Towards Postmodern Ethics Of Translation

This study on the postmodern ethics of translation focuses on recent developments within the field of translation studies. Among the new developments are deconstruction, feminist translation, and postcolonial theories. Centered around the notion of the postmodern, this thesis attempts to analyze and assess the state of the art in the ethics of translation in contemporary translation theory. Within the general framework of contemporary theories, the positions of Lawrence Venuti and of different schools are subjected to a deconstructive analysis.The analysis reveals that their theoretical points challenge us with some crucial issues in today's discussion of translation study, leading us to reflecting on and rethinking the existing theories. The questions indicate areas we need to chart if we want to put forward meaningful postmodern theories of the ethics of translation. Among the fundamental issues are the dichotomies of translation theory, the vexed question of translators'visibility and trust, as well as untying the deadlock of fidelity. Venuti's ethics is based on an understanding that responsibilities and moral commitments can not be determined by focusing on the immediate translation commission alone. In addition to the immediate relationships between the author, commissioner, translator and reader, each individual translation project is also part of a larger network that needs to be taken into account in decision- making.This thesis is intended to provide a critical overview of the postmodern tendencies in translation theories, with particular emphasis on deconstruction and associated theories. Within translation studies, the new approaches have successfully pointed out the failures and omissions of previous viewpoints, bringing to the forefront issues like the masculine bias of many translation theories or the limits of the Western perspective in translation studies. Reading the postmodern approaches together one can also identify several shared aspects, such as the need to overcome the logic of either/or, to acknowledge the situationality of translation, and to take into account both individual and collective aspects of morality and ethics, as well as the necessity to rethink the question of where to draw the limits of translators'contextual responsibilities. These features indicate directions for future discussions.