Phenomenology and Rhetoric in Hermeneutic Translation

Abstract

Translational Hermeneutics as a discipline is central in Translation Studies. It redirects academic interest from language structures and cultural differences onto the person dealing with them, the translator. The translator, with intellectual, social and individual aspects of identity, combines intuition with reflection in the mediating process. S/he has in his or her strategy a dual perspective on the texts: s/he asks for their socio-cultural background, and analyses holistically the level of the text’s language structure, never proceeding in a word-for-word manner. Comprehension requires relevant cultural and specialist knowledge guiding the phenomenology in understanding, whereas proficiency in specific text genres and styles, textual logic, and semantic webs with cultural key words is rhetorically necessary for writing a translation. The application of this dynamic translation competence is demonstrated using an example.