transLogos: Translation Studies Journal (Jun 2023)
The Unconscious of Translation
Abstract
Since the 1980s, a substantial body of literature has emerged exploring the application of psychoanalytic theory in the field of translation. Lawrence Venuti’s article, “The Difference That Translation Makes: The Translator’s Unconscious,” occupies a prominent position within this body of literature for two significant reasons: First, challenging the descriptive paradigm for neglecting the translator’s unconscious while primarily focusing on norms that influence translational behavior, Venuti’s article urges translation scholars to engage in comprehensive descriptive and critical analyses of the translator’s unconscious. Second, unlike most studies in the field, this article provides concrete examples and attempts to demonstrate how such analyses can be conducted. Building upon Venuti’s article as a case study, this paper aims to identify potential methodological challenges in translation criticism practices that employ psychoanalytic theory as a framework and explore how a text-centered approach can help overcome them. To accomplish this objective, this study begins by reviewing the application of psychoanalytic theory in literary criticism, emphasizing the shift in focus from the author to the formal features of the work. It then focuses on the approach that prioritizes the formal features of the work as the primary object of analysis and highlights the methodological implications associated with exploring the unconscious of the text. Following this, the study scrutinizes whether Gideon Toury’s descriptive approach excludes the translator’s unconscious as an object of research, as suggested by Venuti, and if so, explores potential explanations for this exclusion. To assess the effectiveness and limitations of Venuti’s methodology, the study critically analyzes two examples presented by the theorist. Ultimately, the study argues that the focus of translation criticism should be on the unconscious of translation and suggests that the concept offers valuable insights for our methodological inquiries in psychoanalytic approaches to translation criticism.
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