Lost and Found in (Self-)Translation: From Colonial to Post-colonial Contexts

Abstract

The introduction to this special issue discusses (self-)translation processes and products of migrant and colonized Indigenous peoples in translation and cultural studies scholarship, as well as the creation of minor paintings and literature by these peoples in order to affirm the existence of their languages and cultures. It nuances the linguistic, cultural and identitary tribulations to which colonized and migratory peoples are subjected, the double-edged sword of (self-)translation, and the paradoxical gains that can be found by going through its, at times, painful process. Ways in which (self-)translation can be used to empower dominated, often endangered, languages and cultures are also analyzed, before presenting, very briefly, the articles published in the issue