Target. International Journal of Translation Studies - Volume 16, Issue 2, 2004

The main concern of this article is to approach translation from the view of nonlinear dynamics. Thus, it makes use of theories related to such a type of dynamics (chaos theory and complexity science). This concern develops on two levels: firstly, the article argues that the abandonment of the traditional conception of translation and the raising of the current one actually agree with the evolution perceived in a great number of domains, such an evolution pointing to the rejection of deterministic positions. Secondly, it also defends the view that the translation process is entirely typical of the processes of nonlinear dynamics. Accordingly, key notions from nonlinear dynamics (such as sensitivity to initial conditions, phase transition, attractor or edge of chaos) are shown to apply to the nature of translation.

The paper begins with an overview of the relevance of functional/text linguistics, skopos theory, and the cultural-studies approach to the study of (literary) translation. It then examines the textual significance of leitmotifs as ‘vertical translation units’, since both are found to be related to repetitions of a rank-free text element in formulating a network of signification. In leitmotif-conscious translating, it argues, the accountability between the source and target texts can be observed at this level of textual network, while the translation, as a literary text, may induce different perlocutionary effects when functioning in a different cultural milieu.

There is increasing pressure on all industries to introduce Quality Management Systems, a development which has now also found entry into the translation industry. Industrial standards like the ISO family provide the basis of many such systems; however, for several reasons, such process-based standards are regarded by many as inappropriate for translation businesses. One common factor considered in this article is their failure to emphasise the role of people both in the definition of the processes and in their implementation. The present article proposes a new model for translation businesses, accepting the importance of people in the translation industry and recognising that process-driven quality systems may be inadequate in maintaining consistent levels of quality. The model is based on identifying the capabilities that incorporate the processes of an organisation and the behaviours embodied in the people involved in these processes. In this article, the model is referred to as Acquired Capabilities for Translation Systems (ACTS).

The present article discusses some basic concepts of Descriptive Translation Studies by focussing on translation in multilingual societies, e.g. translations of Flemish novels into French in interwar Belgium. In multilingual geopolitical contexts, geo-linguistic barriers between ‘source’ and ‘target’ cultures are indefinite so that translations, both as a process and as a product, also function in the source culture, co-determining e.g. the textual translation strategies and the reception of the translated novels. The notion of ‘interculture’ becomes fundamental and the roles of intercultural agents (authors, translators, critics) are interchangeable. Still, ‘sources’ and ‘targets’ do survive in the perception of these actors, their actual definition being function of the internalisation of social structures and socio-cultural power relations by these individuals and of their positions in both ‘source’ and ‘target’ cultures. In order to redefine these basic concepts in a sufficiently flexible way, a more sociological orientation of DTS is thus necessary, integrating and elaborating the ‘habitus’ concept in the model.

This article is an analysis of translations into French of non-standard literary dialect, in particular the speech of African Americans, in William Faulkner’s The sound and the fury. It shows that the contingency of dialect variation upon narrative point of view (focalization) is not taken into account in translation, an omission that alters the ideological framework of the novel. In addition, it argues that the maintenance of this variation, when systematic, should be at least as important a concern as, for instance, the most accurate translation of single dialectal or non-standard words and utterances.