English and Translation in the European Union: Unity and Multiplicity in the Wake of Brexit

The book explores the growing tension between multilingualism and monolingualism in the European Union in the wake of Brexit, highlighting the rise of English as a lingua franca and the effacement of translations in EU institutions. It examines issues around language hierarchy, authenticity, and the boundaries between source and target texts, and proposes potential ways forward, such as the language turn, translation turn, and transcultural turn, for the EU.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 218 pages
Publication date: 09 January 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The growing tension between multilingualism and monolingualism in the European Union (EU) in the wake of Brexit is explored in this book, which is underpinned by the interplay between the rise of English as a lingua franca and the effacement of translations in EU institutions, bodies, and agencies. English and Translation in the European Union adopts an interdisciplinary approach, drawing insights from applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, translation studies, philosophy of language, and political theory. It also examines official documents and online resources, most of which are increasingly produced in English and not translated at all, and the ones that are translated into other languages are not labeled as translations.

In analyzing this data, Alice Leal explores issues around language hierarchy and the growing difficulty in reconciling the EU's approach to promoting multilingualism while fostering monolingualism in practice through the diffusion of English as a lingua franca. She also examines questions around authenticity in the translation process and the boundaries between source and target texts. The volume also looks ahead to the implications of Brexit for this tension, while proposing potential ways forward, encapsulated in the language turn, the translation turn, and the transcultural turn for the EU.

Offering unique insights into contemporary debates in the humanities, this book will be of interest to scholars in translation studies, applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, philosophy, and political theory.

Weight: 338g
Dimension: 227 x 151 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032019758