Reflections on the literal translation hypothesis
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Andrew Chesterman
Abstract
This paper examines the well-known literal translation hypothesis and discusses its significance for translation theory. The hypothesis claims that as translators process a given text chunk, they tend to start from a literal version of the target text, and then work towards a freer version. The idea has been implied or explicitly studied by many scholars, and does not seem to have a single source. After some preliminary conceptual analysis an optimal formulation of the hypothesis is proposed. The paper then assesses the hypothesis in terms of the kinds of wider significance any hypothesis can have. The criteria discussed are testability, relations with other hypotheses, applicability, surprise value and explanatory power. Some of Englund Dimitrova’s research (2005) on the hypothesis is discussed. A rather different study by Nordman (2009) is argued to have implications for the broader contextualization of the hypothesis.
Abstract
This paper examines the well-known literal translation hypothesis and discusses its significance for translation theory. The hypothesis claims that as translators process a given text chunk, they tend to start from a literal version of the target text, and then work towards a freer version. The idea has been implied or explicitly studied by many scholars, and does not seem to have a single source. After some preliminary conceptual analysis an optimal formulation of the hypothesis is proposed. The paper then assesses the hypothesis in terms of the kinds of wider significance any hypothesis can have. The criteria discussed are testability, relations with other hypotheses, applicability, surprise value and explanatory power. Some of Englund Dimitrova’s research (2005) on the hypothesis is discussed. A rather different study by Nordman (2009) is argued to have implications for the broader contextualization of the hypothesis.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword xi
- Methods and strategies of process research 1
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Part I. Conceptual and methodological discussions
- Interpreting in theory and practice 13
- Reflections on the literal translation hypothesis 23
- Tracking translators’ keystrokes and eye movements with Translog 37
- Seeing translation from inside the translator’s mind 57
- Metonymic language use as a student translation problem 67
- Sight translation and speech disfluency 93
- Time lag in translation and interpreting 121
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Part II. Process research in interpreting and translation
- A new pair of glasses 149
- Are primary conceptual metaphors easier to understand than complex conceptual metaphors? 169
- Innovative subtitling 187
- Errors, omissions and infelicities in broadcast interpreting 201
- On cognitive processes during wordplay translation 219
- “Can you ask her about chronic illnesses, diabetes and all that?” 231
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Part III. Studies of interpreting and translation expertise
- Effects of linguistic complexity on expert processing during simultaneous interpreting 249
- Process and product in simultaneous interpreting 269
- Developing professional thinking and acting within the field of interpreting 301
- Results of the validation of the PACTE translation competence model 317
- “This led me to start thinking about how this happened, and what the process behind it would be” 345
- Publications by Birgitta Englund Dimitrova 361
- Notes on contributors 367
- Index 373
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword xi
- Methods and strategies of process research 1
-
Part I. Conceptual and methodological discussions
- Interpreting in theory and practice 13
- Reflections on the literal translation hypothesis 23
- Tracking translators’ keystrokes and eye movements with Translog 37
- Seeing translation from inside the translator’s mind 57
- Metonymic language use as a student translation problem 67
- Sight translation and speech disfluency 93
- Time lag in translation and interpreting 121
-
Part II. Process research in interpreting and translation
- A new pair of glasses 149
- Are primary conceptual metaphors easier to understand than complex conceptual metaphors? 169
- Innovative subtitling 187
- Errors, omissions and infelicities in broadcast interpreting 201
- On cognitive processes during wordplay translation 219
- “Can you ask her about chronic illnesses, diabetes and all that?” 231
-
Part III. Studies of interpreting and translation expertise
- Effects of linguistic complexity on expert processing during simultaneous interpreting 249
- Process and product in simultaneous interpreting 269
- Developing professional thinking and acting within the field of interpreting 301
- Results of the validation of the PACTE translation competence model 317
- “This led me to start thinking about how this happened, and what the process behind it would be” 345
- Publications by Birgitta Englund Dimitrova 361
- Notes on contributors 367
- Index 373
