Translation Studies

"Translation Studies" presents an integrated concept based on the theory and practice of translation. The author adapts linguistic approaches and methods in such a way that they may be usefully employed in the theory, practice, and analysis of literary translation. The author develops a more cultural approach through text analysis and cross-cultural communication studies. The book is a contribution to the development of translation studies as a discipline in its own right.

A definitive survey of the most important developments in translation theory and research, with an emphasis on the twentieth century. This new edition includes pre-twentieth century readings and readings from other fields.

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.

As a meaningful manifestation of how institutionalized the discipline has become, the new Handbook of Translation Studies is most welcome. The HTS aims at disseminating knowledge about translation and interpreting to a relatively broad audience: not only students who often adamantly prefer user-friendliness, researchers and lecturers in Translation Studies, Translation & Interpreting professionals; but also scholars, experts and professionals from other disciplines (among which linguistics, sociology, history, psychology). Moreover, the HTS is the first handbook with this scope in Translation Studies that has both a print edition and an online version. The HTS is variously searchable: by article, by author, by subject. Another benefit is the interconnection with the selection and organization principles of the online Translation Studies Bibliography (TSB). Many items in the reference lists are hyperlinked to the TSB, where the user can find an abstract of a publication. All articles are written by specialists in the different subfields and are peer-reviewed

In the late 1970s a new academic discipline was born: Translation Studies. We could not read literature in translation, it was argued, without asking ourselves if linguistic and cultural phenomena really were 'translatable' and exploring in some depth the concept of 'equivalence'. When Susan Bassnett's Translation Studies appeared in the New Accents series, it quickly became the essential introduction to this new subject. Susan Bassnett tackles the crucial problems of translation and offers a history of translation theory, beginning with the ancient Romans and encompassing key twentieth-century structuralist work. She then explores specific problems of literary translation through a close, practical analysis of texts, and completes her book with extensive suggestions for further reading. Twenty years after publication, the field of translation studies continues to grow. Updated for the second time, Susan Bassnett's Translation Studies remains essential reading for anyone new to the field.

Published at a time of unprecedented growth of interest in translation, the Dictionary of Translation Studies aims to present the insights of a number of different approaches to translation in an unbiased, non-partisan way. With more than 300 articles, this essential volume provides the reader with a snapshot of a rapidly developing discipline, based on work produced in serveral languages. With a clear, easy-to-follow layout, the Dictionary provides a comprehensive and highly accessible survey of key terms and concepts (such as Abusive Translation, Equivalence, Informationsangebot, Minimax Principle, Texteme and Thick Translation), types of activity (Autotranslation, Dubbing, Signed Language Interpreting), and schools and approaches (Leipzig School, Manipulation School, Nitra School). Each term is presented within the context in which it first occurred and is given a definition which is both clear and informative. Major entries include a discussion of relevant viewpoints as well as comments on how the usage and application of the term have developed subsequent to its coining. In addition, all entries provide suggestions for further reading, and there is an extensive bibliography included at the end. This is an indispensable tool for anyone studying or teaching translation at university level.

As an interdisciplinary area of research, translation studies attracts students and scholars with a wide range of backgrounds, who then need to face the challenge of accounting for a complex object of enquiry that does not adapt itself well to traditional methods in other fields of investigation. This book addresses the needs of such scholars – whether they are students doing research at postgraduate level or more experienced researchers who want to familiarize themselves with methods outside their current field of expertise. The book promotes a discerning and critical approach to scholarly investigation by providing the reader not only with the know-how but also with insights into how new questions can be fruitfully explored through the coherent integration of different methods of research. Understanding core principles of reliability, validity and ethics is essential for any researcher no matter what methodology they adopt, and a whole chapter is therefore devoted to these issues. Research Methodologies in Translation Studies is divided into four different chapters, according to whether the research focuses on the translation product, the process of translation, the participants involved or the context in which translation takes place. An introductory chapter discusses issues of reliability, credibility, validity and ethics. The impact of our research depends not only on its quality but also on successful dissemination, and the final chapter therefore deals with what is also generally the final stage of the research process: producing a research report.

A replacement of the author's well-known book on Translation Theory, In Search of a Theory of Translation (1980), this book makes a case for Descriptive Translation Studies as a scholarly activity as well as a branch of the discipline, having immediate consequences for issues of both a theoretical and applied nature. Methodological discussions are complemented by an assortment of case studies of various scopes and levels, with emphasis on the need to contextualize whatever one sets out to focus on.Part One deals with the position of descriptive studies within TS and justifies the author's choice to devote a whole book to the subject. Part Two gives a detailed rationale for descriptive studies in translation and serves as a framework for the case studies comprising Part Three. Concrete descriptive issues are here tackled within ever growing contexts of a higher level: texts and modes of translational behaviour — in the appropriate cultural setup; textual components — in texts, and through these texts, in cultural constellations. Part Four asks the question: What is knowledge accumulated through descriptive studies performed within one and the same framework likely to yield in terms of theory and practice?This is an excellent book for higher-level translation courses.