Why is Philosophy Good for Translation Studies?
An investigation of the Theoretical Assumptions Underlying Translation Studies
Abstract
As a research-based field, Translation Studies inevitably carries assumptions that are determined by its ontological, epistemological, and methodological positions towards the object of research, and thus shape its fundamental beliefs about the nature of translation and its methods of study. This article aims to identify these underlying assumptions in Translation Studies within the two dominant nodal discourses of “equivalence” and “norms” and emphasize the significance of a shift in the field’s ontological, epistemological, and methodological perspectives, which led to a greater focus on cultural aspects. After briefly exploring the ontological and epistemological positions, this article delves into the key concepts within equivalence-dominated discourse and norm-dominated discourse in Translation Studies, specifically examining meaning, text, and translation, to uncover the fundamental theoretical assumptions associated with these discourses.
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Copyright Licensee: Iranian Journal of Translation Studies. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0 license).
