Mobility practices are a major phenomenon in contemporary world. Flows of people, objects, information and images occur presently at an unprecedented scale and at an unimaginable velocity, contributing thus to a redefinition of proximity and distance and calling for a reflection on the generally overlooked issue of language phenomena and translation in a world thick with intercultural encounters and linguistic experiences.
The movements across languages and cultures, which are intrinsic both to human migrations and to the speedy circulation of representations around the globe, are of paramount importance. Being mobile in today’s world is being aware of its polyglossic nature; we live in a permanently translated world, in which not only do we permanently consume translation products, provided very often by an anonymous legion of translators working for frictionless communicative exchanges, but we are also, to a large extent, permanent translators, constantly on the move between cultural constructions, seeking meanings, equivalences and interpretations.
The present paper aims to reflect on the ubiquitous role of translation in today’s mobile and highly mediatised world. It will more especially draw on examples from tourism, one of the world’s allegedly most powerful forces influencing cultural processes today, which develops around multilingual settings and heavily relies on communication, cultural mediation and translation.
