PurposeSelf-initiated expatriates (SIE) women's career decisions are often based on the establishment of close personal relationships in various spheres of life. This paper aims to explore the effects of social isolation in times of crisis on SIE women's work, psychological and general adjustment.Design/methodology/approachThe model of expatriate women's adjustment by Caligiuri and Lazarova (2002) is reviewed and adapted to account for the impact of social isolation and loneliness on SIE women's adjustment and professional development in a crisis context. The interplay between duration and intensity of crisis and acculturative stress over time is highlighted; danger zones for potential maladjustment are identified, and adjustment-as-a-crisis context are incorporated into the model.FindingsThe spillover effects between different life spaces in times of isolation have a negative impact on SIE women's ability to develop supportive relationships in different life spaces. The organization becomes the main point of contact with the host culture, but pressure to perform, uncertain contracts, gendered role division and the experience of a double crisis add to the existing acculturative stress which may lead to maladjustment or further fit-dependent crisis over time.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the theoretical understanding of the impact of social isolation on a single, vulnerable acculturating group, by expanding on an existing static model of adjustment, to account for the temporal (time) and spatial (multi-dimensional crisis context) constraints faced by SIE women which has not been done before.

Resumo: Este artigo visou a compreensão da parte que a linguagem desempenha na criação de significado e efeito textuais. Para tal, foram analisados extractos da obra neerlandesa De joodse messias de Arnon Grunberg. O objectivo foi elaborar uma comparação ao nível estilístico entre esta obra neerlandesa e uma tradução em Português. Elementos como a ironia e temas recorrentes na literatura neerlandesa como a identidade dos judeus e a Segunda Guerra Mundial não são fáceis de transpor para uma tradução. Foi investigado o modo como esses elementos específicos da cultura holandesa poderiam ser recebidos pelos leitores portugueses. Por fim, foi avaliada a qualidade da tradução numa perspectiva crítica. Abstract:This article is about the understanding of the role that language plays in the achievement of textual meaning and effect. In order to do that, extracts of Arnon Grunberg's De joodse messias were analised. The main objective was a stylistic comparison between the Dutch novel and a translation in Portuguese. The irony and other themes which occur in the Dutch literature such as the Jew's identity and the Second World War are not easy to traslate. It was explored the way in which these specific elements of the Dutch culture could be received by the Portuguese readers. Finally, the quality of the translation has been assessed in a critical perspective.