A manifesto on multiple translation: bridging retranslation, world literature, and the ethics of comparative reading

Does translating more than once matter? In this article, I answer this question by mapping the emerging field of “multiple translation,” and underscoring the methodological and ideological implications for the study of more than one translation of a given original. In locating this field on the map of translation studies, I call for bridging retranslation studies and the ongoing strand of research on multiple translations. To this end, I discuss collaborative research projects which approach translations across plural languages by means of different methods (distant readings, time maps, visualizations) and link them to approaches in both retranslation studies and the discipline of world literature. Further, by discussing literary works which engage with multiple translations, I show how the practice of multiplying different variants redefines our reading habits. In pointing to methodological, pedagogical, aesthetic and ethical benefits from multiple translations, I also demonstrate institutional challenges and key factors that can limit the proliferation of translation.