ABSTRACT
This chapter inspects the quantitative dimension of Eurocentrism by investigating its imprint on Translation Studies’ publication dynamics. It presents the results of a bibliometric analysis of the meta-data of all publications on Arabic translation catalogued (in 2020) in the Bibliography of Interpreting and Translation (BITRA) and/or the Translation Studies Bibliography (TSB). Building upon the theoretical parameters of Eurocentrism expounded in Chapter 2, this chapter uses two dimensions of the concept that are put forth as particularly amenable to bibliometric quantification: ethnocentrism and power. The bibliometric tools of publication counts and word analyses of the meta-data serve to map out publications on Arabic translation by country and region, language of publication and theorisation as well as theme of study. The results of this analysis are meant to indicate where the discipline’s centres and research agendas lie – as reflected in the corpus – and whether these are predominantly Eurocentric. As a final step, the chapter also explores how Eurocentrism may influence the epistemological underpinnings of research and the choice of methodologies it employs. This is mainly examined through the contrast between quantitative and qualitative research strategies in the field and the place science is believed to occupy in Translation Studies more broadly.
