A Semiotic Approach to the Theory of Translation: - Bruno Osimo ...

Examples of Theoretical Problems
1. Can we speak of a general notion of translation between
L N whatever the genre of text, or must we proceed genre
by genre (literary, political, or technical) 4 Our reply to
this defines (i) the object of the theory and (ii) the
relationship between the genres; because if there is no
general theory, then they have nothing in common.
2. Some theoreticians say the degree and quality of fidelity
should vary with the genre, e.g., great licence is
permissible in poetry, the political genre requires
middling fidelity, while the technical should be strictly
faithful.
3. Some say fidelity should vary with the readership. Should
a translation of Einstein for scientists be different from
one for popular reading (There have been translations of
Marx as an idealist!)
4. Some say only literary translation is creative.
Savory lists some of these problems: 5
1. Should translations conserve words, or only ideas and
images
2. Should translations read like translations or like originals
3. Should translations retain the author’s style or be in the
translator’s
4. Should translations of old works read like contemporary
texts, or as if they were of the author’s own period
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