Autobiographical self-translation – translator as the author, narrator and protagonist

ABSTRACT

In this article, I examine the process of autobiographical self-translation from narratological perspectives, using examples from the self-translation process I experienced translating my autobiography from Japanese into English. The main question asked is: What is the self-translation process like when the translator is also the author, narrator and protagonist? Self-translation is a complex process, and it becomes even more so, as in my case, when the author-translator serves as a historian, family biographer, autobiographer and nostalgic storyteller. Although the narrator remains constant throughout the story, her role, tone and persona change as the story develops, events occur, stages shift and different participants come and go. By depicting such complexities, the paper aims to demonstrate that autobiographical self-translation is a process in which the translator lives his or her life once again while translating the self from one language to another.

KEYWORDS:

• Self-translation
• autobiography
• narrative
• Japanese to English
• L1 to L2

Note

This paper is based on Chapter 4 of the author’s doctoral dissertation (Takahashi 2013). An earlier version of this paper was presented under the title ‘Self-translator as Chameleon’ at the Fifth International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS) Conference, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 9 July 2015.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tomoko Takahashi

Tomoko Takahashi, PhD, EdD, LHD, is the Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Linguistics and Education at Soka University of America in Southern California, USA. She has received her Doctor of Philosophy in translation studies from Monash University and Doctor of Education in applied linguistics from Columbia University, as well as a Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causa from Albertus Magnus College. Her research interests are in language acquisition, cross-cultural communication, and translation. Takahashi is an accomplished academic administrator, educator, researcher, textbook writer, translator, and an award-winning author.