Translation terminology and its offshoots

Yves Gambier
University of Turku, Finland
Abstract

We have today a number of versions in different languages of Terminologie de la traduction / Translation terminology, originally compiled in four languages by Jean Delisle, Hannelore Lee-Jahnke and Monique C. Cormier (1999). To assess how these versions were prepared, nine editors have been contacted by e-mail and asked to respond to a series of questions: How did they proceed to select the terms, to write their definitions, to insert the examples? In a paradoxical way, the answers do not seem to reflect a clear and thorough methodology. The metalanguage of translation is far from enjoying consensus and the way to reach an agreement is all but simple.

Keywords:
Table of contents

In 1999, Translation terminology, edited by Jean Delisle, Hannelore Lee-Jahnke and Monique C. Cormier, assisted by 15 collaborators, was published. The book appeared in four languages (English, French, German and Spanish) under the auspices of FIT (Fédération internationale des traducteurs) and CIUTI (Conférence internationale permanente d’instituts universitaires de traducteurs et interprètes). Its main aim was “to make a practical contribution to the teaching of translation by defining a carefully selected set of terminology that is commonly used in training translators” (p. 108), the editors being “very much aware that it would be impossible to maintain complete parallelism among the conceptual networks of the four languages” (p. 109). Aims and procedures are explicitly given in the four introductions (pp. 2–6, 108–112, 214–218, 324–328). A few reviews of the book have appeared in different Journals (Tatilon 2000; Sánchez 2000; Cammaert 2001, Gambier 2001).

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References

Primary sources

Delisle, Jean, Hannelore Lee-Jahnke and Monique C. Cormier
eds. 1999 Terminologie de la traduction / Translation terminology / Terminología de la traducción / Terminologie der Übersetzung. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 433 pp.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar

Foreign versions of Delisle et al. 1999, in chronological order:

2001
(in Finnish): Kääntämisen opetussanasto, translation and adaptation by Yves Gambier et al. University of Turku, Finland. On line http://​vanha​.hum​.utu​.fi​/centra​/pedatermGoogle Scholar
2002
(in Arabic): Mustalahat ta’lim at tarjama, translation and adaptation by Gina Abou-Fadel, Henri Awaiss, Jarjoura Hardane and Lina Sader Feghali. Beyrouth, Lebanon: École de traducteurs et d’interprètes, Université St Joseph. Coll. Source-Cible. 183 pages. ISSN 1561-8005.Google Scholar
2002
(in Italian): Terminologia della traduzione, edited by Margherita Ulrych, translation by Caterina Falbo and Martia Teresa Musacchio. Milano: Editore Ulrico Hoepli. 192 pages. ISBN 88-203-2947-6.Google Scholar
2003
(in Galician): Terminoloxía da traducción, translation by Anxo Fernández Ocampo and Alberto Álvarez Lugrís. Vigo: Servicio de Publicacións da Universidad de Vigo.Google Scholar
2003
(in Dutch): Terminologie van de Vertaling, translation by Henri Bloemen and Winibert Segers. Amsterdam: Vantilt. 213 pages. Reviewed by. C. Marcipont 2003 and S. Linn 2004.Google Scholar
2003
(in Russian): Terminologija perevoda: tolkovyj slovar spravo nik perevod eskich terminov, translation by AM. Gorlatov, Vadim Kolesnikov and Vera Steinhagen. Minsk, Belarus: State Linguistic University of Minsk.Google Scholar
2004
(in Chinese): translation and adaptation by Yifeng Sun and Weike Zhong. Bejing: Foreign Language Teaching and Reseasrch Press. 300 pages.Google Scholar
2004
(in Polish): Terminologia tłumaczenia, translation and adaptation by Teresa Tomaszkiewicz. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM. 158 pages. Second edition: 2006.Google Scholar
2005
(in Korean): translation by Lee Yun-Kyang. Seoul: Ewha University.Google Scholar
2005
(in Romanian): Terminologia traducerii, translation and adaptation by Rodica and Leon Baconsky. Cluj-Napoca. 195 pages.Google Scholar
2005
(in Turkish): Açiklamali Çeviri Terimleri Sözlüğü, edited by Barbara Blackwell and Mümtaz Kaya, translation and adaptation by Boztaş Ismael and Şirin Okyayuz Yener. Ankara: Bilkent University, Siyasal Kitabevi. 156 pages. ISBN 975-6325-30-5.Google Scholar
(forthcoming)
in Afrikaans): translation by Anne Marie Beukes, University of Johannesburg.[ p. 382 ]
in Albanian): translation by Edmont Tupja and Mirela Kumbaro. Tirana: University of Tirana.
in Greek): translation and adaptation by Georgios Floros. Nicosia: University of Cyprus.
in Thai): translation by Maneerat Sawasdiwat Na Ayutthaya. Thanyaburi: Rajamanjala University of Technology.

Secondary sources

Baker, Mona
1998 Routledge encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London and New York: Routledge.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cammaert, Gustave
2001 (Review of Delisle et al. 1999) Babel 47:1. 183–184.Google Scholar
Gambier, Yves
2001 (Review of Delisle et al. 1999) Target 13:2. 357–362.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Linn, Stella
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Marcipont, Christian
2003 (Review of the Dutch version of Delisle et al.). Le langage et l’homme 38:1. 195–196.Google Scholar
Sánchez, Maribel Tercedor
2000 (Review of Delisle et al. 1999) Sendebar 10/11. 352–355.Google Scholar
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2004 “Traduire la terminologie de la traduction”. Lucie Gournay and Jean-Marie Merle, eds. Contrastes: Mélanges offerts à Jacqueline Guillemin-Flescher. Paris: Ophrys 2004 315–324.Google Scholar