Reflections On Translation Theory

This collection of essays brings together a decade of writings on translation by leading international translation studies expert, Susan Bassnett. The essays cover a range of topics and will be useful to anyone with an interest in how different cultures communicate. Bassnett draws upon her personal experience to explore issues such as why the same things cannot be expressed in all languages, why translators in war zones risk their lives for their work, whether humour can travel across cultures, why translated menus are often so bad and whether poetry does indeed get lost in translation.

Originally published in different journals and collected volumes, these papers in conceptual analysis cover some central topics in translation theory and research: types of theory and hypothesis; causality and explanation; norms, strategies and so-called universals; translation sociology, and ethics. There are critical reviews of Catford’s theory, and of Skopos theory, and of Kundera’s views on literary translation, and detailed analyses of the literal translation hypothesis and the unique items hypothesis. The methodological discussions, which draw on work in the philosophy of science, will be of special relevance to younger researchers, for example those starting work on a doctorate. Some of the arguments and positions defended – for instance on the significant status of conceptual, interpretive hypotheses, and the ideal of consilience – relate to wider ongoing debates, and will interest any scholar who is concerned about the increasing fragmentation of the field and about the future of Translation Studies. Let the dialogue continue!

This book offers an unprecedented look into the field of translation studies (TS) in Brazil, placing emphasis both on the conflict theory vs. practice and on the reception of poststructuralist thought. The implied debate between the voices heard in the book represents a wide-ranging spectrum of viewpoints not only in TS in Brazil, but also in the humanities in general. Addressing issues such as the institutionalisation of translation, the aim of translation theory and translator training, the impact of poststructuralist thought on TS and the role of multilingualism in the area, this work offers an overview of the field of TS today, while proposing new strategies for translators and translation scholars that go beyond the conflicts between theory and practice and between structuralism and poststructuralism.

With contributions by researchers from India, Europe, North America and the Caribbean, In Translation – Reflections, refractions, transformations touches on questions of method and on topics – including copyright, cultural hybridity, globalization, identity construction, and minority languages – which are important for the disciplinary development of translation studies but also of interest to other fields as well, most notably comparative literature, cultural studies and world literature. The volume provides a forum for new voices to be heard alongside those of well-established scholars and for current concerns to express themselves, often focusing on practices in areas of the world other than Europe or North America, which have until now tended to dominate the field. Acknowledging difference and celebrating it, the contributions conceive of translation as a process which reconstitutes and transforms, which brings renewal and growth, an interaction in a new context, a new reading, a new writing.

This book revisits a number of key issues in Chinese Translation Studies. Reflecting on e.g. what Translation Studies researchers have achieved in the past, and the extent to which the central issues have been addressed and what still needs to be done, a group of respected scholars share their expertise in order to identify some tangible directions and potential areas for future research. In addition, the book discusses a number of key themes, e.g. Translation Studies as a discipline and its essential characteristics, the cultural dimension in translator training, paradigms of curriculum design, the reform of assessment for professional qualification, acts and translation shifts, the principle of faithfulness in translation, and interpreter’s cognitive processing routes. The book offers a useful reference guide for a broad readership including graduate students, and shares insiders’ accounts of various current topics and issues in Chinese Translation Studies. Given its scope, it is also a valuable resource for researchers interested in translation studies in the Chinese context.

At a time when millions travel around the planet – some by choice, some driven by economic or political exile – translation of the written and spoken word is of ever increasing importance. This guide presents readers with an accessible and engaging introduction to the valuable position translation holds within literature and society. Leading translation theorist Susan Bassnett traces the history of translation, examining the ways translation is currently utilized as a burgeoning interdisciplinary activity and extending her analysis into developing areas such as developing technologies and new media forms. Translation Studies, fourth edition displays the importance of translation across disciplines, and is essential reading for students and scholars of translation, literary studies, globalisation studies and ancient and modern languages.

In the past decades, translation studies have increasingly focused on the ethical dimension of translational activity, with an emphasis on reflexivity to assert the role of the researcher in highlighting issues of visibility, creativity and ethics. In Reflexive Translation Studies, Silvia Kadiu investigates the viability of theories that seek to empower translation by making visible its transformative dimension; for example, by championing the visibility of the translating subject, the translator’s right to creativity, the supremacy of human translation or an autonomous study of translation. Inspired by Derrida’s deconstructive thinking, Kadiu presents practical ways of challenging theories that argue reflexivity is the only way of developing an ethical translation. She questions the capacity of reflexivity to counteract the power relations at play in translation (between minor and dominant languages, for example) and problematises affirmative claims about (self-)knowledge by using translation itself as a process of critical reflection. In exploring the interaction between form and content, Reflexive Translation Studies promotes the need for an experimental, multi-sensory and intuitive practice, which invites students, scholars and practitioners alike to engage with theory productively and creatively through translation.