JEREMY MUNDAY
INTRODUCING TRANSLATION STUDIES – THEORIES AND APPLICATIONS
CHAPTER 1 (P. 7-27) – MAIN ISSUES OF TRANSLATION STUDIES
1.1 – The concept of translation
- The term “translation” was first attested around 1340: it derives from Old French, which derives from the Latin
“translation”, which is the participle of the verb “transferre”, meaning “to carry over”.
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- Translation today has several meanings: - the general subject field or phenomenon (“I studied translation at
university”)
- the product, the text that has been translated (“They published an Arabic
translation of the report”)
- the process of producing the translation, also known as translating
(“Translation service”)
- Process of translation: - original written text (source text or ST) in original verbal language (source language or SL)
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- written text (target text or TT) in a different verbal language (target language or TL)
- There are three main types of translation based on semiotics, according to Roman Jakobson:
1) intralingual translation (aka “rewording”) = an interpretation of verbal signs by means of
other signs of the same language. It occurs when we produce a summary or otherwise rewrite
a text in the same language.
2) interlingual translation (aka “translation proper”) = an interpretation of verbal signs by
means of some other language. It is what we usually mean with “translation”
3) intersemiotic translation (aka “transmutation”) = an interpretation of verbal signs by
means of signs of non-verbal sign systems. It occurs when a written text is translated into a
different mode.
1.2 – What is translation studies?
- Even if translation has always played an important role in human interaction, the actual academic study of
translation began just in the second half of the 20th century.
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- Translations Studies started especially thanks to the work of James S. Holmes, who described them as “the complex
of problems clustered around the phenomenon of translating and translations”.
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- Throughout the years Translation Studies have become more important, and this is visible through 4 facts:
- Expansion of specialised translating and interpreting programmes.
- Proliferation of conferences, books and journals on translation in many languages.
- Increasing demand for general and analytical instruments such as anthologies,
encyclopaedias, handbooks and introductory texts.
- The creation of international organisations on this topic.
1.3 – An early history of the discipline
- At its early stages, translation was crucial for cultural and religious dissemination. Already Cicero, Horace (1st century
BC) and St. Jerome (4th century AD) discussed about it.
- For centuries translation was just seen as a tool for language learning, especially applied on ancient languages, such
as Classical Latin and Ancient Greek and just later to modern foreign languages. This can be a partial explanation of
why academia considered it to be of secondary status. If fell in disrepute with the rise of alternative forms of language
learning.
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