Translation Ethics

Translation Ethics introduces the topic of ethics for students, researchers, and professional translators. Based on a successful course and written by an experienced instructor, the Introduction and nine core chapters offer an accessible examination of a wide range of interlocking topic areas, which combine to form a cohesive whole, guiding students through the key debates.

Built upon a theoretical background founded in philosophy and moral theory, it outlines the main contributions in the area and traces the development of thought on ethics from absolutism to relativism, or, from staunchly-argued textual viewpoints to current lines of thought placing the translator as agent and an active – even interventionary – mediator. The textbook then examines the place of ethical enquiry in the context of professional translation, critiquing provision such as codes of ethics. Each chapter includes key discussion points, suggested topics for essays, presentations, or in-class debates, and an array of contextualised examples and case studies. Additional resources, including videos, weblinks, online activities, and PowerPoint slide presentations on the Routledge Translation studies portal provide valuable extra pedagogical support.

This wide-ranging and accessible textbook has been carefully designed to be key reading for a wide range of courses, including distance-learning courses, from translation and interpreting ethics to translation theory and practice.

Joseph Lambert is a Lecturer in Translation Studies at Cardiff University. His research focuses on translation ethics and the translation profession and he teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate sessions on translation ethics. Recent publications include a chapter on Professional Translator Ethics in the Routledge Handbook of Translation and Ethics.