Living in a Translational World. Translation as Part of Transcultural Identity

Abstract

In the postcolonial and multicultural paradigm, pluralism is organic, translation is an inevitable way of life, and translation consciousness and strategies can be a way of reinforcing different linguistic and cultural identities. This paper intends to reflect upon the relevance of translation for the construction of identity in the contemporary world. For this purpose we will focus, briefly, on novels that stand as exceptional narrative proposals in this sense: The Translator (1999), by the Sudanese Leila Aboulela, The Interpreter (2003), by the Korean-North American Suki Kim, and The Mission Song (2006), by the British John Le Carré. All these texts put forward, from different perspectives and with diverse hues, a deep translation view of poststructuralist nature, where translation and interpreting are ways of life and allegories of transcultural identity.