Translating as a Purposeful Activity

Christiane Nord is Professor Emerita of Translation Studies and Specialised Communication at the University of Applied Sciences of Magdeburg, Germany, and Visiting Professor at several universities of the People’s Republic of China. She also holds the position of Professor Extraordinary and Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, South Africa. Her homepage can be found at www.christiane-nord.de.

“The third edition of Translating as a Purposeful Activity stands as a milestone in functionalist approaches to translation. This book combines theoretical depth with practical value, and its new content reflects cutting-edge insights, making it a well-deserved must-read classic in translation studies”Bian Jianhua, School of Foreign Languages, Qingdao University, China“This book on expert human translation is even more relevant now than it was when it was first published. In an age of AI where translation is seen as just one more data processing technique, where human communication seems to comprise nothing more than randomly linked words susceptible to probabilistic autofill processes, understanding translation as a prospective, intentional, functional social act constitutes a statement of ethical principles more necessary than ever before. In this easy-to-read, highly didactic text, Professor Nord explains the theoretical, practical and pedagogical bases of contemporary translation.”Elisa Calvo Encinas, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain

• Introduction1 Historical overview1.1 Early views1.2 Katharina Reiss and the functional category of translation criticism1.3 Hans J. Vermeer: Skopostheorie and beyond1.4 Justa Holz-Mänttäri and the theory of translatorial action1.5 Functionalist methodology in translator training2 Translation and the theory of action2.1 Translating as a form of translational interaction2.2 Translating as intentional interaction2.3 Translating as interpersonal interaction2.4 Translating as a communicative actdion2.5 Translating as intercultural action2.6 Translating as a text-processing action3 Basic aspects of Skopostheorie3.1 Skopos, aim, purpose, intention, function, and translation brief3.2 Intertextual and intratextual coherence3.3 The concept of culture and culture-specificity3.4 Adequacy and equivalence3.5 The role of text classifications4 Functionalism in translator training4.1 A translation-oriented model of communicative functions in texts4.2 A functional typology of translations4.3 Source-text analysis, translation briefs and identifying translation problems4.4 Translation errors and translation evaluation5 Functionalism in literary translation5.1 Actional aspects of literary communication 5.2 Literary communication across culture barriers 6 Functionalist approaches to interpreting6.1 The role of interpreting in Skopostheorie6.2 Translator training: from interpreting to translation6.3 A functionalist approach to simultaneous interpreting6.4 Functionalism in other forms of interpreting7 Criticisms7.1 Criticism 1: not all actions have an intention 7.2 Criticism 2: not all translations have a purpose 7.3 Criticism 3: functional approaches transgress the limits of translation proper 7.4 Criticism 4: Skopostheorie is not an original theory 7.5 Criticism 5: functionalism is not based on empirical findings 7.6 Criticism 6: functionalism produces mercenary experts 7.7 Criticism 7: functionalism does not respect the original 7.8 Criticism 8: functionalism is a theory of adaptation 7.9 Criticism 9: functionalism does not work in literary translation 7.10 Criticism 10: functionalism is marked by cultural relativism 8 Function plus loyalty9 Functionalism in the new millennium9.1 Spreading the word 9.2 Functionalism in the profession9.3 Adaptation and transfer studies9.4 Functionalism and AIGlossaryBibliographical references