Abstract

Though less common and therefore less studied, this last scenario is perhaps more exciting insofar as it shows the potential of self-translation as a form of collective empowerment (and not merely a tool for individual self-promotion.) Not so long ago, speakers of fragilized or endangered languages that no longer functioned as full-fledged vernaculars in everyday life but have become «post-vernacular» (Shandler), felt that they had no choice but to become translingual writers in a “major” language. For a variety of reasons (censorship, lack of standard grammar and spelling, their own limited literacy), publishing in their native or heritage language was hardly an option. The first quarter of our century has however witnessed a revival of some of these languages, with self-translation (which Shandler does not study) sometimes playing a not insignificant role for long-neglected languages that were/are on the brink of extinction. By developing literacy, empowering minorities and visibilizing formerly invisible languages, post-vernacular self-translation becomes an exercise in inclusive democracy.