Translation Theories Explored – serie

In this eminently readable study, Philip Wilson explores the later writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein and shows how a reading of this philosophy can enable the translation theorist and the practising translator to reflect upon and improve the phenomenon of translation. Wittgenstein, whilst a key figure in twentieth-century philosophy, remains peripheral to the field of translation studies and Wilson argues that his later work, because it deals with the nature of language and meaning, is potentially of great significance and an awareness of this can change translation, both literary and non-literary. Wittgenstein’s life and thought is treated in the introduction, where it is shown how his methods can be applied to areas outside philosophy. The central three chapters of the book survey: the reading of the source text for translation; the writing of the target text; the theorisation of the target text. The author demonstrates how tools from Wittgenstein’s work can be of use in translation studies: the notion of the language-game, for example, helps us to understand meaning by looking at the way that words are used, and this can both help us describe translation and suggest ways of translating. A wide variety of examples and case studies is given throughout the book, from both literary and non-literary sources. Aimed at translation studies scholars, graduate students and researchers, this interdisciplinary book will also be of interest to scholars of philosophy and literature.

As the 'thresholds' through which readers and viewers access texts, paratexts have already sparked important scholarship in literary theory, digital studies and media studies. Translation and Paratexts explores the relevance of paratexts for translation studies and provides a framework for further research. Writing in three parts, Kathryn Batchelor first offers a critical overview of recent scholarship, and in the second part introduces three original case studies to demonstrate the importance of paratextual theory. Batchelor interrogates English versions of Nietzsche, Chinese editions of Western translation theory, and examples of subtitled drama in the UK, before concluding with a final part outlining a theory of paratextuality for translation research, addressing questions of terminology and methodology. Translation and Paratexts is essential reading for students and researchers in translation studies, interpreting studies and literary translation.

This classic text, updated with new material, introduces students clearly and effectively to a 'gendered' way of understanding translation by convincingly constructing a link between translation studies and the interdisciplinary field of women’s studies.Translation and Gender places work in translation against the background of the women's movement and its critique of 'patriarchal' language. It explains the origins and goals of this approach to translation, exploring translation practices derived from experimental feminist writing, the development of openly interventionist translation strategies, the initiative to retranslate fundamental texts such as the Bible, translating as a way of recuperating writings 'lost' in patriarchy, and translation history as a means of focusing on women translators of the past.With new chapters focusing on queer theory and its applications to translation and translation studies, and transnational and decolonial feminisms and their applications to translation and translation studies, this edition ensures continued relevance and importance to all studying and researching the vibrant area of translation and gender, within translation studies, comparative literature and gender and women's studies.

This classic text, updated with new material, introduces students clearly and effectively to a 'gendered' way of understanding translation by convincingly constructing a link between translation studies and the interdisciplinary field of women’s studies.Translation and Gender places work in translation against the background of the women's movement and its critique of 'patriarchal' language. It explains the origins and goals of this approach to translation, exploring translation practices derived from experimental feminist writing, the development of openly interventionist translation strategies, the initiative to retranslate fundamental texts such as the Bible, translating as a way of recuperating writings 'lost' in patriarchy, and translation history as a means of focusing on women translators of the past.With new chapters focusing on queer theory and its applications to translation and translation studies, and transnational and decolonial feminisms and their applications to translation and translation studies, this edition ensures continued relevance and importance to all studying and researching the vibrant area of translation and gender, within translation studies, comparative literature and gender and women's studies.

This classic text has long been the essential guide to functionalist approaches to translation. Christiane Nord explains the complexities of theories and terms in simple language with numerous examples from a variety of languages and cultures, including new examples from Chinese language.Covering how the theories developed, illustrations of the main ideas, and specific applications to translator training, literary translation, interpreting, and ethics, Translating as a Purposeful Activity concludes with a concise review of the main criticisms of this approach. It also includes a new chapter on the latest developments and research currents since the turn of the century, focusing on functionalism at the translator’s workplace, in legal translation and in Bible translation.This new edition has an improved layout and many new examples ensuring that this remains essential reading for students of translation studies and translator training.

This classic text has long been the essential guide to functionalist approaches to translation. Christiane Nord explains the complexities of theories and terms in simple language with numerous examples from a variety of languages and cultures, including new examples from Chinese language.Covering how the theories developed, illustrations of the main ideas, and specific applications to translator training, literary translation, interpreting, and ethics, Translating as a Purposeful Activity concludes with a concise review of the main criticisms of this approach. It also includes a new chapter on the latest developments and research currents since the turn of the century, focusing on functionalism at the translator’s workplace, in legal translation and in Bible translation.This new edition has an improved layout and many new examples ensuring that this remains essential reading for students of translation studies and translator training.

The notion of systems has helped revolutionize translation studies since the 1970s. As a key part of many descriptive approaches, it has broken with the prescriptive focus on what translation should be, encouraging researchers to ask what translation does in specific cultural settings. From his privileged position as a direct participant in these developments, Theo Hermans explains how contemporary descriptive approaches came about, what the basic ideas were, and how those ideas have evolved over time. His discussion addresses the fundamental problems of translation norms, equivalence, polysystems and social systems, covering not only the work of Levý, Holmes, Even-Zohar, Toury, Lefevere, Lambert, Van Leuven-Zwart, Dhulst and others, but also giving special attention to recent contributions derived from Pierre Bourdieu and Niklas Luhmann. An added focus on practical questions of how to investigate translation (problems of definition, description, assessment of readerships, etc.) makes this book essential reading for graduate students and indeed any researchers in the field. Hermans' account of descriptive translation studies is both informed and critical. At the same time, he demonstrates the strength of the basic concepts, which have shown considerable vitality in their evolution and adaptation to the debates of the present day.

Cultural anthropology has always been dependent on translation as a textual practice, and it has often used 'translation' as a metaphor to describe ethnography's processes of interpretation and cross-cultural comparison. Questions of intelligibility and representation are central to both translation studies and ethnographic writing - as are the dilemmas of cultural distance or proximity, exoticism or appropriation. Similarly, recent work in museum studies discusses problems of representation that are raised by ethnographic museums as multimedia 'translations'. However, as yet there has been remarkably little interdisciplinary exchange: neither has translation studies kept up with the sophistication of anthropology's investigations of meaning, representation and 'culture' itself, nor have anthropology and museum studies often looked to translation studies for analyses of language difference or concrete methods of tracing translation practices.This book opens up an exciting field of study to translation scholars and suggests possible avenues of cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Deconstruction and Translation explains ways in which many practical and theoretical problems of translation can be rethought in the light of insights from the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. If there is no one origin, no transcendent meaning, and thus no stable source text, we can no longer talk of translation as meaning transfer or as passive reproduction. Kathleen Davis instead refers to the translator's freedom and individual responsibility. Her survey of this complex field begins from an analysis of the proper name as a model for the problem of signification and explains revised concepts of limits, singularity, generality, definitions of text, writing, iterability, meaning and intention. The implications for translation theory are then elaborated, complicating the desire for translatability and incorporating sharp critique of linguistic and communicative approaches to translation. The practical import of this approach is shown in analyses of the ways Derrida has been translated into English. In all, the text offers orientation and guidance through some of the most conceptually demanding and rewarding fields of contemporary translation theory.

Arising from cultural anthropology in the late 1980s and early 1990s, postcolonial translation theory is based on the observation that translation has often served as an important channel of empire. Douglas Robinson begins with a general presentation of postcolonial theory, examines current theories of the power differentials that control what gets translated and how, and traces the historical development of postcolonial thought about translation. He also explores the negative and positive impact of translation in the postcolonial context, reviewing various critiques of postcolonial translation theory and providing a glossary of key words. The result is a clear and useful guide to some of the most complex and critical issues in contemporary translation studies.

The last thirty years of intellectual and artistic creativity in the 20th century have been marked by gender issues. Translation practice, translation theory and translation criticism have also been powerfully affected by the focus on gender. As a result of feminist praxis and criticism and the simultaneous emphasis on culture in translation studies, translation has become an important site for the exploration of the cultural impact of gender and the gender-specific influence of cuture. With the dismantling of 'universal' meaning and the struggle for women's visibility in feminist work, and with the interest in translation as a visible factor in cultural exchange, the linking of gender and translation has created fertile ground for explorations of influence in writing, rewriting and reading.Translation and Gender places recent work in translation against the background of the women's movement and its critique of 'patriarchal' language. It explains translation practices derived from experimental feminist writing, the development of openly interventionist translation strategies, the initiative to retranslate fundamental texts such as the Bible, translating as a way of recuperating writings 'lost' in patriarchy, and translation history as a means of focusing on women translators of the past.

Can Theory Help Translators? is a dialogue between a theoretical scholar and a professional translator, about the usefulness (if any) of translation theory. The authors argue about the problem of the translator's identity, the history of the translator's role, the translator's visibility, translation types and strategies, translation quality, ethics and translation aids.

Translation Studies and linguistics have been going through a love­-hate relationship since the 1950s. This book assesses both sides of the relationship, tracing the very real contributions that linguists have made to translation studies and at the same time recognizing the limitations of many of their approaches. With good humour and even­handedness, Fawcett describes detailed taxonomies of translation strategies and deals with traditional problems such as equivalence. Yet he also explains and assesses the more recent contributions of text linguistics, sociolinguistics, pragmatics and psycholinguistics.This work is exceptional in that it presents theories originally produced in Russian, German, French and Spanish as well as English. Its broad coverage and accessible treatment provide essential background reading for students of translation at all levels.

Translation and Practice Theory is a timely and theoretically innovative study linking professional practice and translation theory, showing the usefulness of a practice-theoretical approach in addressing some of the challenges that the professional world of translation is currently facing, including, for example, the increasing deployment of machine translation.Focusing on the key aspects of translation practices, Olohan provides the reader with an in-depth understanding of how those practices are performed, as translators interact with people, technologies and other material resources in the translation workplace. The practice-theoretical perspective helps to describe and explain the socio-material complexities of present-day commercial translation practice but also offers a productive approach for studies of translation and interpreting practices in other settings and periods. This first book-length exploration of translation through the lens of practice theory is key reading for advanced students and researchers of Translation Theory. It will also be of interest in the area of professional communication within Communication Studies and Applied Linguistics.

Translation and Practice Theory is a timely and theoretically innovative study linking professional practice and translation theory, showing the usefulness of a practice-theoretical approach in addressing some of the challenges that the professional world of translation is currently facing, including, for example, the increasing deployment of machine translation.Focusing on the key aspects of translation practices, Olohan provides the reader with an in-depth understanding of how those practices are performed, as translators interact with people, technologies and other material resources in the translation workplace. The practice-theoretical perspective helps to describe and explain the socio-material complexities of present-day commercial translation practice but also offers a productive approach for studies of translation and interpreting practices in other settings and periods. This first book-length exploration of translation through the lens of practice theory is key reading for advanced students and researchers of Translation Theory. It will also be of interest in the area of professional communication within Communication Studies and Applied Linguistics.

As the 'thresholds' through which readers and viewers access texts, paratexts have already sparked important scholarship in literary theory, digital studies and media studies. Translation and Paratexts explores the relevance of paratexts for translation studies and provides a framework for further research. Writing in three parts, Kathryn Batchelor first offers a critical overview of recent scholarship, and in the second part introduces three original case studies to demonstrate the importance of paratextual theory. Batchelor interrogates English versions of Nietzsche, Chinese editions of Western translation theory, and examples of subtitled drama in the UK, before concluding with a final part outlining a theory of paratextuality for translation research, addressing questions of terminology and methodology. Translation and Paratexts is essential reading for students and researchers in translation studies, interpreting studies and literary translation.

This bestselling text is a comprehensive overview of functionalist approaches to translation in English. Christiane Nord, one of the leading figures in translation studies, explains the complexities of theories and terms in simple language with numerous examples. Covering how the theories developed, illustrations of the main ideas, and specific applications to translator training, literary translation, interpreting and ethics, Translating as a Purposeful Activity concludes with a concise review of both criticisms and perspectives for the future. Now with a Foreword by Georges Bastin and a new chapter covering the recent developments and elaborations of the theory, this is an essential text for students of translation studies and for translator training.

In today’s ever-changing climate of disintegration and recombination, translation has become one of the essential metaphors, if not the metaphor, of our globalized world. Translation and Metaphor is an attempt to draw a comprehensive map of these new, overlapping theoretical territories and the many cross-disciplinary movements they imply. In five chapters, this book examines:the main metaphor theories developed in the West;the way the notion of metaphor relates to the concept of translation;different theoretical perspectives on metaphors of translation in translation studies;the main metaphors developed to describe translation in the West and in the East;spatial metaphors within translation studies, cultural studies and postcolonial theory;the use of the metaphor of translation across psychoanalysis, anthropology and ethnography, postcolonial theory, history and literature, sociology, media and communication theory, medicine and genetics.Comprehensive analysis of key metaphor theories, revealing examples from a wide range of sources and a look towards future directions make this a must-have book for students, researchers and translators working in the areas of translation and translation theory.

Style plays a major role in the translation of literary as well as non-literary texts, and Translation and Style offers an updated survey of this highly interdisciplinary area of translation studies. Jean Boase-Beier examines a variety of disciplines and theoretical approaches including stylistics, literary criticism, and narratology to investigate how we translate style. This revised and expanded edition of the 2006 book Stylistic Approaches to Translation offers new and accessible explanations on recent developments in the field, notably in the areas of Relevance Theory and cognitive stylistics.With many authentic examples to show how style affects translation, this book is an invaluable resource for both students and scholars working in translation studies and comparative literature.

Style plays a major role in the translation of literary as well as non-literary texts, and Translation and Style offers an updated survey of this highly interdisciplinary area of translation studies. Jean Boase-Beier examines a variety of disciplines and theoretical approaches including stylistics, literary criticism, and narratology to investigate how we translate style. This revised and expanded edition of the 2006 book Stylistic Approaches to Translation offers new and accessible explanations on recent developments in the field, notably in the areas of Relevance Theory and cognitive stylistics.With many authentic examples to show how style affects translation, this book is an invaluable resource for both students and scholars working in translation studies and comparative literature.

The revival of translation as a means of learning and teaching a foreign language and as a skill in its own right is occurring at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in universities.In this book, Sara Laviosa proposes a translation-based pedagogy that is grounded in theory and has been applied in real educational contexts. This volume draws on the convergence between the view of language and translation embraced by ecologically-oriented educationalists and the theoretical underpinnings of the holistic approach to translating culture. It puts forward a holistic pedagogy that harmonizes the teaching of language and translation in the same learning environment.The author examines the changing nature of the role of pedagogic translation starting with the Grammar Translation Method and concluding with the more recent ecological approaches to Foreign Language Education.Translation and Language Education analyses current research into the revival of translation in language teaching and is vital reading for translators, language teachers and postgraduate students working in the areas of Translation Studies and Applied Linguistics.

The revival of translation as a means of learning and teaching a foreign language and as a skill in its own right is occurring at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in universities.In this book, Sara Laviosa proposes a translation-based pedagogy that is grounded in theory and has been applied in real educational contexts. This volume draws on the convergence between the view of language and translation embraced by ecologically-oriented educationalists and the theoretical underpinnings of the holistic approach to translating culture. It puts forward a holistic pedagogy that harmonizes the teaching of language and translation in the same learning environment.The author examines the changing nature of the role of pedagogic translation starting with the Grammar Translation Method and concluding with the more recent ecological approaches to Foreign Language Education.Translation and Language Education analyses current research into the revival of translation in language teaching and is vital reading for translators, language teachers and postgraduate students working in the areas of Translation Studies and Applied Linguistics.

In this eminently readable study, Philip Wilson explores the later writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein and shows how a reading of this philosophy can enable the translation theorist and the practising translator to reflect upon and improve the phenomenon of translation. Wittgenstein, whilst a key figure in twentieth-century philosophy, remains peripheral to the field of translation studies and Wilson argues that his later work, because it deals with the nature of language and meaning, is potentially of great significance and an awareness of this can change translation, both literary and non-literary. Wittgenstein’s life and thought is treated in the introduction, where it is shown how his methods can be applied to areas outside philosophy. The central three chapters of the book survey: the reading of the source text for translation; the writing of the target text; the theorisation of the target text. The author demonstrates how tools from Wittgenstein’s work can be of use in translation studies: the notion of the language-game, for example, helps us to understand meaning by looking at the way that words are used, and this can both help us describe translation and suggest ways of translating.A wide variety of examples and case studies is given throughout the book, from both literary and non-literary sources. Aimed at translation studies scholars, graduate students and researchers, this interdisciplinary book will also be of interest to scholars of philosophy and literature.

In today’s ever-changing climate of disintegration and recombination, translation has become one of the essential metaphors, if not the metaphor, of our globalized world. Translation and Metaphor is an attempt to draw a comprehensive map of these new overlapping theoretical territories and the many cross-disciplinary movements they imply. In five chapters, this book examines:· The main metaphor theories developed in the West.· The way the notion of metaphor relates to the concept of translation.· Different theoretical perspectives on metaphors of translation in translation studies.· The main metaphors developed to describe translation in the West and in the East. · Spatial metaphors within translation studies, cultural studies and postcolonial theory.· The use of the metaphor of translation across psychoanalysis, anthropology and ethnography, postcolonial theory, history and literature, sociology, media and communication theory, and medicine and genetics.Comprehensive analysis of key metaphor theories, revealing examples from a wide range of sources and a look towards future directions make this is a must-have book for students, researchers and translators working in the areas of translation and translation theory.

Social theories of the new cosmopolitanism have called attention to the central importance of translation, in areas such as global democracy, human rights and social movements, but translation studies has not engaged systematically with theories of cosmopolitanism.In Cosmopolitanism and Translation, Esperança Bielsa does just that by focussing on the lived experience of the cosmopolitan stranger, whether a traveller, migrant, refugee or homecomer. With reference to world literature, social theory and foreign news, she argues that this key figure of modernity has a central relevance in the cosmopolitanism debate.In nine chapters organised into four thematic sections, this book examines: theories and insights on "new cosmopolitanism" methodological cosmopolitanism translation as the experience of the foreign the notion of cosmopolitanism as openness to others living in translation and the question of the stranger.With detailed case studies centred on Bolaño, Adorno and Terzani and their work, Cosmopolitanism and Translation places translation at the heart of cosmopolitan theory and makes an essential contribution for students and researchers of both translation studies and social theory.

Social theories of the new cosmopolitanism have called attention to the central importance of translation, in areas such as global democracy, human rights and social movements, but translation studies has not engaged systematically with theories of cosmopolitanism.In Cosmopolitanism and Translation, Esperança Bielsa does just that by focussing on the lived experience of the cosmopolitan stranger, whether a traveller, migrant, refugee or homecomer. With reference to world literature, social theory and foreign news, she argues that this key figure of modernity has a central relevance in the cosmopolitanism debate.In nine chapters organised into four thematic sections, this book examines: theories and insights on "new cosmopolitanism" methodological cosmopolitanism translation as the experience of the foreign the notion of cosmopolitanism as openness to others living in translation and the question of the stranger.With detailed case studies centred on Bolaño, Adorno and Terzani and their work, Cosmopolitanism and Translation places translation at the heart of cosmopolitan theory and makes an essential contribution for students and researchers of both translation studies and social theory.

The last thirty years of intellectual and artistic creativity in the 20th century have been marked by gender issues. Translation practice, translation theory and translation criticism have also been powerfully affected by the focus on gender. As a result of feminist praxis and criticism and the simultaneous emphasis on culture in translation studies, translation has become an important site for the exploration of the cultural impact of gender and the gender-specific influence of cuture. With the dismantling of 'universal' meaning and the struggle for women's visibility in feminist work, and with the interest in translation as a visible factor in cultural exchange, the linking of gender and translation has created fertile ground for explorations of influence in writing, rewriting and reading.Translation and Gender places recent work in translation against the background of the women's movement and its critique of 'patriarchal' language. It explains translation practices derived from experimental feminist writing, the development of openly interventionist translation strategies, the initiative to retranslate fundamental texts such as the Bible, translating as a way of recuperating writings 'lost' in patriarchy, and translation history as a means of focusing on women translators of the past.

Translation Studies and linguistics have been going through a love-hate relationship since the 1950s. This book assesses both sides of the relationship, tracing the very real contributions that linguists have made to translation studies and at the same time recognizing the limitations of many of their approaches. With good humour and evenhandedness, Fawcett describes detailed taxonomies of translation strategies and deals with traditional problems such as equivalence. Yet he also explains and assesses the more recent contributions of text linguistics, sociolinguistics, pragmatics and psycholinguistics.This work is exceptional in that it presents theories originally produced in Russian, German, French and Spanish as well as English. Its broad coverage and accessible treatment provide essential background reading for students of translation at all levels.

Arising from cultural anthropology in the late 1980s and early 1990s, postcolonial translation theory is based on the observation that translation has often served as an important channel of empire. Douglas Robinson begins with a general presentation of postcolonial theory, examines current theories of the power differentials that control what gets translated and how, and traces the historical development of postcolonial thought about translation. He also explores the negative and positive impact of translation in the postcolonial context, reviewing various critiques of postcolonial translation theory and providing a glossary of key words. The result is a clear and useful guide to some of the most complex and critical issues in contemporary translation studies.