ABSTRACT
After locating the phenomenon of translation in an ordered typology of systems operating in different phenomenal realms (physical, biological, social and semiotic systems) and discussing the semiotic interpretation of systems of the highest order as a complement to the cognitive interpretation, I explore the investigation of translation as system and process in terms of the architecture of language developed within systemic functional linguistics, highlighting features of this architecture that are central to the engagement with translation, including choice within a multilingual meaning potential and the spectrum of different metafunctional modes of meaning.
