History and Translation

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History and Translation
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Lecture programme

• 1) European History of Translation
• 2) Chinese History of Translation
• 3) Methodological Issues

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European History of Translation Practice and
Translation Theory

• The Romans
• Cicero (106-43 BC)
• Non verbum de verbo, sed sensum exprimere de
  sensu (express not word for word, but sense for
  sense)

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Bible Translation

• St Jeromes Bible in Latin commissioned 384 AD.
• Early English bibles John Wycliff (1380-1384)
  William Tyndales New Testament printed 1525.
• Luther 1521 New Testament, 1534 Old Testament.

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Medieval Era

• Emergence of European vernaculars from 10th
  century. No clear distinction between original
  writing, reworking, translation.
• 8th -10th centuries Baghdad.
• 12th century Toledo school, Spain.

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16th Century

• Impact of invention of printing press.
• Early theories of translation Etienne Dolet
  (1509-46) 5 principles for the translator.

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17th Century

• French classicism les belles infidèles
• Perrot dAblancourt (1606-1664)
• English John Denham (1615-69)
• Abraham Cowley (1618-67)
• John Dryden (1631-1700)

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18th Century

• Metaphors from art.
• Alexander Tytler, 1791, The Principles of
  Translation.
• Three basic principles.

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19th Century

• German school influential
• eg. Goethe (1749-1832)
• Schleiermacher (1768-1834)
• Translation for cultural development
• translation as a sub-language.
• Romanticism the nature of translating.
• Influence in England foreignizing.

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Methodological Issues

• What to study
• an individual translator/theorist
• a translation school/movement
• networks
• What aspects to focus on
• description of context causal hypotheses
  relation between practice and theory

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How to study

• biographical study
• study of translations
• study of statements about translation
• lists of translations
• publishers statistics
• critical analysis of literature.