Notes on Translation as Research

Structured as a companion piece to "Translation as Research: A Manifesto", this essay argues that there are compelling reasons for translation to be one of the ways in which academics, notably in Modern Languages, spend their "research time". It speculates on the nature of possible misgivings or hesitations on this point; these seem to include the fear that embracing translation may undermine the discipline's commitment to reading in the original, and apprehension at the difficulty of assessing translations as research, especially where aesthetic criteria are involved. Rather than being drawn into debates over the definition of "research", however, the essay argues, we should start by committing to the broad intellectual and cultural value of translations, and recognize that, in the UK context, the REF already provides a framework in which translation can be embraced as a research practice, as a form of scholarship and/or creative writing.