Abstracts
Abstract
This article examines why scholars who theorize cultural translation have not always agreed on what their object of study is. It provides a diachronic account of two competing definitions, one from anthropology and one from cultural studies. It also describes three factors that have complicated debates about cultural translation: the different epistemological and methodological assumptions made by anthropologists and cultural studies scholars; the ambiguous, politically charged relationships linking language, culture, and text; an asymmetry of usage. This article concludes by considering the implications of a point of convergence—the ethical turn taken in anthropology and cultural studies in the last two decades—for debates about attempts to ban Muslim veils from public spaces in North America.
Keywords:
- anthropology,
- cultural translation,
- cultural studies,
- ethical turn,
- reasonable accommodations
Résumé
La présente contribution examine les raisons pour lesquelles les chercheurs qui proposent une réflexion théorique sur la traduction culturelle n’ont pas toujours été d’accord sur la nature même de leur objet d’étude. Deux définitions concurrentes sont analysées d’un point de vue diachronique, l’une provenant de l’anthropologie, l’autre, des « cultural studies ». L’article met en lumière trois facteurs qui viennent compliquer le débat sur la traduction culturelle : le fait que les anthropologues et les spécialistes des « cultural studies » ne partagent pas les mêmes présupposés épistémologiques et méthodologiques ; les rapports entre la langue, la culture et les textes, qui sont souvent ambigus et surchargés de connotations politiques ; une asymétrie d’usage. En guise de conclusion, l’auteur envisage les implications d’un point de convergence, à savoir le tournant éthique dans le contexte des débats sur les accommodements raisonnables en Amérique du Nord.
Mots-clés :
- anthropologie,
- traduction culturelle,
- « cultural studies »,
- tournant éthique,
- voile musulman
Appendices
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