The difference between Translation Studies and

translation reflection

Luc van DoorslaerCETRA, University of Leuvenluc.vandoorslaer@arts.kuleuven.be (Vilnius, 15 Nov 2013)

outline

• TS as a discipline

• criteria for TS vs. reflection?

• scientific cultures

• systematicity made concrete in resources: handbooks & bibliographies

• search & research: analyzing TSB data

‘a young discipline’?

• comp. Linguistics or Literary Studies

• comp. Adaptation Studies or Localization

• a discussion topic for millennia, see textbooks

Venuti (ed.), The TS Reader

• Jerome

• Dryden

• Perrot d’Ablancourt

• Goethe

• Schleiermacher

• Nietzsche

historical dividing line?

• João Ferreira Duarte (2012), ‘Trusting Translation’

• criteria?

• Daniel Gile (2013), ‘Scientificity and theory in TS’o ‘personal theories’ or idiosyncratic theories, based on

personal observation and introspectiono three essential criteria:

• systematic engagement with existing theoretical work• systematic data gathering (corpus)• systematic empirical testing

Gile (2013): two scientific cultures

systematically dealing with T materials

• basic ‘problem’: huge amount of sources, partly based on institutionalization of T and TS

• source selection

• impacts on hypothesis building, data gathering, metalanguage used

intelligent source management through resources / tools

double institutionalization

TRANSLATION

world market for T&I services• Year World Market US $ mln

• 2004 2,257.26

• 2005 2,335.85

• 2006 2,417.80

• 2007 2,503.31

• 2008 2,592.15

• 2009 2,682.49

• 2010 2,776.25

• 2011 2,873.99

• 2012 2,975.89

• 2013 3,082.17

• 2014 3,193.04

(Source: Philip M. Parker, INSEAD, copyright 2008, www.icongrouponline.com)

institutionalization factors T

• international demand for translation

• translation as intercultural phenomenon

• curricula – translator training institutes

• professional associations

• codes of ethics

• corporate departments

• administrative departments in governments

• international organizations (e.g. DGT and DGI)

double institutionalization

TRANSLATIONTRANSLATION

STUDIES

institutionalization factors TS

TS as autonomous academic discipline:

scholars, curricula, publishers, journals, book series, scholarly associations, PhD programs, conferences, Summer Schools

consequences

higher relevance of T(status of) greater reliability, despite continuing partial

recognitiongrowing knowledge, growing need to structure the

knowledge in a systematic way

knowledge structuring tools in TS

• historical surveys• research journals: both print and online• textbooks• terminologies, dictionaries• handbooks or encyclopedias

handbooks

• 2nd edition 2011

• eds. Mona Baker & Gabriela Saldanha

• 1 volume, only print

HTS

Handbook of Translation Studies (HTS)

• 4 volumes (2010-2013)

• overview articles about TS topics: existing research + essential bibliography

• both print and online version

(bringing translators of several languages together during Low Countries conference Nov 2013)

knowledge structuring tools in TS

• historical surveys• research journals: both print and online• textbooks• terminologies, dictionaries• handbooks or encyclopedias• (online) bibliographies: essential!

TSB

• eds. Yves Gambier & Luc van Doorslaer• first release 2004• from the beginning explicitly aiming at establishing

structuring principles for the inherent conceptual complexity

• key word system: selection and organizational principles• integrated into a conceptual map

translation

translation

interpreting

translation tools

modes of translation

auto/self-translation (in)direct translation

back translation loose translation

(c)overt translation mother tongue/native translation

other tongue translation over-/under-translation

pseudo-translation retranslation

sight translation tele-translation (= remote?)

…

Approach: cultural

cultural

discourse analysis

gender studies

identity studies

image studies

(post)colonialism

search options TSB

• www.benjamins.nl/online/tsb

research tools?

• searching and researching

• resources with data about the discipline

• quantitative and qualitative data

• e.g. TSB database containing fields with information about affiliations, keywords (subjects), languages etc.

continents

Series10

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

Europe

Americas

Asia

Africa

Oceania

within Europe

020040060080010001200140016001800

European countries

languages of publication

top-15

English

Spanish

French

German

Portuguese

Italian

Catalan

Dutch

Chinese

Galician

conclusion

• systematically structured resources

degree of institutionalization

reliable data, large corpora of many thousands of publications

research tools

not ‘just’ reflection, but meeting the three systematicity criteria mentioned earlier = TS!

...?

Happy Birthday!