Translation and the Paradox of Cultural Flux

Abstract

The term culture, as theorists have long observed, describes at least two distinct things: a shared set of assumptions or beliefs shaping how a group of people interpret themselves and their place in the world, and the group of people itself. The boundaries between cultures, in both senses, are porous and shifting, and the words people use to name them are “essentially contested,” in the sense proposed by W.B. Gallie. This article explores the nature of that contestation in Canada, a country marked by considerable internal diversity, focusing on the role of translators funded by the Canada Council. It describes two trends: first, inside Canada, a decades-long history of translation occurring within the Toronto-Montreal corridor, and second, outside of Canada, a growing rate of translation of Canadian works by non-Canadian translators into languages other than English and French. These trends influence the ways that Canadian culture is essentially contested, and they point to a paradox: efforts to pin down identity have the opposite effect. The nature of contestation is such that efforts to define borders and establish categories produce the very churn they are intended to stop.