Translation as a normgoverned activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Translation as a normgoverned activity - Essay Example There was a time when translation was perceived as a secondary activity, it was more likely to be understood as a 'mechanical' process rather than a 'creative' process, with a common perception that any layman can handle it. Gideon Toury presented a unique and new approach to reassess translation research in the 1980s until the translation studies was dominated by the systemic approach pioneered by Itamar Even-Zohar and Gideon Toury. Toury being the pioneer of "Polysystems theory" shifted it towards a radical development because he wanted to acquire the attention away from arid debates about faithfulness and equivalence towards an examination of the role of the translated text in its new context. Significantly, this opened the way for further research into the history of translation, leading also to a reassessment of the importance of translation as a force for change and innovation in literary history. Whereas previously the emphasis had previously been on comparing original and translation, often with a view to establishing what had been 'lost' or 'betrayed' in the translation process, the new approach took a resolutely different line, seeking not to evaluate but to understand the shifts of emphasis that had taken place during the transfer of texts from one literary system into another. Polysystems theory focused exclusively on literary translation, though it operated with an enlarged notion of the literary which included a broad range of items of literary production including dubbing and subtitling, children's literature, popular culture and advertising. When in 1995, Gideon Toury published "Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond", he meant to reassess the 'polysystems' approach (which was presented by first Itamar Even-Zohar) for the reason that it was disliked by some scholars for its over-emphasis on the target system. That means Toury's intentions were not to take full credit what was started by Itamar. While putting his emphasis on target culture, Toury mentioned and highlighted the need to fill in the gap created by target culture, it is logical to make the target system the object of study. He also pointed out the need to establish patterns of regularity of translational behaviour, in order to study the way in which norms are formulated and how they operate. Toury explicitly rejected any idea that the object of translation theory is to improve the quality of translations: theorists have one agenda, he argues, while practitioners have different responsibilities. Although Toury's views were never universally accepted but th ey acquired respect and esteem for the reason that it was significant during the 1990s to work, research and show efforts on translation norms and a call for greater scientificity in the study of translation. In Search of a Theory of Translation (1980) Although Toury's publication with Tel Aviv School of Poetics and Semiotics met with various criticisms and failure but Toury alone could not be held responsible for it for many reasons. The study of translation norms in the mid of 1970s did not expose Toury much towards the field as translation was not at heyday as what is today. No particular work had been done in the field of translations studies, until Toury Gideon along with Itamar Even-Zohar researched the field of literature and semiotics. It was Toury who discovered

Suez Canal Crisis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Suez Canal Crisis - Research Paper Example This canal is not a natural one; it was constructed in 1869 in order to transport goods from Europe and Asia. Earlier the goods transportation between Europe and Africa was extremely difficult since the transportation ships forced to navigate around Africa to reach Europe from Asia. The construction of Suez Canal made the transportation of good between these two regions easier. Suez Canal crisis occurred in 1956 when a war broke out between France, Britain, and Israel against Egypt. The invasion of Egypt by Israel caused problems in the good transportation between Asia and Europe which forced Britain and France to issue a joint ultimatum to the concerning parties; Egypt and Israel. They started to bomb Egypt shortly after the ultimatum given which is believed to be a preplanned attack with the knowledge of Israel. This paper analyses the various dimensions of the Suez Canal crisis developed in 1956 with the help of topic such as the relationships between Israel and Egypt, relationshi ps between Eden and Nasser, the effects of cold war, history of Suez canal etc. Historically, the relationship between Egypt and Israel remains a strained one. Bible has many references for the strained relationships between Israel and Egypt. It is difficult for these two countries to establish strong relationships in future also because of their immense differences in culture and religious beliefs. Jews perceive Arabs as their enemies and their enmity started long time back. Most of the years of the twentieth century, Egypt was ruled by Britain. Egyptians were second class citizens in their home land during the colonial rule of Britain which developed dissatisfaction against the British among the Egyptian public. Violence against the British started to grow in Egypt as a result of their protest against colonial rule. British Prime Minister Antony Eden tried to deal this violence by increasing the number of British troops in Egypt. Nasser responded to Eden’s efforts by formin g a Revolutionary Command Council in Egypt. It was difficult for Britain to bear the huge cost of military operations in Egypt because of the financial problems developed in Britain during this period. The relationship between President Nasser and Prime Minister Antony Eden was not so good during the Suez Canal crisis period. They met each other in 1955 in Cairo in order to rectify the problems between them; however neither of them trusted each other and the strained relationship continued even after the meeting. Eden tried to force Nasser from establishing a strong relationship with the communist Soviet Union. He also urged Nasser to stop anti-British radio broadcasts. However, Eden failed to get a positive response from Nasser on both the issues. â€Å"Even the dinner put on for Nasser at the British Embassy was a failure as Nasser arrived in military uniform to be greeted by Eden in full evening dress†2. Nasser treated Eden’s efforts as a deliberate attempt to humil iate him and whatever the positives derived out of this meeting was destroyed because of this incident. Britain forced to end their colonial rule in Egypt and Egypt became an independent state in 1953 even though British presence continued till 1956. Nasser became the president of Egypt in 1954. The nationalization of Suez Canal was the immediate action taken by Nasser after assuming the president’s post which resulted in the Suez Canal crisis of 1956. History of Suez Canal As mentioned earlier, Suez Canal was