Systemic Functional Linguistics as Approach to Translation

Abstract

The significance of linguistics to translation is inevitable, since translation activity involves language, and since linguistics is the scientific study of language (Manfredi, 2008, p. 31). In a wider sense, the linguistic paradigms with which the translation process is performed refer to ''those branches of linguistics'' that take into consideration the social aspects of language use and deal with source text and target text in their cultural contexts (Bell, 1991, p. 13), putting a premium on the centrality of meaning as a principal component of language since the issue of meaning is the major concern in translation.  In view of this perception, Systemic Functional Linguistics (henceforth SFL) might be the most appropriate approach to translation and translation analysis for the reason that it works towards an aim when it considers language as a meaning potential and puts much focus on texts in their situational and cultural contexts.  This paper attempts to illustrate the importance of SFL to translation. It provides a brief historical account of the emergence of Hallidayan linguistics, and it goes through his major contributions to the discipline of Translation Studies. It also discusses the arguments and grounds for postulating the applicability and usefulness of the SFL theoretical approach as a linguistic framework for translation theory and practice.