Towards the Practice of Feminist Translation in Thailand

Abstract

The practice of feminist translation as a specific approach to rendering a text in translation from English into Thai has been under-researched. This paper aims to introduce feminist translation practices developed by Canadian theorists and translators, and suggests the extent to which this approach can be applied to the practice of ideologically-motivated translation in Thailand. Feminist translation is an approach to a translation method that attacks, deconstructs or bypasses inherently misogynist language. Fidelity and equivalence in translation are not a matter of utmost importance to feminist translators. Rather, they tend to make their presence felt in the texts through various methods of textual intervention. This notion of intervention in translation is central to feminist translation practices which allow the translators of feminist works to draw the target readers’ attention to linguistic transfer, translator visibility and feminist causes.

Towards the Study of Political Text and Translation in Thailand: A Case Study of Thai Translations of Biden’s Inaugural Address

“…By stating clearly in the preface and blurb that the reader should not take the writer's narrative seriously, the translators strategically avoided direct responsibility for his work. One study on feminist ideology in translation that advances the translator's position in dealing with political correctness is that of Rattanakantadilok (2017). Applying the French and English translation approaches of Sherry Simon (1996) and Luise von Flotow (1997) to the Thai context, she has proposed feminist translation strategies for translation from the Western languages into Thai and argues that Thai translators should experiment with their work in order to deconstruct conventional language use that is loaded with misogynistic viewpoints.…”