Call for Papers: Multiculturalism, Literature and Translation in East Asia
Edited volume for book series: Routledge Studies in East Asian Translation
Editor: Tzu-yu Lin (University College London, tzu-yu.lin@ucl.ac.uk)
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 15 February 2022
This volume invites papers exploring a broad spectrum of theoretical, methodological and
empirical questions about multilingualism, literary translation and meaning making in East
Asia. As claimed by Martin Maiden, Chiara Cappellaro and Aditi Lahiri (2020: 69), “we are
more multilingual than we think”. Katrin Kohl and Wen-chin Ouyang (2020) also assert that
all human beings are in some way multilingual, and we should see multilingualism as the
norm in social interactions. Defined in contrast to “monolingualism”, multilingualism usually
refers to the acquisition and use of languages at a high level of fluency, though it is
sometimes used flexibly with the term “plurilingual”, which puts less emphasis on the level
of fluency attained (Kohl and Ouyang 2020: 4). If we define “languages” more broadly – to
include registers, dialects, accents and ways of speaking – we find that multilingualism is
normal in our daily lives, and switching between “languages” is an ability built into human’s
DNA (ibid.:5). We should, therefore, respect multilingualism and promote language diversity
in our societies. Yet, translators, as bi/multilingual authors and communicators, often give
credence to the traditional monolingual premise and believe that “the meaning” of a
source/original text can be carried across into a new target language. As Matthew Reynolds
et al. (2020) argued, new meanings and new words will always be devised creatively during
the process of translation, and therefore, considering translation as prism allows us to see
the divergences and alternative standards of languages. For Ouyang (2020: 110-113),
multiculturalism allows languages to interact with each other, and through the translation
of “language-in-dialogue”, new worldviews, motifs, cultures, languages and literatures can
thus travel around the world.
In East Asia, especially in the Chinese scriptworld, the relationship between written
form and oral language differs from those in countries that use phonograms. The definition
of multilingualism can be different from that in the European countries. This volume invites
submissions that explore bi/multilingual models of literary translation in different linguistic
strand settings in East Asia. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:
Multilingualism and world literature
Multilingualism and postcolonial/diasporic literature
Bi/multilingualism and translation
Translation and world literature
Multilingualism and the minority
Translating dialects and/or non-standard languages
Translatability and untranslatability
Submission of abstracts:
Please sent an abstract of 500 words along with a 50-word biographic note to editor Tzu-yu
Lin (tzu-yu.lin@ucl.ac.uk) by 15 February 2022. Authors will be notified whether their abstracts have been accepted by 31 March 2022, and full manuscripts will be due by 31
October 2022. Articles should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words long, including notes and
bibliography. The volume is expected to be published in August 2023. See below for full
timeline.
Key dates
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 15 February 2022
Notification of accepted abstracts: 31 March 2022
Deadline for submission of full papers: 31 October 2022
Notification of peer review outcomes: 28 February 2023
Revised manuscripts due: 30 April 2023
Publication: August 2023
For questions about the book series, you are welcome to contact the book series editors
Jieun Kiaer (jieun.kiaer@orinst.ox.ac.uk) and Xiaofan Amy Li (xiaofan.amy.li@ucl.ac.uk).
Bibliography
Kohl, Katrin and Wen-chin Ouyang. (2020). “Introducing Creative Multilingualism.” Katrin
Kohl et al. (eds.) Creative Multilingualism: A Manifesto. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers. 1-24.
Maiden, Martin et al. (2020). “Not as ‘Foreign’ as You Think: Creating Bridges of Understanding across Languages.” Katrin Kohl et al. (eds.) Creative Multilingualism: A Manifesto. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers. 69-86.
Ouyang, Wen-chin. “Multilingualism and Creativity in World Literature.” Katrin Kohl et al. (eds.) Creative Multilingualism: A Manifesto. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers. 109-130.
Reynolds, Matthew et al. (2020). “Prismatic Translation.” Katrin Kohl et al. (eds.) Creative Multilingualism: A Manifesto. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers. 131-150.