ABSTRACT
There are two fundamental ways to look at translation from the systemic point of view. It can be considered as a part of a larger structure or as a system in its own right. Translation is a complex semiotic phenomenon which exists in interaction with its socio-semiotic environment and the systemic approaches allow seeing translation in such interactions. This chapter starts with defining the key terms and progresses to surveying earlier systemic theorizations. Systemics was mostly partial at that stage. Later, with the advent of the social ‘turn,’ Translation and Interpreting Studies (TIS) borrowed full-scale systemic paradigms and applied them to translation research. The main supplier of systemic paradigms included macrosociological theories, notably Luhmann’s social systems theory. Yet, microsociological theories, such as Actor-Network Theory (ANT), could provide a productive ‘inverted’ perspective engaging with the notion of social systemics as applied to translation. This chapter closes with a discussion of systemics as developed in semiotics.
