Translation as a communicative unit in language

The need for dialogue can be viewed either at the level ofcomprehensive theoretical understanding or at the level of the deep-seated mechanism of individual behaviour. In the theory of communi-cation, the need for dialogue is tied in a complementary way both tothe needs of an audience, which can be studied in the theory of masscommunication (McQuail 2000), and to various personal needs (self-understanding, enjoyment, escapism) and social needs (knowledge aboutthe world, self-confidence, stability, self-esteem, the strengthening ofconnections with family and friends) (Fiske 2000: 20). Any form ofidentity also depends on the need for dialogue. At the core of personal,national, or social identity is the recognition of the boundary betweenself and other. The boundary not only divides but also unites and thusparticipates in dialogic processes. To a large extent dialogue withinthe boundaries depends on dialogue at the boundaries

Translators work at the boundaries of languages, cultures, andsocieties. They position themselves between the poles of specificityand adaptation in accordance with the strategies of their translationalbehaviour. They either preserve the otherness of the other or theytransform the other into self. By the same token, they cease to besimple mediators, because in a semiotic sense they are capable ofgenerating new languages for the description of a foreign language,text, or culture, and of renewing a culture or of having an influence onthe dialogic capacity of a culture with other cultures as well as withitself.

Translators work at the boundaries of languages, cultures, andsocieties. They position themselves between the poles of specificityand adaptation in accordance with the strategies of their translationalbehaviour. They either preserve the otherness of the other or theytransform the other into self. By the same token, they cease to besimple mediators, because in a semiotic sense they are capable ofgenerating new languages for the description of a foreign language,text, or culture, and of renewing a culture or of having an influence onthe dialogic capacity of a culture with other cultures as well as withitself.