A Religious Ethics of Translation: The Love Command

Abstract

Our understanding of ethics in the field of translation studies shows a secular bias which has distorted our moral vision. This article examines recent accounts of the role of ethics when communication is translated by interpreters and translators. Rather than relying on professional codes or relativist approaches, the potential value in adopting a religious perspective to our understanding of ethics is underlined, reclaiming the spiritual dimension of moral action and reconceptualising notions of the Other, power and ideology in translation. Examples are given from the literature in the field of contemporary translation studies.