ABSTRACT
Translation theory is an ‘operational instrument’ which is, in Benjamin Britten’s (1964) sense of the twowords, both ‘useful’ ( i.e. specifically required, as well as practical) and ‘occasional’ (i.e. focussed for an occasion on a particular set of translation tasks), and therefore to be used by the translator, the student and the critical reader as a frame of reference. I would argue that translation theory is not indispensable, since there are good translators who have had no theoretical training, but it is an essential component of any translator training syllabus. Most prentice translators have to master their skills through study, but a few gifted linguists appear to acquire them instinctively, because they know how to write well in the target language. In my view, translation theoryworks best when continuously accompanied by defining and illustrative bilingual translation exampleswhichhavebeenmet in the teacher’s professional experience or appear in standard textbooks on the subject. These are better than invented examples, but any example is better than none.
