Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

Plurilingualism and Native-Speaker Norms in Chinese Translation Studies — Ideological Tensions and Prospects for Reconciliation

Yixuan HanUniversity of Toronto*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

Over the past few decades, among language and translation scholars worldwide, this plurilingual perspective on individuals’ and communities’ on-the-move and ever-dynamic uses of several languages has increasingly gained consolidation. Native-speaker norms that sanction end-speaker authenticness as an inspirational model have dominated translation quality norms, appraisal schema, and teaching frameworks. Their binarism bred chronic ideological tension embedded within China, where translation studies and practices are written within domestic scholarly hegemonics and an increasingly internationalizing language market. This paper investigates where native speaker norms intersect and conflict with plurilingualism in Chinese translation studies under mainstream domestic indexes, Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI), A Guide to the Core Journals of China (GCJC) and foreign journals, Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI). According to qualitative clustering of journal papers from 2021 to 2025, the paper identifies three conflict zones: native norm-biased translation quality appraisal conflicts of translator identity and plurilingual competences and native knowledge, and cultural exchange paradox, where native norms promote and restrict exchange between cultures. To counter such tensions, this paper recommends policies, pedagogical, and professional practices that are more inclusive and language empowering. By situating such solutions in the framework of China's cultural, historical, and market-based translation, this article adds to the growing debate on how the role of translation in the multilingual world should change.

Keywords: Plurilingualism; Native-speaker Norms; Translation Studies; China; Intercultural Communication
Published: October 28, 2025
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2025.HT28531
Volume: CHR Vol.88
pp. 162-170
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