How they do it

Abstract

The paper incorporates insights from systems theory, sociology and the philosophy of science and argues for regarding the translation process as a trans-systemic activity in which the translator is an active participant in the communication process and translational expertise is a process originating from and based on the translator's experience of the world. A theoretical model is presented to support the following claims: (1) Our experience of the world is structured by culture-specific concepts; cultures can be regarded as systems of concepts. (2) Each culture represents a specific interpretation of reality; culturally relevant reality is constructed by text production. (3) Translating requires de-constructing one reality and constructing another; the translator's consciousness as the interface between culture and reality enables this process. (4) Translation is a specific form of trans-systemic communication; so-called indeterminacy is overcome by individual and collective human consciousness; the translator thus plays an active role in the communication process. (5) The relationship between source text and target text is located in the translator's consciousness; this is where the 'the translation process' takes place and must be the focus of Translation Studies. ER -