Abstract

English is the most translated language in the world and plays a dominant role as an international lingua franca. The present chapter assesses the world status of English and its central role in the international translation system. It then gives an overview of the discipline of translation studies and expounds how the theory and praxis of translation can be beneficial to English language studies with reference to five areas of research. The first one is the transmission of English-language cultural values across the globe. The second is the study of in-text translation in 21^st century prize-winning novels by transnational writers. The third is the influence of English on other languages through Anglicisms. The fourth is English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). The fifth is the adoption of pedagogies that integrate translation and translanguaging practices for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). The final section summarizes the main issues addressed and provides some pointers for the future.