In the 1970s, Harris (1973; 1977; Harris & Sherwood, 1978) claimed that translation was a natural, innate skill, and explained that developmental psychology had two understandings of the term innate. In the weak sense, the one adopted here for cognitive translatology, innate means ‘a specialized predisposition in children to learn how to translate’. Harris & Sherwood (1978) also pondered what the ‘design features’ could be of this specialized predisposition, and considered that more research on the translation process was necessary on at least four points: the very pleasure to translate, the architecture of the lexicon, the working of the memory, and the ability to keep meaning across languages. In this paper I have taken up these questions, somewhat reworded and rearranged, in order to sketch some answers that research has provided in the last 30 years. I will first argue that most people in the world are bilingual. Then I will focus on some aspects of cognitive development – such as learning and neural entrenchment – and language acquisition, such as the architecture of the lexicon and the ability to paraphrase. A brief introduction to metalinguistic awareness will provide a transition to focus on translating and interpreting skills in bilingual groups such as children and professional translators. Before a summarizing conclusion, an out- line of some possible consequences for translation and interpreting research and training is offered

Nomen mihi Legio est—A cognitive approach to Natural Translation

Muñoz Martín, Ricardo
2011

Abstract

In the 1970s, Harris (1973; 1977; Harris & Sherwood, 1978) claimed that translation was a natural, innate skill, and explained that developmental psychology had two understandings of the term innate. In the weak sense, the one adopted here for cognitive translatology, innate means ‘a specialized predisposition in children to learn how to translate’. Harris & Sherwood (1978) also pondered what the ‘design features’ could be of this specialized predisposition, and considered that more research on the translation process was necessary on at least four points: the very pleasure to translate, the architecture of the lexicon, the working of the memory, and the ability to keep meaning across languages. In this paper I have taken up these questions, somewhat reworded and rearranged, in order to sketch some answers that research has provided in the last 30 years. I will first argue that most people in the world are bilingual. Then I will focus on some aspects of cognitive development – such as learning and neural entrenchment – and language acquisition, such as the architecture of the lexicon and the ability to paraphrase. A brief introduction to metalinguistic awareness will provide a transition to focus on translating and interpreting skills in bilingual groups such as children and professional translators. Before a summarizing conclusion, an out- line of some possible consequences for translation and interpreting research and training is offered
2011
Interpreting… naturally
35
66
Muñoz Martín, Ricardo
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/697015
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