Recent developments, particularly globalisation and advances in technology, have affected our production and perception of language, as reflected in two conflicting forces, globalism and tribalism. The role of English as an international lingua franca is discussed, and conclusions are drawn for the varying activities of translation today and for the rapidly changing job profile of the translator.
Christina Schäffner is Professor Emerita at Aston University, Birmingham. Until her retirement in September 2015 she was the Head of Translation Studies at Aston, teaching courses in translation studies, interpreting, and supervising Master dissertations and PhD students. Her main research interests are: political discourse in translation, news translation, metaphor in translation, and translation didactics, and she has published widely on these topics. Major publications include Political Discourse, Media and Translation (edited with S. Bassnett 2010), Translation research and Interpreting research: Traditions, gaps and synergies (2004) and Politics as Text and Talk. Analytic Approaches to Political Discourse (edited with P. Chilton, 2002).