Translating the Nonhuman: What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Translating

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Professor Douglas Robinson (Chair Professor English, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong)

Translating the Nonhuman

Name: Translating the Nonhuman
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ISBN: 9798765112809

What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Translating

Professor Douglas Robinson (Chair Professor English, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong)

$49.99

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
28 May 2026

Translation & interpretation; Literary theory; Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers

Extends the field of translation studies and theory by examining three radical science-fiction treatments of translation.

The so-called ""fictional turn"" in translation studies has staked out territory previously unclaimed by translation scholars – territory in which translators are portrayed as full human beings in their social environments – but so far no one has looked to science fiction for truly radical explorations of translation. Translating the Nonhuman fills that gap, exploring speculative attempts to cross the yawning chasm between human and nonhuman languages and cultures.

The book consists of three essays, each bringing a different theoretical orientation to bear on a different science-fiction work. The first studies Samuel R. Delany’s 1966 novel, Babel-17, using Peircean semiotics; the second studies Suzette Haden Elgin’s 1984 novel, Native Tongue, using Austinian performativity and Eve Sedwick’s periperformative corrective; and the third studies Ted Chiang’s 1998 novella, “Story of Your Life,” and its 2016 screen adaptation, Arrival, using sustainability theory. Themes include the 1950s clash between Whorfian untranslatability and the possibility of unbounded (machine) translatability; the performative ability of a language to change reality and the reliance of that ability on the periperformativity of “witnesses”; and alienation from the familiar in space and time and its transformative effect on the biological and cultural sustainability of human life on earth.

Through these close readings and varied theoretical approaches, Translating the Nonhuman provides a tentative mapping of science fiction's usefulness for the study of human-(non)human translation, with translators and interpreters acting as explorers of new ways to communicate.

By: Professor Douglas Robinson (Chair Professor English Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 228mm, Width: 148mm, Spine: 10mm
Weight: 260g
ISBN: 9798765112809
Pages: 176
Publication Date: 28 May 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction 1. Scarlet Threads 2. Translator Studies 3. The Structure of the Book 4. Acknowledgments 5. Permissions First Essay. Psychosemiosis: Samuel R. Delany's Babel-17 1. Joseph Fitzpatrick's Reading 2. Peirce on the ""Logic of Vagueness"" 3. Mead on Mind as Social Intensity 4. The Semiotics of Silence Second Essay. (Peri)performativity: Suzette Haden Elgin's Native Tongue 1. The Performative 2. Eve Sedgwick’s Periperformativity 3. Translating the Nonhumanoid 4. By Way of Conclusion Third Essay. Sustainability: Ted Chiang's ""Story of Your Life"" and Arrival 1. ""Story of Your Life"" 2. Alienation 3. Time-Travel 4. Sustaining Translation 5. Translating Sustainability References Index

Douglas Robinson is Professor of Translation Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen, China, and is one of the world’s leading translation scholars, and author or editor of 30 monographs, including The Strange Loops of Translation (Bloomsbury, 2022), Transgender, Translation, Translingual Address (Bloomsbury, 2019), and Critical Translation Studies (2017).

Reviews for Translating the Nonhuman: What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Translating

Douglas Robinson outdoes himself in this new book! Exploring the representation of translation and interpreting between humans and non-humans in science fiction, he examines issues of colonialism, embodiment, and sustainability through virtuoso readings that ask the reader to rethink translation. Each essay offers something radically new and exciting to translation studies. * Jonathan Evans, Reader in Translation Studies, University of Glasgow, UK * Although science fiction, by its very nature, frequently explores issues of cultural difference and even radical alterity, many sf works appear to take issues of linguistic translation for granted. In this fascinating study, however, Douglas Robinson analyzes three sf works that do engage with translation-related concerns in a sophisticated and provocative manner. This book will delight readers interested in language and translation, as well as sf fans of all flavors. * Carlos Rojas, Professor of Modern Chinese Cultural Studies, Duke University, USA *