Non-literary translation in Switzerland

Abstract

Up until now, the literature on sociological approaches to translation has mainly focused on the self-perceptions of translators. This article analyses the coverage devoted to non-literary translation and translators in the print media in Switzerland. What perceptions of translation are newspapers circulating? Are these hetero-images positively or negatively connoted? A qualitative thematic analysis is conducted on four daily newspapers in Switzerland – Tages-Anzeiger, St. Galler Tagblatt, Le Temps and 24 Heures (two important newspapers for each of the two major official languages) – over a period of one year (spring 2013 – spring 2014). The analysis shows the scarcity and negativism of discourse about non-literary translation in Switzerland: it is depicted as a risky, costly, lonely and peripheral business – results that would need to be compared across media and countries. Understanding the construction of external ‘translation talk’ may help social actors such as translators or professional societies fight against existing prejudices about translation.