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Article published In:
Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts
Vol. 8:3 (2022) ► pp.211–231

Translation Studies fifty years on

| The University of Leicester

This article summarizes the argument that James Stratton Holmes made fifty years ago for an independent discipline that would deal with translational matters, and which, he suggested, should be named Translation Studies. The article, further, outlines the structure that Holmes proposed for the discipline of Translation Studies before presenting a number of the most significant developments that have occurred and investigations undertaken in the fifty years since Holmes made his prophetic intervention, within sub-disciplinary areas that very closely remain those that he outlined.

Keywords: translation description, translation theory, applied translation studies, translation product, translation process, translation function, translation medium, translation teaching, translation technology, translation policy, translation criticism, translational stylistics, subtitling, post-editing, relevance, norms, metaphor translation
Article outline
  • 1.What’s in a name?
  • 2.The two branches of pure translation studies
    • 2.1Descriptive translation studies
    • 2.2Theoretical translation studies
  • 3.Applied translation studies
    • 3.1Translation teaching
    • 3.2Translation aids
    • 3.3Translation policy
    • 3.4Translation criticism
  • 4.Summary of Holmes’ account of translation studies
  • 5.Developments in the descriptive branch of pure translation studies
    • 5.1Developments oriented towards the translation product
      • 5.1.1Stylistics
      • 5.1.2Subtitling
      • 5.1.3Post-editing
    • 5.2Developments oriented towards the translation function
      • 5.2.1Translation in societies
      • 5.2.2Translation and their users
    • 5.3Developments oriented towards the translation process
  • 6.Developments in the theoretical branch of pure translation studies
    • 6.1Research focusing on the translation medium
    • 6.2Research focusing on the translation area and era
    • 6.3Research focusing on the translation rank
      • 6.3.1“Angst”
      • 6.3.2“Geist”
    • 6.4Research focusing on the translation text type
    • 6.5Research focusing on specific translation challenges
  • 7.Developments in the teaching of translation
  • References
Published online: 13 October 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ttmc.00092.mal
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