Katharina Reiss – författare

This is the first English translation of the seminal book by Katharina Reiß and Hans Vermeer, Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie, first published in 1984. The first part of the book was written by Vermeer and explains the theoretical foundations and basic principles of skopos theory as a general theory of translation and interpreting or ‘translational action’, whereas the second part, penned by Katharina Reiß, seeks to integrate her text-typological approach, first presented in 1971, as a ‘specific theory’ that focuses on those cases in which the skopos requires equivalence of functions between the source and target texts. Almost 30 years after it first appeared, this key publication is now finally accessible to the next generations of translation scholars.

In her translation, Christiane Nord attempts to put skopos theory and her own concept of ‘function plus loyalty’ to the test, by producing a comprehensible, acceptable text for a rather heterogeneous audience of English-speaking students and scholars all over the world, at the same time as acting as a loyal intermediary for the authors, to whom she feels deeply indebted as a former student and colleague.

This is the first English translation of the seminal book by Katharina Reiß and Hans Vermeer, Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie, first published in 1984. The first part of the book was written by Vermeer and explains the theoretical foundations and basic principles of skopos theory as a general theory of translation and interpreting or ‘translational action’, whereas the second part, penned by Katharina Reiß, seeks to integrate her text-typological approach, first presented in 1971, as a ‘specific theory’ that focuses on those cases in which the skopos requires equivalence of functions between the source and target texts. Almost 30 years after it first appeared, this key publication is now finally accessible to the next generations of translation scholars.

In her translation, Christiane Nord attempts to put skopos theory and her own concept of ‘function plus loyalty’ to the test, by producing a comprehensible, acceptable text for a rather heterogeneous audience of English-speaking students and scholars all over the world, at the same time as acting as a loyal intermediary for the authors, to whom she feels deeply indebted as a former student and colleague.

Katharina Reiss''s now classic contribution to Translation Studies, Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Übersetzungskritik: Kategorien und Kriteren für eine sachgerechte Beurteilung von Übersetzungen, first appeared in 1971. This is the first English translation of this major work, allowing students and practitioners of translation in the English-speaking world to make more extensive use of Reiss''s pioneering treatment of a central theme in translation: how to develop reliable criteria for the systematic evaluation of translations. Using a wealth of interesting and varied examples, Reiss offers a systematic and illuminating text typology, a pragmatic approach to text analysis, a functional perspective on translation and a hermeneutic view of the translator, thus accounting for some of the most important aspects of the translation process: the text (both source and target versions), the conditions which determine the translator''s decisions, and the translator as an individual whose personal interpretation has to be respected by any critic.

In the three decades since Katharina Reiss wrote, the terminology of translation studies has evolved on many fronts. Erroll Rhodes'' translation strikes an optimal balance between remaining faithful to the original presentation and using terminology that today''s reader would generally understand and value.

Katharina Reiss''s now classic contribution to Translation Studies, Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Übersetzungskritik: Kategorien und Kriteren für eine sachgerechte Beurteilung von Übersetzungen, first appeared in 1971. This is the first English translation of this major work, allowing students and practitioners of translation in the English-speaking world to make more extensive use of Reiss''s pioneering treatment of a central theme in translation: how to develop reliable criteria for the systematic evaluation of translations. Using a wealth of interesting and varied examples, Reiss offers a systematic and illuminating text typology, a pragmatic approach to text analysis, a functional perspective on translation and a hermeneutic view of the translator, thus accounting for some of the most important aspects of the translation process: the text (both source and target versions), the conditions which determine the translator''s decisions, and the translator as an individual whose personal interpretation has to be respected by any critic.

In the three decades since Katharina Reiss wrote, the terminology of translation studies has evolved on many fronts. Erroll Rhodes'' translation strikes an optimal balance between remaining faithful to the original presentation and using terminology that today''s reader would generally understand and value.