Introducing

Translation Studies
Theories and applications

Jeremy Munday

London and New York

 WHAT IS TRANSLATION STUDIES?

(the act of producing the translation, otherwise known as translating). The

1 Main issues of translation studies process of translation between two different written languages involves the
translator changing an original written text (the source text or ST) in the
original verbal language (the source language or SL) into a written text
(the target text or TT) in a different verbal language (the target language or
TL). This type corresponds to 'interlingual translation' and is one of the
three categories of translation described by the Czech structuralist Roman
Jakobson in his seminal paper 'On linguistic aspects of translation' Uakobson
195912000: 114).Jakobson's categories are as follours:
1 intralingual translation, or 'rewording': 'an interpretation of verbal
signs by means of other signs of the same language';
Key concepts
2 interlingual translation, or 'translation proper': 'an interpretation of
The practice of translating is long established, but the discipline of translation verbal signs by means of some other language';
studies is new. 3 intersemiotic translation, or 'transmutation': 'an interpretation of
In academic circles, translation was previously relegated t o just a language-learning
verbal signs by means of signs of non-verbal sign systems').
activity.
A split has persisted between translation practice and theory. Intralingual translation would occur, for example, when we rephrase an
The study of (usually literary) translation began through comparative literature, expression or text in the same language to explain or clarify something we
translation 'workshops' and contrastive analysis. might have said or written. Intersemiotic translation would occur if a written
James S. Holmes's 'The name and nature of translation studies' is considered t o be text were translated, for example, into music, film or painting. It is interlin-
the 'founding statement' of a new discipline.
gual translation which is the traditional, although by no means exclusive,
The present rapid expansion of the discipline is important.
focus of translation studies.

1.2 What is translation studies?

Key texts
Throughout history, written and spoken translations have played a crucial
Holmes, J. S. ( 1 988b12000) 'The name and nature of translation studies', in [Link] (ed.)
(2000), pp. 172-85.
role in interhuman communication, not least in providing access to import-
Jakobson, R. (195912000) 'On linguistic aspects of translation', in L. Venuti (ed.) (2000), ant texts for scholarship and religious purposes. Yet the study of translation
pp. 1 1 3-1 8. as an academic subject has only really begun in the past fifty years. In the
Leuven-Zwart, K. van and T. Naaijkens (eds) (199 1 ) Translation Studies: State of the Art. English-speaking world, this discipline is now generally known as 'transla-
Amsterdam: Rodopi. tion studies', thanks to the Dutch-based US scholar James S. Holmes. In his
Toury, G. (1991) 'What are descriptive studies in translation likely t o yield apart from key defining paper delivered in 1972, but not widely available until 1988
isolated descriptions!', in [Link] Leuven-Zwart and T. Naaijkens (eds) ( 199 I),pp. 179-92. (Holmes 1988b/2000), Holmes describes the then nascent discipline as being
concerned with 'the complex of problems clustered round the phenomenon
of translating and translations' (Holmes 1988bl2000: 173). By 1988, Mary
1. I The concept of translation
%ell-Hornby, in the first edition of her Translation Studies: An Integrated
The main aim of this book is to introduce the reader t o major concepts and Aphoach, was writing that 'the demand that translation studies should be
models of translation studies. Because of the rapid growth in the area, viewed as an independent discipline . . . has come from several quarters in
particularly over the last decade, difficult decisions have had to be taken recent years' (Snell-Hornby 1988). By 1995, the time of the second, revised,
regarding the selection of material. It has been decided, for reasons of edition of her work, Snell-Hornby is able to talk in the preface of 'the
space and consistency of approach, to focus on written translation rather breathtaking development of translation studies as an independent discip-
than oral translation (the latter is commonly known as interpreting or line' and the 'prolific international discussion' on the subject. Mona Baker,
interpretation). in her introduction to The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation (1997a), talks
The term translation itself has several meanings: it can refer to the general effusively of the richness of the 'exciting new discipline, perhaps the discip-
subject field, the product (the text that has been translated) or the process line of the 1990s', bringing together scholars from a wide variety of often
6 MAIN ISSUES OF TRANSLATION STUDIES A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DISCIPLINE 7

more traditional disciplines. Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first cen- ences were held in a large number of countries and on a wide variety of key n
tury, the discipline of translation studies continues t o develop from strength themes, including: Y
to strength across the globe. Q,
There are two very visible ways in which translation studies has become
translation and training translators (Bratislava, Slovakia);
literary translation (Mons, Belgium);
X
more prominent. First, there has been a proliferation of specialized translat-
research models in translation studies (UMIST, Manchester, UK);
$
ing and interpreting courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. In I

the UK, the first specialized university postgraduate courses in interpreting gender and translation (Norwich, UK);
translation aslat the crossroads of culture (Lisbon, Portugal);
and translating were set up in the 1960s. In the academic year 199912000,
translation and globalization (Tangiers, Morocco);
there were at least twenty postgraduate translation courses in the UK and
several designated 'Centres of Translation'. Caminade and Pym (1995) list at legal translation (Geneva, Switzerland);
translation and meaning (Maastricht, the Netherlands and Lodz, Poland);
least 250 university-level bodies in over sixty countries offering four-year
the history of translation (Leon, Spain);
undergraduate degrees andlor postgraduate courses in translation. These
courses, which attract thousands of students, are mainly oriented towards transadaptation and pedagogical challenges (Turku, Finland);
translation-focused comparative literature (Pretoria, South Africa and
training future professional commercial translators and,interpreters and
Salvador, Brazil).
serve as highly valued entry-level qualifications for the translating and
interpreting professions. In addition, various translation events were held in India, and an on-line
Other courses, in smaller numbers, focus on the practice of literary trans- translation symposium was organized by Anthony Pym from Spain in
lation. In the UK, these include major courses at Middlesex University and January 2000. The fact that such events are now attempting to narrow their
the University of East Anglia (Norwich), the latter of which also houses the focus is indicative of the richness and abundance of the activity being under-
British Centre for Literary Translation. In Europe, there is now a network of taken in the field as a whole. From being a little-established field a relatively
centres where literary translation is studied, practised and promoted. Apart short time ago, translation studies has now become one of the most active
from Norwich, these include Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Arles (France), and dynamic new areas of research encompassing an exciting mix of
Bratislava (Slovakia), Dublin (Ireland), Rhodes (Greece), Sineffe (Belgium), approaches.
Stralen (Germany), Tarazona (Spain) and Visby (Sweden). This chapter sets out t o examine what exactly is understood by this fast-
The 1990s also saw a proliferation of conferences, books and journals growing field and briefly describes the history of the development and aims
on translation in many languages. Long-standing international translation of the discipline.
studies journals such as Babel (the Netherlands), Meta (Canada), ParallPles
(Switzerland) and Traduire (France) have now been joined by, amongst others,
Across Languages and Cultures (Hungary), Cadernos de Tradu@o (Brazil), 1.3 A brief history of the discipline
Literature in Translation (UK), Perspectives (France), Rivista Internazionale Writings on the subject of translating go far back in recorded history. The
di Tecnica della Traduzione (Italy), Target (IsraellBelgium), The Translator practice of translation was discussed by, for example, Cicero and Horace
(UK), Turjt~man(Morocco) and the Spanish Hermeneus, Livius and Sendebar, (first century BCE) and St Jerome (fourth century CE); as we shall see in
as well as a whole host of other single language, modern languages, applied chapter 2, their writings were t o exert an important influence u p until the
linguistics, comparative literature and other journals whose primary focus twentieth century. In St Jerome's case, his approach t o translating the Greek
may not be translation but where articles o n translation are often published. Septuagint Bible into Latin would affect later translations of the Scriptures.
The lists of European publishers such as John Benjamins, Multilingual Indeed, the translation of the Bible was to be - for well over a thousand years
Matters, Rodopi, Routledge and St Jerome now contain considerable num- and especially during the Reformation in the sixteenth century - the battle-
bers of books in the field of translation studies. In addition, there are various ground of conflicting ideologies in western Europe.
professional publications dedicated t o the practice of translation (in the UK However, although the practice of translating is long established, the
these include The Linguist of the Institute of Linguists, The IT1 Bulletin of the study of the field developed into an academic discipline only in the second
Institute for Translating and Interpreting and In Other Words, the literary- half of the twentieth century. Before that, translation had normally been
oriented publication of the Translators' Association). Other smaller period- merely an element of language learning in modern language courses. In fact,
icals such as TRANSST (Israel) and BET (Spain), now disseminated through from the late eighteenth century to the 1960s, language learning in secondary
the internet, give details of forthcoming events, conferences and translation schools in many countries had come t o be dominated by what was known
prizes. In the year 1999-2000, for instance, international translation confer- as the grammar-translation method. This method, which was applied t o