The Metalanguage of Translation: (20 Benjamins Current Topics)

“Let the meta-discussion begin,” James Holmes urged in 1972. Coming almost forty years later – years filled with fascinating and often unexpected developments in the interdiscipline of Translation Studies – this volume offers the reader a multiplicity of meta-perspectives, while also moving the discussion forward. Indeed, the (re)production and (re)use of metalinguistic metaphors frame and partly determine our views on research, so such a discussion is vital ­as it is in any scholarly discipline. Among other questions, the eleven contributors draw the reader’s attention to the often puzzling variations of usage and conceptualization in both the theory and the practice of translation.
First published as a special issue of Target 19:2 (2007), the volume runs the gamut of metalinguistic topics, ranging from terminology, localization and epistemological questions, through the Chinese perspective, to the conceptual mapping of the online Translation Studies Bibliography.

Table of Contents:
1. How about meta? An introduction (by Gambier, Yves); 2. Defining patterns in Translation Studies: Revisiting two classics of German Translationswissenschaft (by Hebenstreit, Gernot); 3. Risking conceptual maps: Mapping as a keywords-related tool underlying the online Translation Studies Bibliography (by van Doorslaer, Luc); 4. Polysemy and synonymy: Their management in Translation Studies dictionaries and in translator training. A case study (by Van Vaerenbergh, Leona); 5. The terminology of translation: Epistemological, conceptual and intercultural problems and their social consequences (by Marco, Josep); 6. Natural and directional equivalence in theories of translation (by Pym, Anthony); 7. A literary work - Translation and original: A conceptual analysis within the philosophy of art and Translation Studies (by Laiho, Leena); 8. "What's in a name?": On metalinguistic confusion in Translation Studies (by Snell-Hornby, Mary); 9. In defence of fuzziness (by Pokorn, Nike K.); 10. The metalanguage of localization: Theory and practice (by Mazur, Iwona); 11. The metalanguage of translation: A Chinese perspective (by Tang, Jun); 12. Translation terminology and its offshoots (by Gambier, Yves); 13. Index

Review :
The metalanguage that we inhabit as translation scholars is so natural to us that we often forget how much it guides our thoughts, delineates the blind spots in our thinking, determines our partners for intellectual debate, and defines the terms of that debate. This volume, which moves freely between epistemological reflection and practical recommendations, and which ranges from Aristotle to the terminology of software localization, is a very important contribution to a very important discussion. After reading this volume compiled by Yves Gambier and Luc van Doorslaer any reader will feel inspired to let the meta-discussion continue. The decision to publish this edited collection of essays as a book in order to give it a wider audience can only be welcome. The range and importance of issues discussed show that, as the discipline continues to grow, its interdisciplinarity can only bring exciting developments in the future. As the editors write in the conclusion to their introduction (194): “Let the meta-discussion continue!” This volume clearly illustrates that the time has come to reflect on the scholarly discourse in Translation Studies as it has evolved over the last few decades. The essays bring together the relevant points of this discussion and critically question the language which has shaped the discipline of Translation Studies. A must for anyone interested in transdisciplinary work involving translation. Like any academic discipline, Translation Studies too relies on specific terms and concepts to reflect on its object of study. Translation Studies is still a relatively young but quickly growing field which is interdisciplinary by nature, with the metalanguage of translation not yet fully established. This volume is thus timely in that it addresses the essential topic of the metalanguage of translation, reflecting on the origin of key terms, inconsistencies in their definitions, benefits and risks of a unified metalanguage, and on the effects of paradigm shifts on the epistemology of translation.