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Article published In:
Translation in Society
Vol. 2:2 (2023) ► pp.123–145

Constructing the literary translator as a brand

Methodological considerations

ORCID logo | University of Exeter
Recent attention to the human aspects of translation and translators (e.g., Pym 2009; Kaindl et al. 2021) has resulted in a possible “human turn” (Bergantino 2022, 7) in translation studies, which brings new questions and avenues for researchers working in the subdomain of translator studies. Against this backdrop, this article first constructs the concept of ‘the translator’s brand’ for investigating the evolution of literary translators into prominent status. It then outlines a three-level framework of brand-building to analyse the personal development of individual literary translators. Combining the transferrable points from the brand-related literature with the Bourdieusian sociology of cultural production, it argues that the formation of a literary translator’s brand can be analysed from intra-field (brand input), inter-field (brand investment) and inter-cultural (brand reception) levels. Lastly, the application of this methodological framework is demonstrated in a case study of a prominent Chinese-English literary translator in science fiction, Ken Liu, in the twenty-first century.
Keywords: Bourdieusian sociology, brand input, brand investment, brand reception, Ken Liu, literary translator, the translator’s brand
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.A humanising understanding of ‘the translator’s brand’
  • 3.Outlining the methodological framework: Brand-building at intra-field, inter-field and inter-cultural levels
  • 4.Analysing the brand-building of Ken Liu
    • 4.1Brand input at the intra-field level
    • 4.2Brand investment in the inter-field circuit
      • 4.2.1Standing out
      • 4.2.2Fitting in
    • 4.3Brand reception at the inter-cultural level
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 10 August 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tris.23009.zha
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