Premodern Experience of the Natural World in Translation

STRIDON: Studies in Translation and Interpreting

In response to increasing worldwide interest in eco-translation, or the ecology of translation—fed above all by the pressuring effects of climate change and increasing concern for the environment, as well as a new awareness of the role of translation in the fight for a better, more sustainable future—Kristiina Taivalkoski-Shilov and Bruno Poncharal have produced a valuable overview of some of the central themes in the field. The volume is certainly timely, considering the increased interest in eco-translation in recent years, at least since Cronin’s (2017) seminal work, and the number of conferences and panels dedicated to the topic (most recently at the IATIS 2021 conference in Barcelona).

2019

 See below, pp. -.  Lovejoy and Boas () were famously able to list no fewer than  different meanings of the terms 'φύσις' and 'natura'.  See Zetzel, in this volume, for an articulation of this feature of ancient naturalist thought.  For the points of contact between the concerns of contemporary linguists and the claims of ancient linguistic naturalists see Joseph .  See, for example, de Melo, in this volume, and Zetzel, in this volume, discussing the range of different meanings of 'natura' in Varro's De lingua Latina.

Premodern Experience of the Natural World in Translation, 2022

Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series – Themes in Translation Studies, 2013

Pym, A., & Assis Rosa, A. (Eds.) (2012). New directions in translation studies/Novos rumos nos estudos da tradução. Special Issue of Anglo Saxonica 3.3. Lisbon: University of Lisbon Centre for English Studies. 394p.

After briefly summarising some ecocritical approaches in current Translation Studies, the paper proposes that texts with its variants, versions and metatexts can be viewed as populations, communities or (when spaces, agents involved in creation, distribution and reception of texts and other factors are considered) as ecosystems. The article then – on the material of a poem by Peter Macsovszky – proposes some strategies of translation that would recreate the inherently homeorhetic character of some less prototypical texts.

One definition of translation in contemporary translation theory claims that rendering a text from one language into another is in fact a form of rewriting. Although this concept was first articulated in the early 1990s, this paper argues that it has much in common with premodern rhetorical ideas of imitation and emulation and can be usefully applied to explain medieval and humanist translation practices. To demonstrate this, I analyze premodern hagiographical and historiographical texts (primarily translations from Greek into Latin) in relation to Gérard Genette’s concept of hypertextualité and André Lefevere’s theory of translation as rewriting. Juxtaposing modern and premodern theories and practices, I identify and describe connections on both a synchronic level – between various premodern writing modes such as historiography and hagiography and translations of these genres – and a diachronic one, comparing conceptual frameworks from Late Antiquity, the medieval period, and in one instance the Renaissance, with that of contemporary translation theory.

Renæssanceforum 14, 2018

The present volume brings together several contributions to the question of establishing a dialogue between scholars of premodern translation and some current proponents of translation theory. It is hoped that this will mark an important step in what we believe is a badly needed yet mutually beneficial and enriching exchange between these two groups of specialists.

The latest additions are in red.

European Scientific Journal , 2015

How and when are ecological values born? Which is the human perspective of the natural world and how is this conveyed through language? How are current environmental issues represented and subsequently transmitted through translation into new cultural spaces where other values prevail? As a cultural construct, ecology is an interdisciplinary aspect of environmental studies, which have gradually pervaded and affected various (if not every) domain in culture over the past fifty years. This same period has witnessed the development of translation studies and their subsequent shift towards the cultural studies. Considering that translation is in itself the epitome of cultural transference, and it is thus a crucial discipline in the realm of the ecological movement, this paper aims at looking into the complexities of transnational environmental relationships established by translation and exploring how established models can be torn down and rules can be rewritten through paradigm shifts generated by means of translation. Thus, we have structured our work in four main sections: ecological thought throughout history, the language of nature, ecocriticism, and ecotranslation. The latter, as a linguistic ecological practice, is illustrated by three case studies. Our objectives arise from the fact that we have surveyed much literature where, owing to different reasons including the historic period in which the translation was made, mistranslations have silenced the voice of nature. We believe that uniting ecology and translation may present a new approach to translating, contribute to foster debate on ecological issues, and eventually raise awareness and generate change.