La notion de tiers-espace et la traduction juridique : quelle articulation ?

Abstract

AbstractIn recent years, we have noticed in many research areas a growing interest in the translation paradigm. In this article we discuss the theory of “cultural translation”, developed by Homi Bhabha in the context of postcolonial studies, and his concept of “Third Space” (2007). This theory aims to describe the different processes at play in the creation of identity within a space in which several cultures coexist. According to Bhabha, “the Third Space, though unrepresentable in itself, constitutes the discursive conditions of enunciation that ensure that the meaning and symbols of culture have no primordial unity or fixity; even the same signs can be appropriated, translated, rehistorised and read anew”. In this article, we aim to examine to what extent this theory can be applied to translation, especially to legal translation. The concepts of “Third Space” and hybridity developed by Bhabha undoubtedly have a certain appeal for the translator. However, from the methodological point of view other approaches seem to allow for a better understanding of the translation aspects raised by Bhabha in his theory. We therefore provide an interesting analysis of the “Third Space” based on the concept of interval by Cassin (Éloge de la traduction. Compliquer l’universel, Fayard, Paris, 2016), which is defined as a complex zone of interactions and interferences. This analysis is completed by examining the concept of frontiers by Moréteau (Revue internationale de droit comparé 4(61):695–713, 2009. DOI: 10.3406/ridc.2009.19911) which is implicitly present in the concept of interval. In order to analyse the concept of hybridity, the methodological framework of transdifference developed by Srubar (Kultur und Semantik, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, 2009) can also be used.