Dr. Séverine Hubscher-Davidson

• The Open University -- Professional profile

Dr. Séverine Hubscher-Davidson is Head of Translation at The Open University in the UK. She has taught translation and interpreting theory and practice for over a decade, and her research interest is in the area of translation psychology, and in particular how individual differences impact the translation process. She has published several articles on translators’ emotional intelligence, ambiguity tolerance, and intuition. Her latest book, published with Routledge, tackles the impact of affect on translation performance.

Keynote abstract

Creating translations: an intellectual and emotional pursuit

It has long been established that the translation act requires the use of research and intellect. The idea that affective processes also play an important role in the creation of translations, however, is a relatively new area of research. While professional translators have sometimes observed that emotions can influence their work performance, motivation and engagement levels, as well as their decision-making and other cognitive processes and behaviours, this aspect of translation has not attracted as much attention in the literature as other aspects of translation performance. Nevertheless, research in neighbouring fields tells us that emotion words and concepts are processed differently from other words and across languages, and that intense contact with other languages and cultures has profound effects on individuals’ emotional geography. There is also evidence that responses to emotive triggers associated with particular texts can be very powerful and, thus, that emotions play an important part in how individuals interpret and work with texts. In this talk, I will discuss the complementary nature of affect and intellect in translation work and highlight some of the distinctive ways in which their interaction governs translation creation.