Article published In: Language and Dialogue
Vol. 15:3 (2025) ► pp.362–379
Dialogue
Translation activities and human–land relationship
Published online: 26 May 2025
https://doi.org/10.1075/ld.00201.xu
https://doi.org/10.1075/ld.00201.xu
Abstract
Weigand conceptualizes “language as dialogue” and dialogue as
“the mixed game.” Translation can be understood as an interaction between
different languages and cultures, encapsulating the essence of this mixed game.
This process leads to a novel synthesis: Geo-Translatology, an interdisciplinary
field that integrates language, geography, and culture. The Chinese tradition
highlights harmonious interaction between humans and nature, acknowledging that
diverse geographical environments have shaped unique individuals, languages, and
cultures. This is due to the fact that languages and cultures have historically
developed within specific geographical contexts. Given that translation
originates from mutual communication, examining it through the lens of the
human–land relationship in geography provides insight into its fundamental
origins. This article explores this dialogic framework.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Literature review
- 3.The human–land relationship
- 4.Translation theory characterized by its distinct natural and human geographical
contexts
- 4.1The emergence of Skopos Theory in Germany
- 4.2Unequal dialogue of translation theory across regions
- 4.3Yihua and foreignizing: Two different terms in connotation and denotation
- 5.The dialogic compromise in translation
- 6.Conclusion
- Notes
References
References (17)
Chen, Fosong. 2001. A
Survey of the Historical Development of Global
Culture. Wuhan: Huazhong University of Science and Technology Press.
Coventry, Kenny R., Thora Tenbrink, and John Bateman (eds). 2009. Spatial
language and
dialogue. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Feldman, Yeal S. 1985. “Poetics
and politics: Israeli literary criticism between East and
West.” Proceedings of the American Academy
for Jewish
research 9–35.
Hardy, Thomas. 2008. Tess
of the D’Urbervilles. New York: Oxford University Press, Chinese
version: Hardy, Thomas. 2017. Tess
of the
D’Urbervilles (trans. Zhang Guruo). Beijing: People’s Literary Publishing House.
Li, Huiyi and Yuan Yuan. 2006. “Geographical
and cultural traps in the translation of Chinese classical
poetry.” Science and Technology
Information 361: 151–152.
Mo, Yan. 2004. Red
sorghum: A novel of
China. Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. English
version: Mo, Yan. 1993. Red
sorghum: a novel of
China (trans. Goldblatt, Howard). New York: Viking Penguin.
Nord, Christiane. 2001. Translating
as a purposeful activity: Functional approaches
explained. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Schulte, Rainer. 2002. The
geography of translation and interpretation: Traveling between
languages. New York: The Edwin Mellen Press.
Song, Yuanfang (ed.). 1983. A Concise Dictionary of Social Sciences. Shanghai: Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House.
Sun, Jinyi and He Aijun. 2020. “The
name and nature of Geo-Translation studies-An interview with Professor Aijun
He.” Foreign Language Research
China 7 (1): 70–74.
Wang, Hongyin. 2008. “Preface.” In Inheritance
and transcendence: study on Functionalist Skopos Theory of
Translation, ed. by Jianhua Bian. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press.
Weigand, Edda. 2010. Dialogue:
The mixed
game. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
. 2023. “Principles
of New Science Dialogue between science and
philosophy.” Language and
Dialogue 13(1): 26–50.
