Transfer Thinking In Translation Studies

Innovative and interdisciplinary approach to transfer.

The concept of transfer covers the most diverse phenomena of circulation, transformation and reinterpretation of cultural goods across space and time, and are among the driving forces in opening up the field of translation studies. Transfer processes cross linguistic and cultural boundaries and cannot be reduced to simple movements from a source to a target (culture or text). In a time of paradigm shifts, this book aims to explore the potential and interdisciplinary power of transfer as a concept and an analytical tool to account for complex cultural dynamics. The contributions in this book adopt various research angles (literary studies, imagology, translation studies, translator studies, periodical studies, postcolonialism) to study an array of entangled transfer processes that apply to different objects and aspects, ranging from literary texts, legal texts, news, images and identities to ideologies, power asymmetries, titles and heterolingualisms. By embracing a process-oriented way of thinking, all these contributions aim to open the ‘black box’ of transfer in the widest sense.

Translation obviously works on texts that move from one culture to another. But how should translation studies incorporate this basic principle of transfer? Refusing simple answers, this book sees the relation between translation and transfer as a complex phenomenon that must be described on both the semiotic and material levels. Various connected approaches then conceptualise this relationship as being causal, economic, discursive, quantitative, political, historical, ethical and epistemological... and indeed translational. Individual chapters address each of these aspects. The result is a highly suggestive and stimulating vision of translation studies.

Beginning with the paradox that characterizes the history of translation studies in the last half century - that more and more parameters of translation have been defined, but less and less closure achieved - the first half of Enlarging Translation, Empowering Translators calls for radical inclusionary approaches to translation, including a greater internationalization of the field. The book investigates the implications of the expanding but open definition of translation, with a chapter on research methods charting future approaches to translation studies. In the second half of the book, these enlarged views of translation are linked to the empowerment and agency of the translator. Revamped ideological frameworks for translation, new paradigms for the translation of culture, and new ways of incorporating contemporary views of meaning into translation follow from the expanded conceptualization of translation, and they serve as a platform for empowering translators and promoting activist translation practices. Addressed to translation theorists, teachers, and practising translators alike, this latest contribution from one of the leading theorists in the field sets new directions for translation studies.

This volume highlights a range of perspectives on the ways in which complexity thinking might be applied in translation studies, focusing in particular on methods to achieve this. The book introduces the topic with a brief overview of the history and conceptualization of complexity thinking. The volume then frames complexity theory through a variety of lenses, including translation and society, interpreting studies, and Bible translation, to feature case studies in which complexity thinking has successfully been or might be applied within translation studies. Using complexity thinking in translation studies as a jumping off point from which to consider the broader implications of implementing quantitative approaches in qualitative research in the humanities, this volume is key reading for graduate students and scholars in translation studies, cultural studies, semiotics, and development studies.

When learners of a new language draw on their native language (or on any other that they may know), this earlier acquired linguistic knowledge may influence their success. Such cross-linguistic influence, also known as language transfer, has long raised questions about what linguists can predict about success in the new language and about what processes are involved in using prior knowledge. This book lucidly brings together many insights on transfer: e.g. on the relation between translation and transfer, the relation between comprehension and production, and the problem of how complete any predictions of difficulty may ever be. The discussions also explore implications for future research and for classroom practice. The book will thus serve as a reliable guide for teachers, researchers, translators, interpreters, and students curious about language contact.

In The Situatedness of Translation Studies, Luc van Doorslaer and Ton Naaijkens reassess some outdated views about Translation Studies. They present ten chapters about lesser-known conceptualizations of translation and translation theory in various cultural contexts, such as Chinese, Estonian, Greek, Russian and Ukrainian.

Up to now, the Handbook of Translation Studies (HTS) consisted of four volumes, all published between 2010 and 2013. Since research in TS continues to grow and expand, this fifth volume was added in 2021. The HTS aims at disseminating knowledge about translation, interpreting, localization, adaptation, etc. and providing easy access to a large range of topics, traditions, and methods to a relatively broad audience: not only students who prefer such user-friendliness, but also researchers and lecturers in Translation Studies, Translation & Interpreting professionals, as well as scholars and experts from other adjacent disciplines. All articles in HTS are written by specialists in the different subfields and are peer-reviewed.