Pratiques langagières - terrains, méthodes, théories

• Philipp Angermeyer (York University) : Discriminatory translation and paths towards linguistic justice

In multilingual institutional settings, the use of interpreters or translators is generally treated as a remedy to linguistic inequality, that is, as a benevolent activity conducted for the benefit of speakers of non-official languages. However, institutional choices of what is translated and how can effectively lead to discrimination against these speakers, for example by systematically restricting their participation in institutional interaction, or by perpetuating discriminatory stereotypes about them, a phenomenon for which I have proposed the term punitive multilingualism.

Drawing on examples from my research on court interpreting (Angermeyer 2015) and linguistic landscape (Angermeyer 2017, 2023), I examine how institutional practices of translation often benefit primarily the institution, and also how they index ideologies about languages and their speakers. To pursue paths towards greater linguistic justice in multilingual context, I argue for a need to examine translation practices within a wider context of ideologies about language contact, language variation, raciolinguistics and linguistic diversity.