By Thanos Chrysanthopoulos*
It was with great pleasure that I agreed to undertake a translation project involving legal documents for a non-binary individual, translating from English to Greek.
Drawing upon my extensive academic background and research focused on gender and sexuality within the field of Translation Studies, through the lens of queer theory, this assignment offered a fresh and meaningful dimension. Thus, this allowed me to merge theoretical insights with professional expertise in official translation. I deemed it to be an opportunity to discover in which ways theoretical discussions can inform translation practice. Particularly, in accurately and consistently translating non-binary identities and perspectives from English to Greek.
In this instance, the client required their documents to be translated for submission to the court. In this way, they would be able to take all legal action required to fulfill a petition, potentially for purposes like a name change deed. The challenges I had to face were apparent upon my initial reading of the documents. It is widely known that English is a gender-neutral language, since binary differentiation of sexes is not visible through language, unlike Greek, and many other European languages, such as French, and Spanish, to name a few. Consequently, I immediately encountered some gender-neutral expressions that are widely utilized in English but lack direct equivalents in Greek, such as non-binary titles, “Mx” in place of “Mr” and “Ms,” and the use of terms devoid of gender marking, such the “undersigned person,” an expression carrying gender marking in Greek.
Let’s begin by citing the term “non-binary gender” as defined by Athens-based LGBTQI+ awareness collective Colour Youth: “Non-binary gender describes these gender identities that do not conform to the male-female binary. It serves as an umbrella term encompassing identities such as genderfluid, agender, and others.” Based on this understanding, a new fluid identity emerges that necessitates expression through language in some way, particularly in Greek, without conforming to the constraints of gender binarism. To give prominence to such linguistic expression of non-binarism, several proposals have been put forward at times, chief among them, the use of @ symbol. While this symbol holds no oral significance since it cannot be pronounced, it has found traction in written texts, especially within activism circles and on social media messaging platforms.
The Guide for Non-Sexist Language Use in Administrative Texts, published by the General Secretariat for Gender Equality, has contributed much to this regard. Specifically, this guide proposes several strategies to circumvent and overcome language sexism, particularly dismissive and derogatory use of language against women and their invisibilization in the Greek public administration sphere by employing masculine as generic, especially when referring to gender-mixed populations. However, even though this guide offers a perspective to dealing with language sexism, it relies heavily on gender binarism, thus referring solely to a set of individuals who identify as men or women, and obscuring linguistically non-binary individuals or people who do not conform with dominant gender hierarchies and distinctions. Thus, employing slash structures to denote both grammar genders is unsuitable in this context because in this manner both the text and translation would embrace a binary understanding of gender that does not align well with the purpose of translation, exclusively on the fact that the subjectivity I am tasked with translating is explicitly non-binary.
In this context, based on the theoretical framework set forward by Feminist Translations Studies, espousing gender and sexuality as analytical tools, and gender language neutrality as a vehicle of gender justice and equality, as applied for the translation of Caroline Criado-Perez’s book “Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men” by Katerina Gouleti and Vasiliki Misiou, the overall strategy I followed for this translation project was defined by language fairness for gender-diverse populations, to include all forms of genders and sexualities, and the accurate re-writing of gender, when it was visible and marked in the text. Thus, in the first instance, I used gender-neutral terms when referring to the non-binary client by employing neutral descriptors like “individual,” avoided using gender-marked words by using passive voice constructions, omitted titles or pronunciations that are not typical in Greek administrative documents, used the neuter pronouns (equivalent to “they/them”) as a means of self-description following client’s request. In the second instance, for a reference to a profession held by women, I resorted to neologisms –female counterparts of roles historically dominated by men. These neologisms, previously laden with negative connotations but now reclaimed and widely embraced in Greek discourse, served to acknowledge and affirm women’s roles. For instance, I utilized “αντιπρυτάνισσα” as the female equivalent of “vice-chancellor.”
The formation, consolidation, and translation of non-binary perception of gender constitute an ongoing, nomadic project that is still nascent, marked by diverse methods, proposals, contradictions, and explorations within it. It can be described as an effort to create an inclusive language or a gender-fair vocabulary that will be anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-trans/homophobic, anti-colonial, and more, both in its scope and intention.
In the framework of official translation, rewriting the non-binary aspect of gender is the translator’s responsibility to preserve the style, content, and meaning of the original text, without altering it to “correct” it (see “straighten”) or impose judgments upon it. When dealing with personal and sensitive information related to gender identity, a notion that may encompass a self-discovery journey, anxieties, traumas, or even experiences of violence, mistranslation may entail misgendering, an error that is deemed a form of abuse, as it can lead to the exclusion, discouragement, discomfort, and distress of non-binary individuals.
Considering the sensitive and experiential nature of this information, which the translator may not have personally experienced, we translators must communicate with the client to ensure the accuracy and comfort of the pronouns used. In addition, as intercultural mediators, especially professional ones, we must always be able to present various translations since every language possesses its specificities and a certain degree of adaptability to gender language neutrality. I am convinced that every language offers tools and resources to establish a neutral linguistic environment. On the part of professional language specialists, this requires continuous awareness of gender trends in language, frequent communication with institutions, organizations, and individuals who self-identify as non-binary or allies, and, most importantly, understanding and openness to clients’ needs.
The strategies I described above are indicative and fully negotiable. Language is a broad field of choices that actively shapes and constructs identities rather than neutrally reflecting them. It engages in constant negotiation with the use and content of language, rendering everything spoken or written translatable.
*Thanos Chrysanthopoulos (he/him) is an official certified translator and a postgraduate researcher. He graduated from the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation, and Interpreting at the Ionian University, Corfu. He has experience as a Greek official translator specializing in law, politics, theatre, and literature. He has worked as a subtitler for many major companies. He also holds a master’s degree in Theatre Studies from the University of Athens.
His main interests reside in the areas of Audiovisual Translation, Literary Translation, Theory & Praxis of (Stage) Translation, Feminist and Queer Translation, and US contemporary drama and dramaturgy, especially in Tennessee Williams’s work. He has participated in many conferences as a speaker and has authored articles in peer-reviews journals and chapters in edited volumes.