Descriptive Translation Studies and beyond
Part One deals with the position of descriptive studies within TS and justifies the author's choice to devote a whole book to the subject. Part Two gives a detailed rationale for descriptive studies in translation and serves as a framework for the case studies comprising Part Three. Concrete descriptive issues are here tackled within ever growing contexts of a higher level: texts and modes of translational behaviour -- in the appropriate cultural setup; textual components -- in texts, and through these texts, in cultural constellations. Part Four asks the question: What is knowledge accumulated through descriptive studies performed within one and the same framework likely to yield in terms of theory and practice?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
A Case for Descriptive Translation Studies.....1
PART ONE
The Pivotal Position of Descriptive Studies and DTS.....7
1. Holmes' `Map' of the Discipline
2. The Internal Organization of DTS
3. Between DTS and Translation Theory
4. Between Translation Studies and Its Applied Extensions
PART TWO
A Rationale for Descriptive Translation Studies.....21
Chapter 1. Translations as Facts of a `Target' Culture:
An Assumption and Its Methodological Implications.....23
1. Approaching Translation Within a Target-Oriented Framework
2. Translations as Cultural Facts
3. In Need of Proper Contextualization
4. The Notion of `Assumed Translation' and Its Contents
5. Discovery vs. Justification Procedures
Excursus A. Pseudotranslations and Their Significance.....40
1. Some Uses of Pseudotranslations
2. Pseudotranslating and Translation Studies
3. The Enlightening Case of Papa Hamlet
Chapter 2. The Nature and Role of Norms in Translation.....53
1. Rules, Norms, Idiosyncrasies
2. Translation as a Norm-Governed Activity
3. Translational Norms: An Overview
4. The Multiplicity of Translational Norms
5. Studying Translational Norms
Chapter 3. Constituting a Method for Descriptive Studies.....70
1. Assumed Translations and Their Acceptability
2. Types of Comparison at the Initial Stage
3. Coming Up With the Appropriate Source Text
4. (Translation) Solutions and (Source) Problems
5. Prospective vs. Retrospective Stances Exemplified by Metaphor
6. Uncovering the Underlying Concept of Translation
Chapter 4. The Coupled Pair of Replacing + Replaced Segments.....87
1. The Need for a Unit of Comparative Analysis
2. An Exemplary Analysis of One Pair of Texts
3. Justifying the Use of the Coupled Pair
4. Testing the Coupling Hypothesis in Real Time
Chapter 5. An Exemplary `Study in Descriptive Studies':
Conjoint Phrases as Translational Solutions.....102
1. The Phrases' Significance Assured
2. The Use of Binomials in Translated Texts
3. Shifts, Relationships, First-Level Generalizations
4. Second-Level Generalizations and Further Research Prospects
5. Applying Research Findings in Actual Translation
PART THREE
Translation-in-Context:
An Assortment of Case Studies.....113
Chapter 6. Between a `Golden Poem' and a Shakespearean Sonnet.....114
1. Prior to 1916: A Meaningful Void
2. 1916-1923: Modified `Golden Poems'
3. 1929: An Alternative Point of Departure
4. Moving Away from the Golden Poem
5. 1943 Onwards: A Mixed Situation
6. A Glimpse into the Future
Chapter 7. A Lesson from Indirect Translation.....129
1. Mediated Translations as an Object for Study
2. The `German' Period in Hebrew Literature
2.1 The Concept of Translation
2.2 The Symptomatic Status of Indirect Translation
2.3 The Role of German Literature as a Supplier
2.4 Translating English Literature via German
3. Moving into the Revival Period
3.1 The `Russification' of Hebrew Literature
3.2 The Position of German and English
3.3 The Russified Model and Translation from Other Languages
4. The Anglicization of Hebrew Literature
Chapter 8. Literary Organization and Translation Strategies:
A Text Is Sifted Through a Mediating Model.....147
1. Added Rhymes and Verbal Formulation
2. Adding a [Fictional] Epic Situation and Tightening the Overall Structure
3. What Was So Wrong with the Original Model?
4. A Mediating Model and Its Source
5. External Source vs. Internal Legitimation
6. Enhancing the Translation's Acceptability
7. Was There Any Alternative?
8. Appendix: "Das Schlaraffenland" and "Gan-Eden ha-taxton"
Excursus B. `Translation of Literary Texts' vs. `Literary Translation'.....166
1. The Two Senses of `Literary Translation'
2. `Linguistic', `Textual' and `Literary' Modes of Translation
3. `Literary Translation' and Target-Orientedness
4. Cultural Distance and the Gap Between the Two Senses of `Literary Translation'
5. Appendix: 27 English Translations of One Japanese Haiku
Chapter 9. Studying Interim Solutions:
Possibilities and Implications.....181
1. Trying to Close In on the `Little Black Box'
2. Tracing the Emergence of a Translation
3. Possible Implications for Translation Theory
Chapter 10. A Translation Comes into Being:
Hamlet's Monologue in Hebrew.....193
1. The Materials Under Study
2. Prosodic Constraints and the Unit of Consideration
3. Using Revisions to Uncover Constraints
4. Conclusions and Implications
Chapter 11. Translation-Specific Lexical Items
and Their Lexicographical Treatment.....206
1. Translation Specificity
2. Translation-Specific Lexical Items
3. Translation-Specific Lexemes as Candidates for the Dictionary
4. The `Meaning' of Translation-Specific Items
5. Submitting Translations to Lexical Study
6. Towards Exemplary Dictionary Entries
Chapter 12. Experimentation in Translation Studies:
Achievements, Prospects and Some Pitfalls.....221
1. Empirical Sciences and Empirical Methods
2. Product-Oriented Empirical Studies
2.1 Cloze Tests
2.2 The Use of Questionnaires
3. Process-Oriented Empirical Studies
3.1 Thinking-Aloud Protocols
4. Concluding Remarks
Excursus C. A Bilingual Speaker Becomes Translator:
A Tentative Developmental Model.....241
1. Nature vs. Nurture in the Making of Translators
2. An Innateness Hypothesis Is Not Enough
3. The Making of a `Native' Translator
4. How Would a Developmental Model Be Validated?
5. Possible Implications for Translator Training
PART FOUR
Beyond Descriptive Studies:
Towards Laws of Translational Behaviour.....259
1. Non-Lawlike Generalizations
2. The Probabilistic Nature of Translational Laws
3. Two Exemplary Laws
3.1 The Law of Growing Standardization
3.2 First Steps Towards a Law of Interference
References.....281
Subject Index.....301
Author Index.....308