Translation Studies Forum: Universalism in translation studies

It is sometimes said that the way to develop current translation theory is to look at specifically non-Eurocentric and non-Western approaches and learn from them. Against such a position I take a Popperian view. I argue that this proposal is flawed because it commits the genetic fallacy, where an id...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Translation studies 2014-01, Vol.7 (1), p.82-90
Main Author: Chesterman, Andrew
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
generalization
hypothesis testing
Learning
Metaphor
Popper
Terminology
Translations
universals
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Summary:It is sometimes said that the way to develop current translation theory is to look at specifically non-Eurocentric and non-Western approaches and learn from them. Against such a position I take a Popperian view. I argue that this proposal is flawed because it commits the genetic fallacy, where an idea or hypothesis is assessed according to its origin. Rather, any hypothesis should be tested as widely as possible, regardless of where it comes from. This includes taking account of the context of discovery. I illustrate my main point with reference to some basic conceptualizations of translation (such as the transfer metaphor), so-called translation universals and the debate about whether translation studies should have a standardized terminology.
ISSN:1478-1700
1751-2921
DOI:10.1080/14781700.2013.828904