Community translation as social action

Traditional views of translation and interpreting, and even current professional codes and norms, expect translators to be as invisible as possible: detached, impartial, objective and limiting one’s role to ‘preserving the content and intent of the source message or text without omission or distortion’ (AUSIT 2012: 5). On the other hand, research has demonstrated that translators do have power and agency in the choices they make and, accordingly, the impact they have on others (both individuals and communities). The translator’s agency can manifest itself in different forms and at different levels. It can also be constrained by personal beliefs, professional socialisation and societal structures.This chapter examines community translation (public service translation) as a type of social action. The chapter focuses on community translators’ role and agency in their soci-eties and the social action they undertake within the translations they produce, the com-municative situations they facilitate and the institutional context they work within. Given the socio-economic and language-related disadvantage of community translation users, the institutional constraints, and the professional standards, the agency of community translators lies in their adoption of a functional, reader-oriented approach to translation that facilitates textual and public service accessibility