The Sociological Turn of Translation Studies

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to set out the theoretical framework for this book, to explore how Pierre Bourdieu’s approach can be used to enhance the sociological aspect of translation studies and how his work can be applied to a recent cultural phenomenon which began in Taiwan in 1998. It is also meant to illustrate this phenomenon in the form of a translation field by employing Bourdieu’s habitus/capital/field scheme. The entanglement and interactions of translators as agents and the environment in which they were situated resulted in this cultural phenomenon. There has been increasing support for the view that each translation act can be considered within a larger social context. This focus shift from textual to contextual in translation studies reflects the current tendencies and preferences in this realm.