Structuralist sources in the translation theory of John C. Catford (1965)

Abstract

This research studies the theoretical and practical sources, based on the underlying linguistic theories, of the work of J. C. Catford within the framework of the most representative translation theories of the second half of the 20th century. In addition, it investigates the canon that, through relationships of influence or precedent, has determined the linguistic ideas of this author.

Concepts such as formal correspondence or the types of translation, inspired by Halliday and Firth, or the definition of the translation process itself, among others, lead us to the identification of structuralist ideas in Catford’s theoretical apparatus that will determine later authors and that can also be found in other contemporaries or earlier ones, such as Vinay and Darbelnet (1958), with whom he presents common ideas such as that of equivalence.

Regarding the theoretical and methodological apparatus, this project uses the theory of the textual series (Haßler, 2002, and Zamorano Aguilar, 2013 and 2017) and the theory of the canon (Zamorano, 2010), which has made it possible to determine not only the relationships, but also the vectors of feedback with other works, starting from the base text of this series: A Linguistic Theory of Translation (Catford, 1965).

Thus, this historiographic research establishes the relationships among this text and the authors who have influenced it, through the realization of several retrospective series and, secondly, the explicit and implicit historical canon of the work.