Abstract
In this paper, we develop a theory of image-driven interpretations for the translation studies domain. Interpretations make the core of translation and are explained in terms of mental images. An image-driven interpretation gives a meaning to a source-language word and finds in the target language the word to capture this meaning, which is a creative act and a cross-cultural transfer. An interpretation is ‘drawing’ images in the human mind by the powers of the mind’s representational content. Our theory proposes a role for etymological insight in boosting translation students’ interpretive skills via exposed inner word forms. These archaic archetypal images contain culture-specific information transmitted through human generations with the help of language. Inner word forms are non-trivial triggers in cultural exposure that raise students’ awareness of the native and foreign cultures and add an in-depth dimension to regular vocabulary work and other good practices in the translation classroom. We pin down some of the influences that native Ukrainian words and borrowings have had on the Ukrainians’ interpretive mind.
Highlights
We address the issue of interpretive skills as part of translator competence and suggest a cognitively-inspired approach to words in the translation classroom that boosts these skills
We believe that interpretation that takes place in translation is a virtue of image thinking in humans and essentially is converting word meanings into image-like mental representations, and vice versa; interpretation is ‘drawing’ images in the human mind by the powers of the mind’s representational content
The quality of interpretive skills in translation students depends on how developed their image thinking is
Summary
We believe that interpretation that takes place in translation is a virtue of image thinking in humans and essentially is converting word meanings into image-like mental representations, and vice versa; interpretation is ‘drawing’ images in the human mind by the powers of the mind’s representational content. From this perspective, the quality of interpretive skills in translation students depends on how developed their image thinking is. Translation defined in terms of cultural mediation adds into this dependence another ingredient This is cultural awareness that sensitises students to the peculiarities of their native and foreign cultures and shapes their interpretations. Cultural awareness grows via students’ cultural exposure that has its breadth in terms of quantity and its depth in terms of quality of culture-related experiences
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