Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses what the translator mean by ‘translation' and what the scope is of the discipline of translation studies. It describes some of the major issues that are discussed in early writings about translation. The book describes some of the classic writings on translation over the years, making a selection of the most well-known and readily available sources. It covers Reiss and Vermeer's text-type and skopos theory of the 1970s and 1980s and Nord's text-linguistic approach. The book examines the cultural and ideological approaches in translation studies. It looks at the role of the translator and the ethics of translation practice. It investigates a range of philosophical issues around language and translation, ranging from Steiner's ‘hermeneutic motion', Pound's use of archaisms, Walter Benjamin's ‘pure' language, and Derrida and the deconstruction movement.