The Pivotal Status of the Translator’s Habitus

Abstract

The paper explores the possibility of nudging theory away from the properties of systemic constructs towards the main focus of translation norms, i.e., the translator. The current model of DTS could be reframed, or 'translated' in a topological sense, by giving it a slightly different slant on the assumption of a translating habitus understood as: (culturally) pre-structured and structuring agent mediating cultural artefacts in the course of transfer. A discussion of the translator's endorsement of subservience is included, followed by a brief genealogy of the concept of habitus. A prospectus for future research in product analysis and the acquisition of translatorial competence is also sketched out.