Open AccessA cultural studies approach to semantic instability: The case of news translation
Author(s) -
Kyle Conway
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
linguistica antverpiensia new series - themes in translation studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2295-5739
DOI - 10.52034/lanstts.v7i.207
Subject(s) - independence (probability theory) , translation (biology) , phenomenon , linguistics , epistemology , sociology , translation studies , computer science , psychology , philosophy , mathematics , biochemistry , statistics , chemistry , messenger rna , gene
This article explores news translation and the semantic instability of politi-cally charged words and their translations. Such pairs are linked in a pa-radoxical relationship of dependence (one is a translation of the other) and independence (they have evolved and continue to evolve within different conceptual horizons). This paper describes a methodology for addressing this phenomenon by considering such pairs as examples of ‘essentially contested concepts’ (Gallie 1956). This methodology derives from a circuit model of culture, and it provides translation studies scholars with tools to describe the dynamic, historically conditioned relationships linking politi-cally charged words, their translations, and their contested, frequently contradictory meanings.