Abstract

This paper provides a mapping of research development in the cross-field area between Translation Studies (TS) and national image studies To navigate the field’s terminological spread, the article adopts the National Image Cluster (NIC) as an operational umbrella for recurring constructs (national image, national identity, national character), together with related discursive codings including stereotype and cliché. The study uses BITRA to build a two-part corpus: the baseline corpus (1940–2019, N = 502) and the update corpus (2020–2025, N = 151), obtaining 653 records overall. The article is methodologically based on descriptive bibliometric analysis and lightweight text analysis to investigate the growth of publications, document type, recurrent outlet, author prominence, and thematic tendencies. The findings depict an evolution from marginality (pre-1980), to expansion (1980s–1990s), and then to heightened visibility (2000s onward). The primary source of publication is journal articles, though a substantial contribution is also made by edited-volume chapters, books and doctoral dissertations. The clustering analysis suggests that literary and cultural translation continues as the longest-lasting research area, whereas journalism/media translation and audiovisual/multimodal translation constitute important parallel tracks. The 2020–The 2020–2025 update indicates that the thematic core remains stable rather than disrupted: representation, identity, and stereotyping continue as central concerns, yet their articulation increasingly foregrounds digital circulation, platforms, and other contemporary media settings2025 update indicates that the thematic core remains stable rather than disrupted: representation, identity, and stereotyping continue as central concerns, yet their articulation increasingly foregrounds digital circulation, platforms, and other contemporary media settings. The article’s point is that bibliometric evidence is good for mapping scholarly attention, but it cannot by itself demonstrate a causal effect of translation on public perceptions. The conclusion is that this line of work has settled into an enduring and increasingly differentiated part of TS, and it opens up a platform for further exchange with Imagology, media studies, and reception-oriented research.

Keywords

Translation Studies, Imagology, Bibliometric Review, National Image, National Identity, BITRA,

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