On Translation, Hospitality and Language Indifference

Translation, whether as a theoretical or a practical pursuit, is a collaborative effort. It is also a task which directly impacts communication and, therefore, the socio-political sphere. It should come as no surprise, then, if a discussion that started from the three crucial keywords at the heart of this collection – Language, Power and Writing – ultimately led us to reflect on the need to rethink translation as a conceptual frame. Structured as a conversation in seven sections and two voices, this contribution presents a series of reflections on contemporary theories of translation and their significance for language policies and practices in an age marked by increasing mobility. It moves through a series of key themes: the notions of mother tongue and native speaker, the relationship between standard language and language change, the question of audibility and visibility of translation and of multilingual practices, and the broadening of the notion of translation from a binary model – based on source and target texts, languages, cultures – to a continuum of practices which include phenomena such as translanguaging and self-translation. This wider understanding of translation is read in connection with the question of hospitality and with the role of polylingual practices in supporting biocultural diversity. At the same time, focusing on ‘imperfect’ translation and on the notion of trace helps us to critique regimes of monolingualism and the tendency to silence or marginalize the plural nature of languages and linguistic communication – an attitude which we define as ‘language indifference’.