| Author(s) | Atef Faleh Youssef |
| Affiliation | Associate Professor, College of Languages and Translation, College of Languages and Translation, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| Title | Normative and Abstract Representations in Translation |
| Source | Journal of King Saud University. Languages & Translation. Volume 12, No 1. (2000/1420) |
| Abstract | Translation theory has, for the most part, concentrated on the product and excluded the process. It has adopted a normative attitude by making inferences through the description and evaluation of the translation product. But to be comprehensive and useful a theory of translation has to describe and explain both the process and the product. An adequate description and explanation of the process is emphasized in this study: this approach demands an investigation of a quite different set of problems and answers a quite different set of questions. It stresses the importance of translating as a mental rather than a physical act. The investigation is conducted within the fi:amework oflanguage perception, information processing, memory, and cognitive science. It concludes with the belief that an analysis of intellectuality in the act of translating is imperative for it can provide translator-trainees with a body of information indispensable to produce a reliable translation product. An effective approach in translating has to be oriented to the specifications of the cognitive processes as observed and adopted by professional translators. |
