Unveiling the Epistemic Foundations of Historical Translation Studies
Abstract
The accumulation of knowledge on translation history/historiography has given rise to a distinct and burgeoning area of study known as historical translation studies (HTS), which necessitates an epistemological analysis. With this in mind, the present article aimed to identify the epistemic foundations of HTS, with a focus on three key criteria that are constitutive of academic fields: subject matter, relevance and aims, and interdisciplinarity. To achieve the objective, the research conducted a rapid review of the epistemic writings on translation historiography, thematically scrutinizing the relevant works through the prism of the aforementioned criteria. The analysis led to the identification and synthesis of a set of theoretical proposals and claims regarding each criterion, which in turn helped delineate the epistemic foundations of HTS. Regarding subject matter, seven principles of categorization were identified along with the corresponding subcategories. Turning attention to relevance and aims, it became clear that HTS substantially contributes to institutional, theoretical, practical, pedagogical, and professional aspects of translation, as well as non-translation domains such as culture and history. The question of interdisciplinarity was also addressed, with three aspects of audience, discourse, and method orienting historical research into two different, though complementary, directions: translation in history and history of translation. The results and findings of the study were presented as a tentative proposal for the epistemic foundations of HTS, which could lead to the further development of this field of knowledge as a subdiscipline of translation studies.
Keywords:
Epistemology, translation history, historiography, subject matter, relevance, interdisciplinarityReferences
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