translating from english into chinese
INTRODUCTION
The literature in translation studies has traditionally been preoccupied with elaborating various types of dichotomies and taxonomies, and to some extent much of it still is. This volume attempts to orient the discipline away from dichotomies and taxonomies as much as possible, while recognizing that some may be embedded within a sophisticated and enriching discourse that is worth engaging with. On the whole, the work represented here assumes, implicitly or explicitly, that human behaviour is too complex and too dynamic to be streamlined into stable sets of choices that can be tied to specific textual or non-textual features. As a form of human behaviour, translation cannot be productively explained as a consistent choice between two or more discrete sets of strategies or options, however nuanced.1
Translation studies has come of age. So much so, I would argue, that we are now in a position to move safely and confidently not only beyond dichotomies and taxonomies, but also beyond the foundational literature and scholarly canon, and beyond reiterating and reasserting core assumptions, revisiting our institutional history, and defending our disciplinary agendas. While holding on to earlier achievements, we can now engage with innovative new research that is not necessarily indebted to the theories with which we are most familiar. We can afford to think outside the box. This collection is therefore deliberately prospective rather than retrospective in orientation. The material included in it has been selected to help us move on, to explore new ground, rather than pay tribute to and consolidate past achievements. It is meant to provide pointers towards the future and open up the field to innovative concepts and theoretical approaches, as well as to voices and perspectives from a wide range of traditions, beyond the dominant Anglo-Saxon world. Some of the material will already be familiar, but even there what is familiar has been combined
The literature in translation studies has traditionally been preoccupied with elaborating various types of dichotomies and taxonomies, and to some extent much of it still is. This volume attempts to orient the discipline away from dichotomies and taxonomies as much as possible, while recognizing that some may be embedded within a sophisticated and enriching discourse that is worth engaging with. On the whole, the work represented here assumes, implicitly or explicitly, that human behaviour is too complex and too dynamic to be streamlined into stable sets of choices that can be tied to specific textual or non-textual features. As a form of human behaviour, translation cannot be productively explained as a consistent choice between two or more discrete sets of strategies or options, however nuanced.1
Translation studies has come of age. So much so, I would argue, that we are now in a position to move safely and confidently not only beyond dichotomies and taxonomies, but also beyond the foundational literature and scholarly canon, and beyond reiterating and reasserting core assumptions, revisiting our institutional history, and defending our disciplinary agendas. While holding on to earlier achievements, we can now engage with innovative new research that is not necessarily indebted to the theories with which we are most familiar. We can afford to think outside the box. This collection is therefore deliberately prospective rather than retrospective in orientation. The material included in it has been selected to help us move on, to explore new ground, rather than pay tribute to and consolidate past achievements. It is meant to provide pointers towards the future and open up the field to innovative concepts and theoretical approaches, as well as to voices and perspectives from a wide range of traditions, beyond the dominant Anglo-Saxon world. Some of the material will already be familiar, but even there what is familiar has been combined