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

5. Does the translator have any right to change or suppress
6. Should poetry be translated in verse, or only in prose
To these I add:
7. Can we speak of translation only between L N , or between
all semiotic systems
8. Can translation be done only by humans, or also by
computers
Examples of Metatheoretical Problems
Is a science of translation at all possible Some deny it. If it is
possible, what is its object of study Where is its place In
literature In linguistics Both these disciplines have claimed it.
How should its taxonomy be organized Some say by genres,
others by languages, and so on.
Most contemporary theory does not reply to these questions,
and what replies it does give are unsatisfactory. Why so There
are two main reasons. First, there is obviously the complexity of
the phenomenon. The basic shortcoming, however, is that most
writers do not deduce replies from an analysis of the translation
process itself but from other fields, e.g., aesthetics, psychology,
even politics.
So I shall try to propose a systematic reply by analysis of the
translation process itself. An attempt to describe the process in
full would of necessity be lengthy, so the presentation here will
be limited to three problem areas:
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