Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
0.7
0.3
Journals
Humanities
Special Issues
Translation as the Foundation for Humanistic Investigations
share announcement

Translation as the Foundation for Humanistic Investigations

A special issue of Humanities (ISSN 2076-0787).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2014) | Viewed by 39230

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Albrecht Classen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of German Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Interests: medieval and early modern cultural history and humanities; premodern gender studies; history of mentality; comparative literature
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For our next topical volume, we suggest the theme of 'translation' in its widest metaphorical sense relating to the Humanities, translating cultures, literatures, values, ideals, concepts, and material conditions. Humanities are essentially concerned with addressing the human needs, dreams, hopes, and values, and we can only hope to survive if mankind collaborates. This will only be possible if there is a good degree of communication, which in turn is based on translation.

Prof. Dr. Albrecht Classen
Editor-in-Chief

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Humanities is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Editorial

Jump to: Research

192 KiB  
Editorial
Translation as the Catalyst of Cultural Transfer
by Albrecht Classen
Humanities 2012, 1(1), 72-79; https://doi.org/10.3390/h1010072 - 30 Mar 2012
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 6069
Abstract
This essay reflects on the many different strategies involved in translation, which is both a linguistic and a cultural-historical strategy. Examples from the Middle Ages and the Modern Age are adduced to illustrate the huge impact which translations have had on peoples and [...] Read more.
This essay reflects on the many different strategies involved in translation, which is both a linguistic and a cultural-historical strategy. Examples from the Middle Ages and the Modern Age are adduced to illustrate the huge impact which translations have had on peoples and societies throughout time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translation as the Foundation for Humanistic Investigations)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

190 KiB  
Article
(Re)interpreting Human Rights: The Case of the “Torture Memos” and their Translation into Italian
by Anna Romagnuolo
Humanities 2014, 3(3), 313-339; https://doi.org/10.3390/h3030313 - 30 Jul 2014
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4329
Abstract
The language of human rights can prove as difficult to define as it is to determine its boundaries as a legal discipline and to assert its universal acceptance. The indeterminacy and vagueness often observed in the language of its documents is clearly aimed [...] Read more.
The language of human rights can prove as difficult to define as it is to determine its boundaries as a legal discipline and to assert its universal acceptance. The indeterminacy and vagueness often observed in the language of its documents is clearly aimed at fostering Human Rights acknowledgment and protection; however, these same features are also a powerful tool for States seeking manipulative interpretations of human rights conventions. By combining the Appraisal Framework with an analysis of the rhetorical strategies employed in a specific type of legal document, this paper will explore the linguistic devices and rendering in translation of the so-called “Torture Memos” released by the US Government after 9/11 in an attempt to provide a legal framework for the CIA interrogation program for “unlawful combatants”. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translation as the Foundation for Humanistic Investigations)
257 KiB  
Article
Will Naomi’s Nation be Ruth’s Nation?: Ethnic Translation as a Metaphor for Ruth’s Assimilation within Judah
by Katherine E. Southwood
Humanities 2014, 3(2), 102-131; https://doi.org/10.3390/h3020102 - 09 Apr 2014
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 8105
Abstract
This article utilizes research concerning assimilation as a heuristic analytical tool through which to understand some of the factors that may have influenced Ruth’s and Naomi’s assimilation (or re-assimilation in Naomi’s case, having returned to Judah) within the Biblical book of Ruth. Initially, [...] Read more.
This article utilizes research concerning assimilation as a heuristic analytical tool through which to understand some of the factors that may have influenced Ruth’s and Naomi’s assimilation (or re-assimilation in Naomi’s case, having returned to Judah) within the Biblical book of Ruth. Initially, analysis of research concerning assimilation, research which originally emerged within the U.S. but has since developed on a larger and more sophisticated scale, is undertaken before the article turns to evaluate the narrative within the book of Ruth in light of the literature from social and cultural anthropology. Such literature considers the impact that family, friendship, and religious networks have on immigration and assimilation. It is suggested that the concept of “ethnic translation” rather than assimilation is more appropriate to the experience represented within the narrative. Furthermore, it is argued that Ruth’s assimilation, or ethnic translation and Naomi’s return migration and re-assimilation (or ethnic re-translation) are assisted greatly by family networks and by religious participation. While primarily a study of Hebrew Bible narrative, the interdisciplinary nature of the article enables it to serve as a springboard for larger reflections, especially in light of the new concept of ethnic translation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translation as the Foundation for Humanistic Investigations)
211 KiB  
Article
Converging Ideologies in William Fowler’s Hybrid Translation of Machiavelli’s Il Principe
by Sergi Mainer
Humanities 2014, 3(1), 42-58; https://doi.org/10.3390/h3010042 - 06 Feb 2014
Viewed by 5703
Abstract
This article explores the place of William Fowler’s translation of Machiavelli’s Prince in the Scottish Jacobean polysystem. Even if it was never finished, Fowler may have seen his rendering of Il Principe as a way of gaining King James’s favor at a time [...] Read more.
This article explores the place of William Fowler’s translation of Machiavelli’s Prince in the Scottish Jacobean polysystem. Even if it was never finished, Fowler may have seen his rendering of Il Principe as a way of gaining King James’s favor at a time when Fowler had become a peripheral member at the sovereign’s court. Consequently, the translator’s hybrid deployment of three different sources, together with his own additions and suppressions, were aimed to conform to James VI’s political and cultural project. The ideological convergences between the king’s political thought and Fowler’s manipulated Prince supported and legitimized the existing power structures of the target culture. The unfinished/unedited state of the manuscript may suggest that a total reconciliation between James’s markedly idealized vision of kingship and government and Machiavelli’s treatise was impossible despite the translator’s intercultural and ethnocentric appropriation of the source text. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translation as the Foundation for Humanistic Investigations)
136 KiB  
Article
The Legal Translator’s Approach to Texts
by Radegundis Stolze
Humanities 2013, 2(1), 56-71; https://doi.org/10.3390/h2010056 - 18 Feb 2013
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 8856
Abstract
Translation can be a basis for humanistic investigations when translation is seen as a personalized activity. The article describes, on the basis of hermeneutics, the specific perspective from which a translator may approach legal texts. Various aspects have to be considered in such [...] Read more.
Translation can be a basis for humanistic investigations when translation is seen as a personalized activity. The article describes, on the basis of hermeneutics, the specific perspective from which a translator may approach legal texts. Various aspects have to be considered in such texts, since the cultural and legal background is evident in linguistic aspects at the text level. Different text types are rooted in a specific legal system and fulfill their function within a special field of law. Comparative law does research on the differences in legal concepts, whereas translation uses this knowledge as a basis. Legal terminology presents various levels of abstraction and appears in texts besides general language words. Well-grounded understanding along with subject knowledge is necessary for legal translation. This should be combined with proficiency in writing in the legal style. The translator tries to make source cultural and legal aspects transparent for target readers, as translation is always a means of comprehension that furthers communication. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translation as the Foundation for Humanistic Investigations)
789 KiB  
Article
Babel’s Dawn and the Primeval Language. Between Translation and Narrative, or the Syriac Version of an Old Jewish Tradition
by Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala
Humanities 2012, 1(2), 104-116; https://doi.org/10.3390/h1020104 - 26 Jun 2012
Viewed by 5480
Abstract
The story of the Tower of Babel in Gn 11:1–9 gave rise to a rich literary tradition, in which the topos of the primeval language emerged. Whereas the interpretative tradition originating among the Jewish commentators upheld that the original language was Hebrew, in [...] Read more.
The story of the Tower of Babel in Gn 11:1–9 gave rise to a rich literary tradition, in which the topos of the primeval language emerged. Whereas the interpretative tradition originating among the Jewish commentators upheld that the original language was Hebrew, in the heart of the Eastern Christian communities some authors supported this theory, but others stated it to be Aramaic. The aim of the present article is to show how a celebrated chronicler like Michael the Syrian (12th c. CE) composed his version of the account narrated in Gn 11:1–9 by echoing different textual sources, but at the same time by combining both translation and narrative techniques in composing his text. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translation as the Foundation for Humanistic Investigations)
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-6
Back to TopTop