and Salma El Hankouri -- Bridges and Barriers: Narratives of Liminality In and Beyond World Cities. Literary Translation in Southern Brazil: Livraria Americana's Almanak / Juliana Steil -- In the Shadow of the Cathedral: The Linguistic Landscape of Antwerp / Anaïs De Vierman -- Activist Translation in the World of Food / Violette Marcelin -- Bridging Difference: Self, Sexuality and Gender in Hanan al-Shaykh's Only in London / Clayton McKee -- Going Global: Translating the Slang of the Paris Banlieue / Tiffane Levick -- Your Language Escapes Me! Multimodality of a Migrant Life / Nafiseh Mousavi -- EPILOGUE. Polyglot Pathways: Mount Royal and its Languages / Sherry Simon.

A historian recounts the unlikely rise of a world capital, and how its understanding of Asia played a key role. If one had looked for a potential global city in Europe in the 1540s, the most likely candidate would have been Antwerp, which had emerged as the center of the German and Spanish silver exchange as well as the Portuguese spice and Spanish sugar trades. It almost certainly would not have been London, an unassuming hub of the wool and cloth trade with a population of around 75,000, still trying to recover from the onslaught of the Black Plague. But by 1700, London’s population had reached a staggering 575,000 and it had developed its first global corporations, as well as relationships with non-European societies outside the Mediterranean. What happened in the span of a century and half? And how exactly did London transform itself into a global city? London’s success, Robert K. Batchelor argues, lies not just with the well-documented rise of Atlantic settlements, markets, and economies. Using his discovery of a network of Chinese merchant shipping routes on John Selden’s map of China as his jumping-off point, Batchelor reveals how London also flourished because of its many encounters, engagements, and exchanges with East Asian trading cities. Translation plays a key role in Batchelor’s study—not just of books, manuscripts, and maps, but also of meaning and knowledge across cultures. He demonstrates how translation helped London understand and adapt to global economic conditions. Looking outward at London’s global negotiations, Batchelor traces the development of its knowledge networks back to a number of foreign sources, and credits particular interactions with England’s eventual political and economic autonomy from church and King. London offers a much-needed non-Eurocentric history of London, first by bringing to light and then by synthesizing the many external factors and pieces of evidence that contributed to its rise as a global city. It will appeal to students and scholars interested in the cultural politics of translation, the relationship between merchants and sovereigns, and the cultural and historical geography of Britain and Asia.

The Routledge Handbook of Translation and the City is the first multifaceted and cross-disciplinary overview of how cities can be read through the lens of translation and how translation studies can be enriched by an understanding of the complex dynamics of the city. Divided into four sections, the chapters are authored by leading scholars in translation studies, sociolinguistics, and literary and cultural criticism. They cover contexts from Brussels to Singapore and Melbourne to Cairo and topics from translation as resistance to translanguaging and urban design. This volume explores the role of translation at critical junctures of a city’s historical transformation as well as in the mundane intercultural moments of urban life, and uncovers the trope of the translational city in writing. This Handbook is critical reading for researchers, scholars and advanced students in translation studies, linguistics and urban studies.

The present volume originates from "The Fourth Asian Translation Traditions Conference" held in Hong Kong in December 2010. The conference generated stimulating discussions relating to the richness and diversity of nonWestern discourses and practices of translation, focusing on translational exchanges between nonWestern languages,and the change and continuity in Asian translation traditions. Translation and Global Asia shows a rich diversification of historical and geographical interests, and covers a broad array of topics, ranging from ninthcentury Buddhist translation in Tibet to twentyfirstcentury political translation in Malaysia. This collection is strikingly rich. Its authors deal with a wide range of topics in geographically diverse locations from India, Thailand, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines to different parts of China. They evoke different linguistic and historical contexts from ancient times right up to the contemporary period, and take a variety of approaches, strongly supported by current theories in translation and cultural studies. Presenting vital case studies, this essential volume illustrates the importance of examining translation from a historical perspective, of taking account of power relations, and of studying the unique role of translators in initiating change and transmitting new ideas.

All cities are multilingual, but there are some where language relations have a special importance. These are cities where more than one historically rooted language community lays claim to the territory of the city. This book focuses on four such linguistically divided cities: Calcutta, Trieste, Barcelona, and Montreal. Though living with the ever-present threat of conflict, these cities offer the possibility of creative interaction across competing languages and this book examines the dynamics of translation in its many forms. By focusing on a category of cities which has received little attention, this study contributes to our understanding of the kinds of language relations that sustain the diversity of urban life. Illustrated with photos and maps, Cities in Translation is both an engaging read for a wide-ranging audience and an important text in advancing theory and methodology in translation studies.

Translation and Globalization is essential reading for anyone with an interest in translation, or a concern for the future of our world's languages and cultures. This is a critical exploration of the ways in which radical changes to the world economy have affected contemporary translation. The Internet, new technology, machine translation and the emergence of a worldwide, multi-million dollar translation industry have dramatically altered the complex relationship between translators, language and power. In this book, Michael Cronin looks at the changing geography of translation practice and offers new ways of understanding the role of the translator in globalized societies and economies. Drawing on examples and case-studies from Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, the author argues that translation is central to debates about language and cultural identity, and shows why consideration of the role of translation and translators is a necessary part of safeguarding and promoting linguistic and cultural diversity.