Interdisciplinarity in Translation Studies

Wolfram Wilss
Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken

Abstract

This article is aimed at clarifying the concept of interdisciplinarity in Translation Studies (TS). It concentrates on three aspects of possible interdisciplinary TS research: cultural studies, psychological issues, and technological aspects (machine translation). Depending on the kind of information-processing devices which translators have, and the amount of intellectual abilities which a specific translation task requires, there will emerge a relatively realistic picture of what translational information-processing is like and which type of interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary research would secure efficient translator performance.

Table of contents

It was in 1980, if memory serves me right, that I first came across the term "interdisciplinary". At that time, Toury proposed a true "theory of translation, which obviously is interdisciplinary" (1980: 33). As a Translation Studies (TS) scholar with a particular interest in sociocultural, psychological, and technological aspects of translation, I became curious about the concept, the methodology, and the scope of this apparently new field of TS activities, but I was unable to find anything systematic written on the subject in my own [ p. 132 ]discipline, Übersetzungswissenschaft.So I adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

Full-text access is restricted to subscribers. Log in to obtain additional credentials. For subscription information see Subscription & Price. Direct PDF access to this article can be purchased through our e-platform.

References

Brown, Penelope and Stephen Levinson
1987 Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Coffin, Edna
1982 “Translation: An Exceptional Form of Language Use”. Loraine Obler and Lise Menn, eds. Exceptional Language and Linguistics. New York etc.: Academic Press 1982 104–111.Google Scholar
Gardner, Howard
1983 Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
1985 The Mind’s New Science: A History of Cognitive Revolution. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Gehlen, Arnold
1957 Die Seele im technischen Zeitalter: Sozialpsychologische Probleme in der industrielten Gesellschaft. Hamburg: Rowohlt.Google Scholar
Jakobson, Roman
1959 “On Linguistic Aspects of Translation”. Reuben A. Brower, ed. On Translation. New York: Oxford University Press 1959 232–239.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nida, Eugene A.
1964 Toward a Science of Translating, With Special Reference to Principles and Procedures Involved in Bible Translating. Leiden: E.J. Brill.Google Scholar
1982 Translating Meaning. San Dimas, CA: English Language Institute.Google Scholar
Pashler, Harold E.
1998 The Psychology of Attention. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.Google Scholar
Snell-Hornby, Mary
ed. 1986 Übersetzungswissenschaft—Eine Neuorientierung. Tübingen: Narr.Google Scholar
Snell-Hornby, Mary, Franz Pöchhacker and Klaus Kaindl
eds. 1994 Translation Studies: An Interdiscipline. Amsterdam-Philadelphia: John Benjamins.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, Robert J.
1984 “Toward a Triarchic Theory of Human Intelligence”. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences 7. 269–315.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Toury, Gideon
1980 In Search of a Theory of Translation. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, the Porter Institute for Poetics and Semiotics.Google Scholar
Wettler, Manfred
1980 Sprache, Gedachtnis, Verstehen. Berlin-New York: de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wilss, Wolfram
1988 Kognition und Übersetzen: Zu Theorie und Praxis der menschlichen und der maschinellen Übersetzung. Tübingen: Niemeyer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1992 Übersetzungsfertigkeit: Annaherungen an einen komplexen übersetzungspraktischen Be griff. Tübingen: Narr.Google Scholar
[ p. 144 ]
1996 Knowledge and Skills in Translator Behavior. Amsterdam-Philadelphia: John Benjamins.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1997 “Übersetzungswissenschaft: Eine Interdisziplin?” Horst W. Drescher, ed. Transfer: Übersetzen, Dolmetschen, Interkulturalität. Frankfurt am Main etc.: Lang 1997 35–47.Google Scholar
1999 Translation and Interpreting in the 20th Century: Focus on German. Amsterdam-Philadelphia: John Benjamins.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar