Translating and Interpreting in Australia and New Zealand: Distance and Diversity

This volume explores Australian and New Zealand experiences of translation and interpreting (T&I), with a special focus on the formative impact of geocultural contexts. Through the critical lenses of practitioners, scholars and related professionals working in and on these two countries, the contributors seek a better understanding of T&I practices and discourses in this richly multilingual and multicultural region.

Building on recent work in translation and interpreting studies that extends attention to sites outside of Europe and the Americas, this volume considers the geocultural and geopolitical factors that have helped shape T&I in these Pacific neighbours, especially how the practices and conceptualization of T&I have been closely tied with immigration. Contributors examine the significant role T&I plays in everyday communication across varied sectors, including education, health, business, and legal contexts, as well as in crisis situations, cultural and creative settings, and initiatives to revitalize Indigenous languages.

The book also looks to the broader implications beyond the Australian and New Zealand translationscape, making it of relevance to T&I scholars elsewhere, as well as those with an interest in Indigenous studies and minority languages.

Judy Wakabayashi is Professor of Japanese Translation at Kent State University, USA.

Minako O’Hagan is Associate Professor of Translation Studies at the School of Culture, Languages and Linguistics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.