A translation hypothesis for the development of migrant communities into enduring diasporas

Not all migrant communities endure to the same extent in the long term. Some assimilate and blend into the local environment within a generation or two, while others maintain a more-or-less distinct identity and persevere as diasporas for generations and even centuries. This chapter demonstrates the crucial role played by translation in these settings. It hypothesises that in the aftermath of linguistic assimilation, translation may be a precondition for the development of a migrant community into a long-term enduring diaspora. The hypothesis is supported by the case of the Jewish diaspora, in which translation has played a crucial role in various historical periods and contexts. A special focus is put on intra-Jewish translation – translation among and between Jewish communities. It was the need of diaspora Jewish communities to nurture affinities to their homeland and other segments of a global Jewry, and to keep drawing on its religious and intellectual heritage, that made intra-ethnic and intra-religious translation especially pertinent to their existence, and even a precondition of their survival.