ABSTRACT
Semiotics of translation is a branch of study that focuses on issues centered on meaning in different kinds of translational processes, such as generation, transfer, interpretation, change, gain and loss of meaning. This chapter gives a short overview of the roots of semiotic views on translation and outlines some of the most conspicuous developments in semiotics of translation, taking into account both structural and interpretive (Peircean) traditions. First, a semiotic framework or semiotic elements are traced in discussions on intertextual continuity foremost in the works of Anton Popovič, Gérard Genette, Gideon Toury and Umberto Eco. Next, attention is paid to approaches in which translation appears as a central mechanism of meaning-making mainly in verbal language but also in relation to other sign systems (Roman Jakobson, Dinda L Gorlée, Ritva Hartama-Heinonen, Daniella Aguillar and João Queiroz). This is followed by an overview of cultural semiotic views in which translation comes to be regarded as the fundamental working mechanism of culture (focusing on the contributions of Juri Lotman, Isaak Revzin and Peeter Torop). The last section discusses the concept of translation as applied to the non-human sphere (Susan Petrilli, Kalevi Kull, Peeter Torop and Kobus Marais).
