engleski

Is a translator of ambiguity necessarily a traitor?

The paper’s key assumption is that the problem of translation of ambiguity, including diplomatic ambiguity in particular, provides a convenient testing ground for a discussion and assessment of our broad and largely philosophical perspectives on the essential features of the practice of translation. Building on an argument against Newmark’s and Gadamer’s response to the issue of translation of ambiguity, the paper offers a number of considerations in support of two interrelated theses: 1. Within the perspective of the standard theory of translation, which is concerned predominantly with the figure of translator, and which defines the practice of translation simply as a transfer of meanings from language A to language B, the problem of translation of ambiguity seems insurmountable. 2. To make the process of translation of ambiguity meaningful and fully viable, we need to embrace an ethical view that insists on an inherently social nature of the practice of translation as well as on a number of distinctively ethical demands placed on the social triangle (the author- the translator- the reader/recipient) within which such a practice takes place. Some of the most interesting practical consequences of the ethical perspective on translation of ambiguity are spelt out in the final section of the paper.

ambiguity ; translation of ambiguity ; ethical consideratons in translation

The analysis proposed under the contract signed with the DiploFoundation (Revisiting the Language and Diplomacy website) - late 2006.