Revisiting certain concepts of translation studies through the study of media practices

Abstract

In a few decades, we have switched from a dominant logocentric system of communication (requiring mainly the sight) to a multimodal system where all the senses are involved. This change explains why multimodality calls for more attention to embodied cognition. The chapter first sketches out the impact of digital technology before recalling the position of audiovisual translation (AVT) within translation studies (TS) – through the metamorphosis of the name of this sub-discipline. In the next stage, we consider some of the implications of AVT for TS, especially by tackling the concepts of text, sense, authorship, translation, translation unit, and translation quality. The current transition period between a paradigm dominated by printed artefacts and a paradigm in which the borders between categories are more and more blurred probably explains why TS is under tension both theoretically and methodologically.