Author(s): Cyntia KÁLMÁNOVÁ

Title: A STUDY OF LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION IN DARK ACADEMIA

Source: P. Baka, D. Borbélyová, A. Csehiová, K. Józsa, K. Kéri, B. Kiss, O. Magirovskaya, Y. Orsovics, B. Pukánszky, Sz. Simon, P. Šenkár, A. Tóth-Bakos, A. Tóthné Litovkina, A. Varga (eds.): 17th International Scientific Conference of J. Selye University. Sessions of the Faculty of Education. Conference Proceedings

ISBN: 978-80-8122-539-0

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36007/5390.2026.506

Publisher: J. Selye University, Komárno, Slovakia

PY, pages: 2025, 508-518

Published on-line: 2026

Language: en

Abstract: In the Dark Academia genre, novels place a profound emphasis on the role of language, literary culture, translation, and interpretation. These elements are not merely considered as aspects of the academic sphere, but as significant tools in understanding the genre’s deeper context and meaning. The present study aims to examine this particular role of written communication and translation in Dark Academia, exploring the hidden details and layers of meaning in the text. The article investigates how languages shape both collective and individual identities, while influencing the foreshadowing elements of the genre, as well as the characters’ perspectives, choices, and sense of self. The primary objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of selected Dark Academia novels, including Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R. F. Kuang, which emphasises the idea that “An act of translation is always an act of betrayal,” thereby foreboding the complex interplay between linguistics, translation, culture, and social and power dynamics.

Keywords: Dark Academia, Babel, The Secret History, If We Were Villains, translation studies, literary culture, historical fiction, identity

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