City and migration: a crossroads for non-institutionalized translation

Research in Translation Studies has witnessed an increased interest in translation phenomena in cities as well as in links between translation and migration. Although non-institutionalized translation is not at all new, contemporary migration realities offer opportunities for innovative research in this area. Outside more immediate immigration flows, many European cities have both longer and more recent histories of translational interaction between local populations and immigrants. This paper deals with non-professional translation among such groups both within and outside the family. To do so it presents the results of a case study on forms of non-professional translation in a social housing project in Ghent (Flanders, Belgium). The article focuses on such issues as the actors, circumstances, and the degrees of stereotyping and/or stigmatization involved in non-professional translation practices. The case study draws on qualitative and quantitative research that addresses the following questions: Who translates and who has translated what and under which circumstances? What is the exact position of translation, language and cultural transfer in the daily life of the residents of the block of flats in Ghent? To which extent arc these translational exchanges illustrative of contemporary life in our cities?