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Ontological positions

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

Abstract

The aim of this foundational chapter is to explore some of the main ways that ontology – that is, the study of being – is relevant to translation. It begins by considering the importance of the broad questions of being and the peculiar difficulty of reflecting on them directly. This is followed by a discussion of major concepts in the history of Western ontology: categories and categorization; sameness, difference and identity; change and stability; and being and non-being. The final section introduces three major traditions of ontological thought: substance ontology, process ontology, and flat ontology. This chapter shows throughout that the ontological positions we adopt have significant implications for how we think about translation and that there is much to be gained from explicit reflection on questions of being.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationRoutledge handbook of concepts and theories of translation
EditorsReine Meylaerts, Kobus Marais
Place of PublicationNew York and London
PublisherRoutledge
Chapter2
Pages28-50
Number of pages23
ISBN (Electronic)9781003161448
ISBN (Print)9780367752002, 9780367752019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 May 2023

Publication series

NameRoutledge Handbooks in Translation and Interpreting Studies

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