Western Paradigms of Translation Studies: Literary and Linguistic Perspectives

Abstract

The paper traces the evolution of translation theories that led to the establishment of Translation Studies as an interdisciplinary field of research in the second half of the twentieth century. It deals with the literary and linguistic approaches to the study of translation, underlying the importance of linguistic paradigms for the advancement of translation-related research.

The paper seeks to demonstrate that the major theories of the twentieth century, as well as contemporary culture-focused visions of translation, emerged from linguistic theories.

Starting with the structuralist view of translation and the related debate on translatability vs non-translatability, the paper moves to the concept of equivalence, ending with contemporary critical assessment of the theories, including from the cultural and deconstructivist perspectives.
The overview also seeks to encourage further study of the Georgian translation tradition in the light of  Western translation theories.