Microsociology of translation

This chapter focuses on microsociological approaches and their implications on Translation and Interpreting Studies (TIS). Microlevel sociological analysis is distinguished from the macro and meso levels of analysis before some principal theories and concepts that lay the foundation of the microsociological paradigm are introduced. Despite the relatively short history of applying microsociology to TIS, research has gradually expanded from studying certain aspects (e.g., translation methods and ethics) of translators and interpreters as individuals bound by social conditions to regarding them as actively engaging in an interaction with a wide range of actors/agents, with more studies conducted using ethnographic methods rather than purely based on an analysis of translation texts. Moreover, translation/interpreting is constructed as a field of dynamic evolving social relationships/networks. The microsociological approach to TIS is nascent. Many theories, aspects, and topics, such as symbolic interactionism, social network analysis, and nonhuman actors in translation and interpreting, await further exploration.