Le problème des stratégies du traduire

Abstract

The very notion of translation strategies, so popular in Translation Studies, lacks precision, as can be seen in widespread definitions, including those used by the most respectable specialists in the field. The author of this paper suggests returning to the basic meaning of this notion and subsequently, reconsidering its scope. A strategy, the author argues, must be global and conscious. If there is no awareness, there is no strategy, as shown in practice. Translation-writing has sometimes been judged as non-systematic. In fact, at the strategic choice level, there are some conscious and some unconscious factors, which interfere with each other. As a result, a strategic vision is distorted to a degree which remains to be defined in each specific case. The connection of the strategic level with a lower level, that of “techniques” of translation, often designated by “universals, ” in which many “figures” are found, is to be studied carefully. However, not every shift in the message deserves to be called a “figure of translation.” For a shift to constitute a “figure of translation, ” it is necessary to define its function and the impact it has on the message.