The productive difficulty of untranslatables in qualitative research
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12702268 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Claudia W Ruitenberg (0000-0002-0963-6246, corresponding author), Autumn Knowlton, Gang Li (0000-0002-9858-5232) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 610-626 |
| Publication date | 2016-06-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Language and Intercultural Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1470-8477 • E-ISSN: 1747-759X |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14708477.2016.1189559 |
| OpenAlex | W2471975248 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 20 |
The paper highlights the role of translation in qualitative research that involves multiple languages. Its particular focus is on untranslatables, that is, those words or phrases in a source language that pose challenges to translators because no direct equivalent is available in the target language. Untranslatables create moments of productive difficulty by forcing a critical examination of both the data and the assumptions that framed the research questions. The paper discusses two cases: research with Mandarin-speaking participants on the topic of democracy and democratic subjectivity, and research with Q’eqchi’-speaking participants on the topic of civic engagement and political participation
Democracy · Epistemology · Focus (optics · Linguistics · Mandarin Chinese · Political science · Political subjectivity · Politics · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Subjectivity · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
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| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,43 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2025 (7) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |