ABSTRACT

Islands are often utopian sites and Ireland has been no exception in this respect. A crucial dimension to the utopian project is not only space but time. The article discusses the specific nature of time in modernity and how this is challenged by the practice of translation in Ireland and elsewhere. Insularity as a material and ecological reality has implications for the political destinies of islands such as Britain and Ireland which have existed in close geographical and historical relationship with each other over time. Drawing on the work of Gilles Deleuze and his differentiation of island types, there is consideration of how different paradigms produce different translation outcomes in changing political circumstances. The writings of the author and essayist Amitav Ghosh on climate change and improbability are drawn on to suggest that the seemingly utopian promise of translation from an ecological standpoint may be the only realistic way of proceeding to create sustainable societies on the island of Ireland and beyond.

摘要

岛屿经常是乌托邦的遗址，爱尔兰在这方面也不例外。乌托邦计划的一个关键方面不仅是空间，还包括时间。本文讨论了现代性中时间的特殊性质，以及爱尔兰和其他地方的翻译实践如何挑战时间。世俗化是物质和生态的现实，对不列颠和爱尔兰等岛屿的政治命运产生了影响，这些岛屿之间的地理和历史关系长期存在。利用吉尔斯·德勒兹（Gilles Deleuze）的工作及其对岛屿类型的区分，考虑了在不断变化的政治环境中不同的范例如何产生不同的翻译结果。