Interpretive semiotics and translation theory: The semiotic conditions to translation

Abstract

This is an investigation of translation in general carried out using the doctrine of signs of C. S. Peirce. My starting hypothesis is that all translation is semiosis but not all semiosis is translation, and my goal is to look for the semiotic conditions to translation. This means that I am not looking for what translation is, but for what it cannot logically be. I introduce the conceptions of Translation semiosis (T-semiosis for short) as the form of semiosis that is specific of translation, and of the Foundation of translation as the series of conditions that sets it apart from nontranslations. The Foundation traces the edge of T-semiosis in potential and general terms. This conception is categorially distinct from the sets of norms and habits - normally referred to as 'concepts' - that define and regulate translation in certain portions of the time-space continuum. It is also distinct from actual translation events, such as translating, evaluating a translation, and deciding whether a text is indeed a translation. Foundation, translation events, and concepts constitute a Peircean One-Two-Three series. The Foundation itself is represented by three characters: difference, similarity, and mediation. These latter will be illustrated in detail using real-life examples. Some notes on vagueness and similarity will round out the paper.