Tymoczko: Enlarging Translation, Empowering Translators
Maria Tymoczko challenged the assumption that the Western European concept of translation is the universal one. Other traditions name the activity differently and assume different goals.
Non-Western concepts
Bengali rupantar foregrounds transformation of form. Sanskrit anuvad emphasises following after the source as a kind of commentary. Arabic tarjama historically covered exposition as much as transfer. Each concept makes some translation choices natural and others unthinkable.
Why this matters for AI tooling
AI translation pipelines built only on Anglo-European data carry the Western European concept inside them as a hidden default. A pipeline that translates into a non-Western literary tradition should expose the framework choice rather than apply the Western default invisibly. Tymoczko gives the philosophical warrant for that exposure.
Further reading: cultural turn, Spivak.