Translational semiotic communication: a transdisciplinary perspective

This study is designed to explore, model, propose and develop a transdisciplinary framework for the study of translation phenomena. To this end, this study offers an alternative gateway to understanding translation, in which it develops a would-be-theory of translation as social semiotic phenomena. In this, it presents a theoretical model of translational semiotic communication which focusses on human translational semiotic communication systems and processes. -- Specifically, this study conceptualizes translation as a semiotic system, more specifically, a metasemiotic system. In this, it views translation as a potential (system) which makes meaning by way of other semiotic systems, in an overall multilevelled and multilayered semiotic activity system and process of translational semiotic communication. Having conceptualized translation as a potential (system), this study further conceptualizes translation as an actual (instance, text). In this, a translation potential manifests itself as a translated actual through the concepts of realization and instantiation. That is, these concepts semiotically design the semiotic space and movement of translation, as such they enable a translation potential to turn itself into a translated actual, in the overall translational semiotic activity system and process. This study thus challenges most of the mainstream views currently held within translation studies. -- To achieve its objective, and in reference to the overall theory of translational semiotic communication proposed, this study presents the following areas of enquiry and discussion: translation potentiality, translational semiotic, transtextual (translinguistic/transnonlinguistic) semiotic, transcontextual semiotic, translational relevance, translinguistic typology, transdien(ic) semiotic, and translational analysis and application. Readers may find unfamiliar technical terms employed in this study. -- It is hoped that whatever may have been achieved in this study can be seen as a useful contribution to further development of the current translation studies.