Translation and the problem of sway

Abstract

This book offers the concept of "sway" to bring together discussion of two translational phenomena that have traditionally been considered in isolation, i.e. norms and errors: norms as ideological pressures to conform to the source text, and deviations from the source text as driven by ideological pressures to conform to some extratextual authority. The two theoretical constructs around which the discussion of translational sway is organized are Peirce's "interpretant" as rethought by Lawrence Venuti and "narrativity" as rethought by Mona Baker. Robinson offers a series of “friendly amendments” to both, looking closely at specific translation histories (Alex. Matson to and from Finnish, two English translations of Dostoevsky) as well as theoretical models from Aristotle to Peirce to expand the range and power of these concepts. In addition to translation and interpreting scholars this book will be of interest to scholars of communication and social interaction.