Asian Translation: Tradition and Modern Trends

Author: Kong Huiyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-02-01
Features: The development of contemporary translation studies shows two clear trends: one is the enhancement of the discipline's professionalism and practicality, and the other is the growing emphasis on theoretical research in a broader sense, both of which can be considered international phenomena. Although the pace of development in translation studies varies across Asian countries, these two trends are evident commonalities. Another shared characteristic is that, to date, there remains a lack of solid foundations in local research. As a relatively new discipline, translation studies only began to flourish in the latter half of the 20th century and, consequently, has been influenced by the characteristics of that era: First, the dominance of the West (particularly the English-speaking world) has established a force guided by Western linguistic and cultural norms; second, the development of school systems and academic structures in Asian countries has also been modeled on Western paradigms, making both basic operations and higher-level frameworks inevitably oriented toward Western approaches. The continuous influence of Western norms on the development of translation studies in Asia is precisely the primary reason. Such an objective environment naturally lacks encouragement for local research.