CONCEPTUAL AND TERMINOLOGICAL CONFUSION IN TRANSLATION STUDIES: TOWARDS A TERMINOLOGICALLY CONSISTENT FRAMEWORK

Abstract

Knowing metalanguage of translation can help translators, especially translator trainees talk about translation and recognise translation operations. It can also help them analyse and discuss processes involved in translation, as well as grasp the principles of translation. The knowledge of translation metalanguage can also help translator trainees improve self-reflection, which can enable them to critique own translations. Indeed, self-reflection is like a meta-competence, because it can boost translation competence by helping translators evaluate and improve their work. Despite the above-stated benefits of knowing metalanguage of translation, the metalanguage of translation can often pose problems in scholarly discourse in Translation Studies (TS) since, in most cases, terms associated with TS resist definitions, because either they are not used in standardised ways or the manner in which they are used is confusing. Adopting a conceptual clarification approach via qualitative review, this study dissects relevant scholarly sources by analysing and presenting reflections of different TS scholars on the metalanguage of TS. It first foreshadows the challenges of the metalanguage of translation, then presents the rationale for investigating terminological complexities. In particular, the study presents the conceptual reflections provided by different translation scholars on confusing terms such as method, procedure, strategy, tactic, technique, shift, solution, problem and difficulty. After a thorough analysis, findings indicate that numerous meanings are sometimes assigned to different terms without any significant change to their basic conceptual content, thereby perpetuating the use of unique concepts bearing different names or similar terms describing different concepts. The study thus provides insights into addressing terminological issues in translation research and pedagogy while also suggesting some recommendations that can help in maintaining terminological consistency in TS.