Document Type : Translation Studies

Author

• Pantea Changizi

MSc in Translation Studies

Abstract

Translation has been examined from diverse perspectives, including linguistic, cultural, and sociological viewpoints. Across these fields of study, human involvement has remained central to all translational activity—whether as translators, publishers, editors, or in other roles. Even when the primary focus has shifted to aspects like the text itself, human influence invariably surfaces. In other words, certain facets of translation have remained unexplored, overshadowed by the dominance of human agency. With the advent of ecotranslation, which merges ecology with translation studies, these hidden dimensions of translation can now be uncovered, opening up new avenues for research. This paper explores Luhmann’s social systems theory in comparison with ecology, drawing on a parallel approach to that used by Beebee, Childress, and Weidman (2017) in Translation Ecologies: A Beginner’s Guide. However, whereas their work contrasts ecology with polysystem theory, this paper instead examines the relationship between ecology and social systems theory within the context of translation studies.

Keywords

• Ecotranslation
• Ecology
• Translation
• Social System Theory