On Justification in Translation Studies: Some Comments and a Research Report

Rui Rothe-Neves
Faculdade de Letras/UFMG, Brazil

Abstract

A descriptive analysis of translations, such as that outlined in Toury (1995), is said to involve the establishment of translation relationships within coupled pairs of replacing and replaced textual segments. But how is one to assess the significance of particular kinds of segment for the entire text under analysis? The present article tackles this methodological issue and reports on a study designed to provide quantitative data to answer that question. For that purpose, an analysis was conducted of translations by Frederico Mueller, the first Brazilian translator of the writings of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy. This study may prove useful in highlighting the role of quantitative text analyses in Translation Studies.

Table of contents

Toury (1995) provides a detailed presentation of a methodology for the study of existing translations. The underlying rationale is that only with the accumulation of factual knowledge through actual studies of a descriptive-explanatory [ p. 1 ]nature will it be possible for Translation Studies (TS) to become a truly empirical discipline. Since the main theoretical foundations of Toury’s approach are widely known, I will only recall some of the main features of his methodology here (especially from Chapter I, Section 5, and Chapter III).

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References

1. Texts Used for Analysis

A. Translations by Frederico Mueller

Steiner, Rudolf
1962 O Methodo scientifico de Goethe. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
1963 Philosophia e Anthroposophia. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
1964 A Philosophia da Liberdade. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
1966 A Sciencia occulta no Circumtraçado. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
1969 A Doutrina das Categorias de Hegel. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
1971a O creador Mundo da Côr. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
1971b O Wesen das Côres. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
1977a Theosophia. 2.ed. (1.ed. 1942) Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
1977b A Educação da Creança do Ponto de Vista da Ciência d’Espírito. 2.ed. (1.ed. 1960) Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
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B. Original Texts

Steiner, Rudolf
1894 Die Philosophie der Freiheit. Berlin: Philosophisch-Anthroposophischer Verlag. (Available in electronic form by Lorenzo Ravagli at URL: http/​/www​.anthroposophy​.com, 30.3.1997.)Google Scholar
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[ p. 26 ]

2. Articles by Frederico Mueller

Mueller, Frederico
1963 “A Arte de Traduzir”. Reprinted in the preface to Steiner 1963.Google Scholar
1964a “Traduzir sem Trahir”. I. Special issue, A Época Michael. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
1964b “Traduzir sem Trahir”. II. Special issue, A Época Michael. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
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1980a “Nomes”. Addition to A Época Michael, no. 90, p. 11. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
1980b “Hegel-Steiner”. Addition to A Época Michael, no. 90, p. 12. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
1982 “Algo da Historia da Anthroposophia no Brasil—Etwas aus der Geschichte der Anthroposophie in Brasilien”. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar

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