Museums as Translation Zones

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Abstract

Translation zones have been characterized as sites of ‘intense interaction across languages, spaces defined by an acute consciousness of cultural negotiations’. This chapter examines the museum milieu as one such type of space. Translation here may be understood as operating on two levels: at the textual level, interlingual translation is used within the museum exhibition space to facilitate understanding, while at the broader cultural level, museums may be seen as translations or representations of cultures. The chapter first looks at such translation from an ‘off-stage’ perspective, focusing on issues such as museum interaction with source communities and contact work with indigenous peoples in settler societies. It then moves to consider the ‘on-stage’ context of the museum exhibition, examining how the museum’s translation of cultures through multilingual practices shapes intercultural contact within the exhibition space. The chapter concludes by situating these observations within the broader context of globalization and ideas of the museum as a cosmopolitan space.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Routledge Handbook of Translation and Globalization
EditorsEsperanca Bielsa, Dyonisius Kapsaskis
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherRoutledge
Chapter21
Pages306-319
Number of pages14
Edition1st
ISBN (Electronic)9781003121848
ISBN (Print)9780815359456
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Dec 2020

Publication series

NameRoutledge Handbooks in Translation and Interpreting Studies
PublisherRoutledge

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