Global English, Transnational Flows: Australia and New Zealand in Translation

The starting point of the book is the questioning of the widespread assumption that English as a global language is part of the homogenizing drive of globalization through a specific analysis of the linguistic features and processes of post-colonial English varieties. Hence, the first part of the book focuses on the analysis of language variation and place/displacement in settler strands of Australian and New Zealand English, and on the use of loanwords in indigenous strands in order to draw some conclusions on the ‘agency’ of Australian and New Zealand Indigenous varieties. Building on the preliminary insights of the first part, the book addresses the central, yet unresolved, theoretical debate concerning the translation of post-colonial English language varieties. The analysis focuses on interlingual translations of post-colonial English language varieties, such as the Italian translations of Patrick White’s Voss (1957) and Katherine Mansfield’s “At the Bay” (1921), and the audiovisual translation of the film, Australia (2008), but also on their intralingual translation into English subtitles in order to verify whether current translation practices are adequate in facilitating intercultural dialogue, in for instance the adaptation of literary works for films and subtitling intended for a global audience. In conclusion, the project reaches some significant insights on how translation flows channel transnational relations and shape transnational social knowledge.