Abstract
Translation may appear to be a straightforward matter of rendering the meaning of a message in a different language from the one it was originally produced in, but in actual fact it is a highly complex type of human communication which involves a considerable number of linguistic and extralinguistic variables. Both common-sense and prescriptive accounts have shown their limitations and contradictions; so too have single tier models, some of which are the result of studies from within a discipline that is somehow related to one or more aspects of translation but not to all. Indeed there are quite a few dimensions to translation and an almost openended number of variables. The various dimensions include linguistic and semiotic variables, sociocultural practices and beliefs, historical contexts, stylistic standards and publishing policies, technological means and know how, educational policies and institutions, the cognitive and psychological dimensions of individual translators and their readers, and the working conditions imposed by their clients or employers. Awareness of such a large number of variables has become a fundamental ingredient of Translation Studies, and a particularly relevant concept in research aimed at improving our understanding of translator competence and the social dimension of translation, including the role and image of translators in society. This has become possible largely due to a theoretical shift away from producing prescriptive guidelines — for practitioners and critics to follow — in an endeavour to establish translation as the object of an empirical science related to the human and social sciences.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Baker, M.: 1992, In Other Words, Routledge, London.
Baker, M., Francis, G. & Tognini-Bonelli, E.: 1993, Text and Technology in Honour of John Sinclair, John Benjamins, Philadelphia.
Beaugrande, R. de & Dressler, W.: 1981, Introduction to Text Linguistics, Longman, London.
Bell, R.: 1991, Translation and Translating, Longman, Harlow, England.
Delisle, J: 1988, Translation: An Interpretive Approach, University of Ottawa Press, Ottawa.
Delisle, J.: 1993, La traduction raisonée, University of Ottawa, Ottawa.
Delisle, J. & Woodsworth, J. (eds.): 1995, Translators Through History, John Benjamins Unesco Editions, Philadelphia.
Doff, A.: 1991, Language in Use, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Duff, A.: 1989, Translation, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Gile, D.: 1995, Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training, John Benjamins, Amsterdam.
Gutt, E.: 1991, Translation and Relevance, Cognition and Context, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Hatim, B. & Mason, I.: 1990, Discourse and the Translator, Longman, Harlow, England.
Hermans, T. (ed.): 1985, The Manipulation of Literature Studies in Literary Translation, Croom Helm, London.
Hewson, L. & Martin, J.: 1991, Redefining Translation. The Variational Approach, Routledge, London.
Holmes, J.: 1972, ‘The name and nature of translation studies’, in J. Holmes (ed.), Translated! Papers on Literary Translation and Translation Studies, Rodopi, Amsterdam, 1988, 67–80.
Kiraly, D.: 1995, Pathways to Translation, The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio.
Kussmaul, P.: 1995, Training the Translator, John Benjamins, Amsterdam.
Lefevere, A.: 1992, Translating, Rewriting, and the Manipulation of Literary Fame, Routledge, London.
Neubert, A. & Schreve, G.: 1992, Translation as Text, The Kent State University Press, Ohio.
Nord, C.: 1991, Text Analysis in Translation, Rodopi, Amsterdam.
Swan, M. & Walter, C.: 1984, The Cambridge English Course 1, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Tirkkonen-Condit, S. (ed.): 1991, Empirical Research in Translation and Intercultural Studies Selected Papers of the TRANSIF Seminar, Savonlinna, 1988, Gunter Narr, Tübingen.
Toury, G.: 1995, Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond, John Benjamins, Amsterdam.
Venuti, L.: 1995, The Translator’s Invisibility, Routledge, London and New York.
Vermeer, H.: 1986, Voraussetzungen für eine Translationstheorie: Einige Kapitel Kultur-und Sprachtheorie, Selbstverlag Heidelberg.
Zabalbeascoa, P.: 1995, ‘Levels of prescriptiveness in translation’, in I. Mason & C. Pagnoulle (eds.), Cross Words. Issues and Debates in Literary and Non-Literary Translating, Liège: L3-Liège Language and Literature (University of Liège), 41–49.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Zabalbeascoa, P. (1997). Language Awareness and Translation. In: Van Lier, L., Corson, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4533-6_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4533-6_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-4933-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-4533-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive