Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to a Special Issue of Languages, in partnership with the European Society for Transcultural and Interdisciplinary Dialogue, following its 6th ESTIDIA Conference at Alicante University (June 2022, Spain).

As ESTIDIA members and In Other Words (IOW) Dictionary researchers, we welcome contributions that explore issues, concerns, and dilemmas in the translation of the Other from various scholarly perspectives. Translation studies are is informed mostly by linguistics, literature, and psychoanalysis. Similarly, studies on Otherness tend to be interdisciplinary, being enriched mostly by discussions from critical discourse analysis, rhetoric, anthropology, and philosophy. Thus, this Special Issue aims to collect original and innovative studies that articulate theories and practices from interdisciplinary approaches in order to understand how Otherness travels and is translated into other languages and contexts.

Our understanding of translation transcends the linguistic mechanisms that occur during the shifts between languages and/or dialects. It entails socio-cultural challenges that translators face across different contexts, in line with Umberto Eco’s view of translation: “Therefore, translating is not only connected with linguistic competence, but with intertextual, psychological, and narrative competence” (2001, p. 13). Moving from one language to another always implies, using Eco's word, “negoziazione (negotiation), not only the constant comparison between the structures of the source text and the target text and their different cultures, but also the process through which each language becomes its own meta-language (ib.).

Thus, the inter-cultural process brought along by translation becomes an intra-cultural dialogue, favoring the problematization of our own linguistic and cultural systems of reference. Translating Otherness from a source (i.e., original) language and culture into a foreign text and context may implicate a reinforcement of (re)production and stigmatization in a discourse of exclusion and discrimination (Reisigl and Wodak, 2001). Here, we understand Otherness as “the result of a discursive process by which a dominant in-group (“Us”, the Self) constructs one or many dominated out-groups (“Them”, the Other/s) by stigmatising a real or imagined difference, which is presented as a negation of identity, and thus, a motive for potential discrimination” (Staszak, 2009, p. 2). Such translation of Otherness into a different (i.e., target) language involves various intra- and inter-cultural factors that directly impact people’s perceptions and representations of the Other in specific contexts and societies. Acting either as a gatekeeper or as a gateway to cross-cultural communication and understanding, the translation of Otherness creates a dilemma for the translator, who must not only be resourceful and knowledgeable about the source and target languages, but must also be able to reconcile and negotiate cultural differences.

This Special Issue aims to showcase micro and macro analysis of translated material, from word/morphological to semantic-pragmatic levels in interlinguistic, intersemiotic, and or intercultural translations of Otherness. We will collect articles that present and discuss challenges, theories, and/or empirical research in translating Otherness. Thus, we welcome submissions that can deal with (but are not limited to) the following research questions:

• To what extent can the translation of Otherness into another language promote a cross-cultural dialogue?
• How can the equivalence of the Other in another language reinforce (or not reinforce) discriminatory practices, stereotypes and prejudices?
• To what extent can the Other become untranslatable in another culture?
• How has the cultural translation of Otherness been approached in literary texts, films, and the arts?
• What are the linguistic challenges translators may face while translating Otherness?
• What are the cultural limitations in the translation of Otherness?
• Which translation techniques, such as foreignness and domestication, may a translator use in their approach to Otherness?
• How is the writing experience of Otherness affected when the translator self-identifies with the target group?
• How can translation and rhetoric disrupt the construction of Otherness in a target language?
• How would non-verbal expressions/multimodalities of Otherness be translated in post-/neo-/de-colonised contexts?
• What are the rhetorical effects of the translated material on the target culture?
• How can translation of Otherness be used as a resource for critical intercultural education?
• How could a translation project bridge the ‘Us vs. Them’ gap?

Prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors should submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–500 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send this to the Guest Editors at info@iowdictionary.org. Abstracts will be reviewed for the purpose of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts, consisting of 5000-7000 words, will undergo double-blind peer-review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Paola Giorgis
Prof. Dr. Ivanka Mavrodieva
Dr. Bilyana Todorova
Dr. Andrea C. Valente
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.