In recent years, a considerable volume of academic literature and researches in the field of translation are being focused on the concept of gender in translation (e.g. von Flotow 2001, Simon 1996, and Chamberlain 1998). According to Chamberlain (1998: 96), “the issues relating to gender in the practice of translation are myriad, varying widely according to the type of text being translated, the language involved, cultural practices and countless other factors”. Von Flotow (2001) offers a comprehensive overview of research areas in which the issue of “gender and translation” could be investigated:

- Historical studies (who translated what when and how, and how did gender play into this?)
- Theoretical considerations (how do different gender affiliations, definitions, constructions play themselves out in translation and translation research?)
- Issues of identity (how does gendered identity or a lack of it affect translation, translation research?)
- Post-colonial questions (does our largely Anglo-American "gender" apply in other cultures and their texts? Does it translate into other languages? And what does it mean if it doesn’t?)
- More general questions of cultural transfer (is the current government-supported export of Canadian women’s writing, a hot commodity in some literary markets, really about Canadian tolerance and egalitarianism?)
Whereas most of researches done regarding gender in translation have dealt specifically with the issue of the translators’ gender identity and its effect on their translations, the main focus of current article is on how gender itself is translated and produced. Following paragraphs will try to clarify what gender is, how gender manifest itself in grammatical and social systems of language, and what problems translators encounter when translating or producing gender-related materials.

Grammatical Gender

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