Speaking memory: How translation shapes city life.

摘要

Translation between languages is not an inherently benefi cial and harmonious process. It rarely takes placernbetween actors who are equally positioned in relation to power. As Sherry Simon suggests in the introductionrnto this volume, translation is often implicated in confl icts and tension, and at times it is driven by violent andrnsuppressive forces. Speaking Memory: How Translation Shapes City Life explores the ambiguities and complexitiesrnof translation in urban contexts. Cities are approached as “fi elds of translational forces” (Simon, this volume, p.rn4) that feature mediations, negotiations, and competitions between languages, and thus between people andrnmemories of history. Th is intersection of language and the city is at the core of this volume edited by Simon,rna professor in the French Department at Concordia University in Montreal. Th e “translational city” is a focalrnpoint, which Simon defi nes as the city that has heightened awareness of language because of its linguisticrnhistories and constellations. However all cities are considered translational fi elds, and the appearance of cities asrnhistorically and culturally diverse as Atlanta, Sao Paulo, and Dublin refl ects the range of cases that are exploredrnin the volume. Speaking Memory leaves the defi nition of translation open, and contributors from comparativernliterary studies, media studies and geography each off er their own readings in relation to urban space andrnclaims-making.