The Cracked Looking Glass of Servants

Abstract

AbstractTranslators working in minority languages have often been ignored in theoretical and historical debates on translation. If however ‘minority’ is treated as a dynamic as opposed to a static concept, then the experiences of minority languages have much to reveal to other languages in a world increasingly dominated by one global language. This article examines the role of minority languages in the context of scientific and technical translation, particularly with respect to the Internet and the emergence of Cyber-English. The effects of time-space compression on the practice of minority language translation and the working conditions of translators is discussed in the context of globalization and the ‘minoritization’ of all languages. The position of major/minor language translation in the light of debates on difference and universalism is considered and arguments are advanced for the more active incorporation of minority languages into translation studies research.