Academia is in many parts strongly conventionalised, but at the same time often allows for a significant amount of mobility and flexibility for its participants.This chapter has shown additional dimensions and contributing factors to the process of 'making' or 'breaking' of emerging ideas (and by extension, scholars).The three original categories for frequency of contact ("often = at least twice a week; occasionally = more than once a year but less than twice a week; rarely = once a year or less" (ibid.)) could, for instance, be refined by adding communication and language- sensitive sub-categories, so that one would end up with categories that convey more information about the nature of communication across those ties: Frequency of contact: Communication between two native speakers Communication between native speaker and non-native speaker Communication between two non- native speakers Often Occasionally Rarely Fig. 1, Suggestion for expansion of Granovetter's categories by language-sensitive subcategories The addition of communication-focused categories, in combination with Granovetter's categories for the frequency of contact as a basis of determining the nature of the connection, could, for example, indicate not only whether job-related information is passed on via strong or weak ties, but also further differentiate and indicate whether such information tends to reach the job changer, and through which types of language channels or barriers. This could bring to light further insights about the balance of structure vs. motivation. Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote "Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeutendie Grenzen meiner Welt" (The limits of my language are the limits of my world).5051 Languages and our ability to transcend those limits determine greatly to what extent we can participate in the information exchange and diffusion process when the respective information network operates across 50 "Tractatus 5.6", in Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (Logisch-philosophische Abhandlung), London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co, 1922 (first published 1921).While aspects of segregation, different ethnic groups, and ethnic control over certain labour market niches are discussed in the original monograph, "Getting a Job", the specific aspects of potential language barriers or hurdles between members of the job seeker group, 143 issues regarding possible prejudices towards sociolects or dialects, or issues of non-native speakers of English, are not analysed in more detail. The description and subsequent discussion of the sample group in "The Strength of Weak Ties" suggests a high level of linguistic homogeneity in the sample group, since the members of the sample group are not further differentiated in terms of languages, dialects or sociolects spoken.We have seen translators as contact point between cultures, establishing relations and engaging in the import and export of knowledge (e.g. in the case of travellers like Marco Polo), or as researchers and thereby generators of knowledge (e.g. in the case of 'enriched' translations by commentaries, or cases where translators would undertake research of their own as an addition to the work they were translating).142 As this thesis sets out to offer insight into some of the complexities of ideational shifts within and knowledge transfer between disciplines including a consideration for issues of language and translation, this work should provide a valuable contribution to the Weak Tie theory by expanding the horizon of enquiry into communication flow in networks with the notion of communication across linguistic barriers.2.5 Chapter Conclusion This chapter has discussed various aspects of and changes in the manifold roles and significances of translators and translations, from the lack of attention given by most network analysis to linguistic access, to the significance of translation in the process of the dissemination of ideas, as has been exemplified by cases of translations of Adorno and Derrida.Finally, various roles and options of translators and translations as part of networks have been outlined, and selected approaches to connect translation studies and network studies have been discussed, in order to highlight the challenges and opportunities of applying the frame of and strategies from network studies to translation studies research.Differences in languages, dialects, or even sociolects can however not just alter the amount and accuracy on information that is accessible to an individual from other contacts, but arguably it might also influence how individuals will feel about their contacts, and respectively, how they classify and describe these connections.In Granovetter's case, there was a large proportion of his sample group who, when asked if they had heard of their new jobs through weak ties (contacts who they saw rarely) or through strong ties (contacts who they saw often), responded "occasionally" (1371), while 27.8% of those people who found a job through contacts had done so with information transmitted through contacts that they saw only "rarely" (ibid.). On this basis, Granovetter concludes that "[t]he skew is clearly to the weak end of the continuum, suggesting the primacy of structure over motivation" (ibid.).Therefore, I believe it would be of great value for a future research project to re-examine Granovetter's original study from a linguistic and translation studies point of view, with emphasis on the dialects, accents, and sociolects present in the sample group, and the respective connotations and consequences for the transmission or non-transmission of relevant information for the job seekers.This further complements the multi- faceted line of enquiry taken by the project at hand, by showing the layer of interpretation and filtering by translation as an additional factor in the process of the spread of ideas that also determines whether an idea is successfully emerging and is being established or not.This chapter has furthermore outlined examples of translation activity from different historical periods in order to illustrate the translators' changing responsibilities, expectations, as well as the changing power relations and positions within the respective knowledge networks.While this would imply that information diffused through 'translator ties' has an inherently large value, this aspect also comes with its own considerable range of problems, since one could also argue that information disseminated through the 'filter layer' of translation is likely to have at least some deviations or perhaps even distortions compared to the 'original' information.In order to assess what appears to be a form of co-dependency between ties, language and language perception, and translation more conclusively, an interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers from the different fields could yield differentiated and insightful results.The points of criticism expressed and the expanded model categories for assessment suggested here initially intend to merely outline a starting point as well as to highlight complexities regarding the role of language, linguistic barriers, and translation in processes of knowledge exchange and the spread of ideas.Since the data set for this research project in hand focuses primarily on data from publication and citation, the following section will instead emphasise aspects in Granovetter's study that to my knowledge have so far been neglected, and to which TS could contribute significantly to further revisions of his work as well as other work on strong weak tie theory.The inclusion of e.g. linguistic features in analyses of communication settings will allow for more nuanced insight and increased understanding of inter-personal connections and how language affects the exchange of information.The Weak Tie theory would also benefit from increased awareness, further insights and engagement from the field of translation studies as well as interpreting studies in general, since considerations of linguistic access to information as part of Granovetter's model of information exchange between nodes in a network have so far been neglected.The idea itself can be seen as 147 secondary in this process: a good translation which is tailored to and fulfils the expectations and conventions of the receiving market can enable a scholar's idea to emerge onto a field, be well received and spread, and lead to commercial and academic success.145 linguistic and cultural boundaries.