Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The aim of this article is to theorise translation as a performative event (term coined by Stuart Grant 2013). Theories on translation and performativity in Translation Studies have historically been developed from Linguistics or from Performance Studies. Perhaps less known among Translation Studies scholars is the work of performance theorist and philosopher Grant, who recognises the need for a clearer definition of terms related to performance theory and practice. He therefore draws a clear distinction between “the performative event, performance, the moment of performance, and the theatrical as opposed to the performative” (Grant 2013: 127). These concepts provide a starting point for my theoretical analysis of sign language interpreting of popular music and live concerts. In my research I have demonstrated that in the work of sign language interpreter-performers, the performative event as intended by Grant (2013, 2015) is itself the translation, and the moment of performance is itself performative not in a metaphorical sense, but in its tangible embodiment and in its very essence (see Tarantini 2023). In this article I will look at how Grant’s theories are applicable to translation more broadly, and can be functional to theorise translation as an event: a performative event.
DOI: 10.52116/yth.vi3.73
Author: Angela T. Tarantini
Institution: Utrecht University
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4409153187