The Phatic Function in Translation: Metacommunication as a Case in Point

Abstract

Taking metacommunication as a case in point, the paper suggests a methodology of intercultural speech-act comparison. Metacommunication is regarded as a specific variety of the phatic function, which, according to Jakobson (1960), is responsible for establishing, maintaining and closing the communicative channel between senders and receivers. It is an empirical fact that the phatic function relies more on culture-specific conventions than any other function in communication. This means that translation can only work properly if the receivers recognize phatic elements as such. Therefore, adaptation to target-culture conventions may very often be the best way to make sure that the phatic function works for them. After a definition of metacommunication (as opposed to object communication) and metalanguage (as a subcategory of metacommunication), the paper seeks to explore some of the conventions of metacommunication, drawing on a corpus of English, German, Spanish and French university manuals and textbooks. The distinction of various forms of metacommunication, according to the communicative factors involved, allows for a systematic approach that may be relevant not only for translator training but also for the professional translation of metacommunication.