Our Bodies, Ourselves Translated into Brazilian Portuguese: A Study of the Impacts on the Translators

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to present the collaborative and volunteer translation project of the book Our Bodies, Ourselves into Brazilian Portuguese and to analyse the translators´ ontological narratives (Baker, 2006) about their experience. Through a partnership with two Brazilian universities and an NGO, the project establishes a dialogue with the feminist movement led by The Boston Women's Health Book Collective as well as with recent research on feminist translation theories and inclusive language. The analysis of authentic narratives provided by the students involved in the project allowed for the identification of recurring trends in the emotions they experienced while translating texts dealing with abortion and sexuality, among other sensitive topics. The perceived impact on the translators' lives is discussed with the support of theoretical frameworks addressing the performativity and subjectivity (Rajagopalan 2004; Robinson 2003; Pinto 2002) and the role of translators' emotions (Barrett 2017; Rojo López 2017; Hubscher- Davidson 2018). After almost three years of work, it is possible to conclude that the project went far beyond the translation process and represented a learning experience about the participants themselves, their bodies and health. For the students involved the translation was a political act that will, hopefully, make a difference in women's lives.

KEYWORDS:

• Our Bodies, Ourselves (OBOS)
• volunteer translation
• impacts on translators
• students’ narratives

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The project coordinators are the authors of the present paper.

2 In 2020–2021, at the professors’ request, the students-translators wrote in English about the importance of the project in their academic training and personal life. These narratives were then shared with the OBOS founders. Therefore, some excerpts of the students’ narratives were originally written in English. When that is not the case, an English translation will be provided and marked as translation. All students’ narratives are available in the public domain: Adapting ‘Our Bodies, Ourselves’ to Brazilian Portuguese: The Translators’ Experiences. Available at: https://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/2020/07/adapting-our-bodies-ourselves-to-brazilian-portuguese-the-translators-experiences/. Accessed April 2, 2022.

3 In this paper, the pronoun ‘we’ will be used to show our involvement in the project as coordinators of the translation, as women targeted by the translation, and as activist translation scholars.

4 The Canadian authors worked with the translation of literary texts in a very manipulative way that raised some criticism. In the OBOS translation project, it was important to adopt an accessible language and feminist strategies that did not make reading difficult for women from all walks of life.

5 The following sections of the paper discuss the inclusive and feminist language adopted in the translation. Also, the teams were given the opportunity to address important aspects of the translation process in certain paratexts. Here are some examples: https://ourbodiesourselves.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/BrazilianPortuguesePrefaces.pdf Accessed November 2, 2022.

6 Available at: https://obosbrasil.com/. Accessed on November 2, 2022.

7 Raw data were generated at the State University of Campinas. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author EL on request. The research was authorised by the ethics committee of the State University of Campinas and is part of a larger project called ‘Translation of ideologically marked texts: a work of body and mind’. CAAE approval number: 35266820.7.0000.8142.

8 On June 2022, Supreme Court in Washington, D.C, overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S. in 1973. The fight for access to legal abortion in all states continues, but at the moment, more than 20 states ban abortion. Women need to travel to the states where abortion is legal, if they have the means to do so.

Additional information

Funding

We are grateful to the students from State University of Campinas and Federal University of Rio de Janeiro for participating in the voluntary translation and adaptation project. The first author has been financed by The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) [grant number #102448/2022-1].

Notes on contributors

Érica Lima

Érica Lima has a PhD in Languages from São Paulo State University, a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from University of Campinas and a Bachelor’s degree in French Translation also from São Paulo State University. She has been a professor in the Department of Applied Linguistics of the Institute of Language Studies at University of Campinas since 2015. Her main areas of interest are the interface between translation studies and trends in contemporary thought (identity, gender, ideology, subjectivity issues), voluntary translation, translator education, translation and emotion. E-mail: [email protected]

Janine Pimentel

Janine Pimentel is Associate Professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), where she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on translation and supervises Master’s and Doctorate students. She holds a Ph.D. in Translation Studies from the University of Montreal, an M.A. in Linguistics and a Bachelor’s degree in Modern Languages and Literature from NOVA University of Lisbon. Her recent research interests include specialised translation, translation technologies and translation activism. E-mail: [email protected]