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Paper 5. The empirical status of prescriptivism

  • Andrew Chesterman
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Reflections on Translation Theory
This chapter is in the book Reflections on Translation Theory

Abstract

Many translators evidently think that translation theory has little to contribute to translation practice. One reason for this view may be the shift to a descriptive approach in recent decades, aiming to describe and explain translations but not directly tell translators how to translate. However, traditional prescriptive guidelines can easily be seen as predictive hypotheses concerning translation effects: translate like this, because otherwise I predict that the client will not like it! Descriptive empirical research on the effects of different kinds of translation choices can produce relevant information for translators.

Abstract

Many translators evidently think that translation theory has little to contribute to translation practice. One reason for this view may be the shift to a descriptive approach in recent decades, aiming to describe and explain translations but not directly tell translators how to translate. However, traditional prescriptive guidelines can easily be seen as predictive hypotheses concerning translation effects: translate like this, because otherwise I predict that the client will not like it! Descriptive empirical research on the effects of different kinds of translation choices can produce relevant information for translators.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface ix
  4. Section I. Some general issues
  5. Paper 1. On the idea of a theory 3
  6. Paper 2. Shared ground in Translation Studies 17
  7. Paper 3. What constitutes “progress” in Translation Studies? 25
  8. Paper 4. Towards consilience? 35
  9. Section II. Descriptive and prescriptive
  10. Paper 5. The empirical status of prescriptivism 45
  11. Paper 6. Skopos theory 55
  12. Paper 7. Catford revisited 71
  13. Paper 8. The descriptive paradox, or how theory can affect practice 81
  14. Section III. Causality and explanation
  15. Paper 9. Causes, translations, effects 97
  16. Paper 10. A causal model for Translation Studies 123
  17. Paper 11. Semiotic modalities in translation causality 137
  18. Paper 12. On explanation 147
  19. Section IV. Norms
  20. Paper 13. From ‘is’ to ‘ought’ 167
  21. Paper 14. A note on norms and evidence 185
  22. Section V. Similarities and differences
  23. Paper 15. On similarity 195
  24. Paper 16. Problems with strategies 201
  25. Paper 17. The unbearable lightness of English words 213
  26. Section VI. Hypotheses
  27. Paper 18. The status of interpretive hypotheses 225
  28. Paper 19. Reflections on the literal translation hypothesis 237
  29. Section VII. “Universals”
  30. Paper 20. Beyond the particular 253
  31. Paper 21. What is a unique item? 269
  32. Paper 22. Kundera’s sentence 281
  33. Paper 23. Universalism in Translation Studies 295
  34. Section VIII. The sociological turn
  35. Paper 24. Questions in the sociology of translation 307
  36. Paper 25. The name and nature of Translator Studies 323
  37. Paper 26. Models of what processes? 331
  38. Section IX. Translation ethics
  39. Paper 27. Proposal for a Hieronymic Oath 347
  40. Paper 28. An ethical decision 363
  41. References 369
  42. Name index 391
  43. Subject index 395
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.132.c5

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface ix
  4. Section I. Some general issues
  5. Paper 1. On the idea of a theory 3
  6. Paper 2. Shared ground in Translation Studies 17
  7. Paper 3. What constitutes “progress” in Translation Studies? 25
  8. Paper 4. Towards consilience? 35
  9. Section II. Descriptive and prescriptive
  10. Paper 5. The empirical status of prescriptivism 45
  11. Paper 6. Skopos theory 55
  12. Paper 7. Catford revisited 71
  13. Paper 8. The descriptive paradox, or how theory can affect practice 81
  14. Section III. Causality and explanation
  15. Paper 9. Causes, translations, effects 97
  16. Paper 10. A causal model for Translation Studies 123
  17. Paper 11. Semiotic modalities in translation causality 137
  18. Paper 12. On explanation 147
  19. Section IV. Norms
  20. Paper 13. From ‘is’ to ‘ought’ 167
  21. Paper 14. A note on norms and evidence 185
  22. Section V. Similarities and differences
  23. Paper 15. On similarity 195
  24. Paper 16. Problems with strategies 201
  25. Paper 17. The unbearable lightness of English words 213
  26. Section VI. Hypotheses
  27. Paper 18. The status of interpretive hypotheses 225
  28. Paper 19. Reflections on the literal translation hypothesis 237
  29. Section VII. “Universals”
  30. Paper 20. Beyond the particular 253
  31. Paper 21. What is a unique item? 269
  32. Paper 22. Kundera’s sentence 281
  33. Paper 23. Universalism in Translation Studies 295
  34. Section VIII. The sociological turn
  35. Paper 24. Questions in the sociology of translation 307
  36. Paper 25. The name and nature of Translator Studies 323
  37. Paper 26. Models of what processes? 331
  38. Section IX. Translation ethics
  39. Paper 27. Proposal for a Hieronymic Oath 347
  40. Paper 28. An ethical decision 363
  41. References 369
  42. Name index 391
  43. Subject index 395
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