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Interdisciplinarity in Translation Studies

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Abstract

: This article is aimed at clarifying the concept of interdisciplinarity in Translation Studies (TS). It concentrates on three aspects of possible interdisciplinary TS research: cultural studies, psychological issues, and technological aspects (machine translation). Depending on the kind of information-processing devices which translators have, and the amount of intellectual abilities which a specific translation task requires, there will emerge a relatively realistic picture of what translational information-processing is like and which type of interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary research would secure efficient translator performance. Résumé: Cet article se propose d'éclairer le concept d'interdisciplinarité en démêlant trois aspects différents de la recherche interdisciplinaire: les études culturelles, le domaine psychologique et des aspects technologiques (traduction automatique). En distinguant les différents procédés de traitement de l'information à la disposition des traducteurs, et le genre d'aptitudes intellectuelles requises par l'activité de la traduction, on arrive à mieux fixer la nature du traitement de l'information, ainsi que le type de recherche interdisciplinaire/ multidisciplinaire qui convient aux performances traductives.

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... As a consolidated discipline (Lambert 2013;Munday 2012), it represents an exciting field of study that has vastly expanded since the second part of the last century, when the first attempts at separating it from neighboring disciplines occurred. Interdisciplinary in nature (Wilss 1999), it initially used theoretical models and methodologies from partner disciplines, mainly literary theory and, then, applied linguistics (AL) from the middle of the 20th century (i.e., Catford 1965;Vázquez Áyora 1977;Vinay and Dalbernet 1958). It then started to systematically distill and produce distinctive theoretical models and research methodologies that developed into distinctive areas, many of them closely related to linguistics, such as textual approaches to translation (i.e., García Izquierdo 2000;Neubert and Shreve 1992), corpus-based Translation Studies (Baker 1995;Corpas 2008;Laviosa 2002), genre-based approaches (i.e., García Izquierdo 2005;García Izquierdo and Monzó Nebot 2003), or cognitive translatology (Halverson 2010a;Muñoz Martin 2013a, 2013bShreve and Angelone 2010). ...
... Translation Studies is considered to be an 'interdiscipline' (Chesterman 2002;Wilss 1999), borrowing theories, models, and methodologies from neighboring areas since the 1950s and 1960s in what is known as the linguistic stage. The discipline has therefore been nurtured by a multitude of imported paradigms, models, and methodologies that are consistently borrowed from and merged with existing ones (Orozco and Hurtado 2002). ...
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... Chatterjee (2022) argued for reconfiguring understandings and defining translation studies' scope. Wilss (1999) defined interdisciplinarity considering cultural studies, psychology, and technology. Cem (2015) proposed achieving transdisciplinarity through technological integration. ...
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This paper analyzes Mary Snell-Hornby's seminal theoretical framework for understanding translation as an inherently cultural process. Snell-Hornby was pioneering in establishing that translation requires navigating differences in worldviews and cultural competence. Key concepts explored are culture-bound language elements, the role of expertise, and translation studies' interdisciplinarity. Practical linguistic and textual challenges posed by cultural variation are examined, along with proposed strategies for references and idioms. Case studies reveal cultural influences on translation processes and outcomes. A critical evaluation identifies strengths like emphasizing culture's centrality, and limitations addressed in later frameworks. Potential areas for further research building on Snell-Hornby's foundations are identifying, such as localized case studies, evolving digital implications, and refinement of guidance. Overall, Snell-Hornby established culture as integral to conceptualizing translation's complexities, with implications for both theory development and stewardship of cross-cultural exchange.
... The adjective "interdisciplinary" is commonly attached to the name of the discipline (see e.g. Wilss 1999). However, it has become a buzzword in modern academic discourse, too often merely a cover for a lack of shape and substance. ...
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The aims of this paper are as follows: to provide an outlook on the current state of Translation Studies as an academic discipline, including literary and non-literary approaches; to advocate the need for a terminological revision and up-to-date taxonomisation within Translation Studies, in Polish, English, as well as other major European languages; to describe an ongoing project that may eventually be a small step toward accomplishing the above.
... Another consequence of these epistemic options, together with the transdisciplinary character (cf. Wilss 1999), is the abovementioned amount of information that must be dealt with. It would not make sense to defend TS as a purely linguistic, cultural or social discipline. ...
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The present study attempts to outline the scope of TranslationStudies (TS) as a particularly complex field of research. Thus, this paper explores TS as a transdiscipline, regarding translation phenomena as probabilistic, not categorical phenomena. It seeks to establish the strategies that can help us to understand the transversal complexity of translation phenomena, in order to give TS a metatranslation space.It is an attempt to demonstrate that the approach to this complex research field needs transdisciplinary research strategies, including both human sciences andnatural sciences. Going further, the present study overcomes the traditional division between both sciences and incorporates models such as the Third Culture(Schrödinger 1951, Snow 1959 and Brockman 1996). This study attempts to take the challenge of providing TS with an epistémé(Nouss 1995), conceived as a mental laboratory that puts in practice a family of different theories, each one with a limited scope of action. These theories will compose a complete description of the logical ways of the translatological function in society by exploring the transduction of cultural phenomena in society
... Another consequence of these epistemic options, together with the transdisciplinary character (cf. Wilss 1999), is the abovementioned amount of information that must be dealt with. It would not make sense to defend TS as a purely linguistic, cultural or social discipline. ...
Article
Full-text available
he present study attempts to outline the scope of Translation Studies (TS) as a particularly complex field of research. Thus, this paper explores TS as a transdiscipline, regarding translation phenomena as probabilistic, not categorical phenomena. It seeks to establish the strategies that can help us to understand the transversal complexity of translation phenomena, in order to give TS a metatranslation space. It is an attempt to demonstrate that the approach to this complex research field needs transdisciplinary research strategies, including both human sciences and natural sciences. Going further, the present study overcomes the traditional division between both sciences and incorporates models such as the Third Culture (Schrödinger 1951, Snow 1959 and Brockman 1996). This study attempts to take the challenge of providing TS with an epistémé (Nouss 1995), conceived as a mental laboratory that puts in practice a family of different theories, each one with a limited scope of action. These theories will compose a complete description of the logical ways of the translatological function in society by exploring the transduction of cultural phenomena in society.
... In this regard, the work of Wolfram Wilss and Mary Snell-Hornby is particularly relevant. The former has studied the potential interdisciplinary paths that TS may follow, and found them to connect mainly to Cultural Studies, Psychology and technology (Wilss 1999). Volumes such as the one edited by Mary Snell-Hornby and others in 1994 have also been instrumental in spreading the view that TS is not a discipline as has been traditionally understood, but rather, an interdiscipline, that is, a fi eld of study whose very emergence and development depends upon the interconnection of diverse disciplines' methodologies, interrogations, and stakes (Snell-Hornby 1994. ...
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The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Methodology provides a comprehensive overview of methodologies in translation studies, including both well-established and more recent approaches. The Handbook is organised into three sections, the first of which covers methodological issues in the two main paradigms to have emerged from within translation studies, namely skopos theory and descriptive translation studies. The second section covers multidisciplinary perspectives in research methodology and considers their application in translation research. The third section deals with practical and pragmatic methodological issues. Each chapter provides a summary of relevant research, a literature overview, critical issues and topics, recommendations for best practice, and some suggestions for further reading. Bringing together over 30 eminent international scholars from a wide range of disciplinary and geographical backgrounds, this Handbook is essential reading for all students and scholars involved in translation methodology and research.
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Väitekirja elektroonilisest versioonist puuduvad väitekirja aluseks olevate artiklite täistekstid Doktoritöö eesmärgiks on kaardistada, kirjeldada ja analüüsida mõningaid tõlke mõiste dünaamika avaldumisvorme tõlketeaduses ja eesti tõlkeloos. Doktoritöö lähtekohaks on tõlke mõiste dünaamiline ja mitmetahuline loomus, mis on raskendanud tõlketeadusel oma objekti määratlemist. Väitekirjas käsitletakse tõlke mõiste dünaamikat mõjutavaid tegureid, nagu kultuurikontekst, tehnoloogiline keskkond, tõlketeooria dünaamika ja suhted teiste distsipliinidega. Doktoritöö põhiosa moodustavates artiklites on vaatluse all tõlge kui tõlketeaduse objekt ja tänapäevase tõlketeaduse seosed kultuuridünaamikaga; Roman Jakobsoni vaadete ja tõlkimise teema suhestamine akadeemilistes teatmeteostes; “hea tõlke” mõiste ja tunnused, mille alusel hinnatakse tõlkeid 20. sajandi alguse eesti tõlkekriitikas; tõlkediskursust organiseerivad kujundid eesti tõlkekriitikas 20. sajandi algupoolel kuni II maailmasõjani. Kokkuvõttes uuritakse doktoritöös tõlke mõiste erinevaid avaldumisvorme, nende käsitlusi tõlketeaduses ja semiootikas, tuuakse esile tõlke mõiste kitsamaid ja laiemaid määratlusi ning nende seoseid kultuurikonteksti ja tõlketeooria dünaamikaga. The aim of the doctoral dissertation is to map, describe and analyse some aspects of the dynamics of the concept of translation as manifesting in translation studies and in Estonian translation history. The point of departure is the dynamic and multifaceted nature of the concept of translation that has made it difficult for translation studies to define its research object. The thesis pays attention to factors that contribute to the dynamics of the concept of translation, such as cultural context, technological environment, dynamics of translation theory and relations with other disciplines. Issues addressed in the articles constituting the main body of the dissertation include translation as a research object of translation studies and the relations of contemporary translation research with cultural dynamics; the connections established between Roman Jakobson’s views and the topic of translation in academic reference works; the notion of “good translation” and the criteria used for evaluating translations in Estonian translation criticism at the beginning of the 20th century; imagery for characterizing translations in the pre-World War II Estonian translation criticism. In summary, the dissertation studies the concept of translation in its different manifestations, pays attention to its treatment in translation studies and semiotics, brings forth narrower and broader forms of the concept of translation and its relations with the general cultural context and the dynamics of translation theory.
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