AndrewChesterman

2000i.Memeticsandtranslationstrategies.Synapse5,117.

***

1.Memes

TranslationStudiesisabranchofmemetics.Thisisaclaim,ahypothesis.
Morespecifically,itisaninterpretivehypothesis:IclaimthatTranslation
Studiescanbethusinterpreted,andthatthisisausefulthingtodobecauseit
offersanewandbeneficialwayofunderstandingtranslation.

Memeticsisthestudyofmemes.Sowhatisameme?ThelatestOxford
EnglishDictionarydefinesitlikethis:

Meme:anelementofaculturethatmaybeconsideredtobepassedonbynongenetic
means,esp.imitation.

ThetermwasproposedandfirstusedbyRichardDawkins,inhisbookThe
SelfishGene(1976).Thiswasapopularbookaboutgenetics,abouthowthe
behaviouroforganismsisinfluencedbythewaygenesseektopromotetheir
ownsurvival.Towardstheendofthebook,Dawkinsintroducedthenotionof
amemeastheculturalequivalentofthegene:

[Amemeis]aunitofculturaltransmission,oraunitofimitation.Mimemecomesfroma
suitable Greek root, but Iwant a monosyllable that sounds a bit like gene. I hope my
classicalfriendswillforgivemeifIabbreviatemimemetomeme.Ifitisanyconsolation,it
couldalternativelybethoughtofasbeingrelatedtomemoryortotheFrenchwordmme.It
shouldbepronouncedtorhymewithcream.
Examplesofmemesaretunes,ideas,catchphrases,clothesfashions,waysofmaking
potsorbuildingarches.Justasgenespropagatethemselvesinthegenepoolbyleaping
frombodytobodyviaspermoreggs,somemespropagatethemselvesinthememepool
byleapingfrombraintobrainviaaprocesswhich,inthebroadsense,canbecalled
imitation.Ifascientisthears,orreadsabout,agoodidea,hepassesitontohis
colleaguesandstudents.Hementionsitinhisarticlesandlectures.Iftheideacatches

on,itcanbesaidtopropagateitself,spreadingfrombraintobrain.(1976:206;p.192in
the1989edition)

Thetermhassincebeentakenupbymanyscholars.ThephilosopherDaniel
Dennettusesitinhisattemptstoexplainconsciousness(1991).The
sociobiologistEdwardO.Wilsonusesitinhistheoryofgeneculture
coevolution.OneparticularlyinterestingaspectofWilsonsapplicationofthe
memeconceptisthewayhelinksittoneurology.Ameme,saysWilson,isa
nodeofsemanticmemory[asopposedtoepisodicmemory]anditscorrelates
inbrainactivity.Thatis,amemeisbothanideaandthecorrespondingset
ofhierarchicallyarrangedcomponentsofsemanticmemory,encodedby
discreteneuralcircuits(Wilson1998:149).Thisviewsuggeststhatmemes
existnotonlyinPoppersWorld2(thesubjectiveworld)andWorld3(the
worldofobjectiveideas,expressedthoughts),butalsoinWorld1(theworld
ofphysicalobjects).

ThemostrecentfulllengthtreatmentofmemesisthebookTheMeme
MachinebythepsychologistSusanBlackmore(1999).Oneofthethemesin
Blackmoresbookistheevolutionofmemes,andtheireffectontheevolution
ofthebrain.Shesuggeststhatbothbrainsandlanguageactuallydevelopedin
ordertospreadmemes:inotherwords,theculturalandevenneural
developmentofhomosapienswastosomeextentmemedriven.

MemeswereexplictlybroughtintoTranslationStudiesbyChesterman(1996,
1997),andindependentlybyVermeer(1997).

Memes,then,areeverythingyouhavelearnedbyimitatingotherpeople
habits,jokes,ideas,songs...Memesspreadlikegenes,theyreplicate,often
withmutation.Somememesspread,andthussurvive,betterthanothers.
Memessurvivewelliftheyareeasilymemorable,useful,sexyoremotive.
Somememestendtocooccurwithothers,ingroups:thesegroupsarecalled
mememesormemeplexes.Examplesarelanguages,religions,ideologies,
scientifictheories.Blackmoresuggeststhattheverynotionofaselfmaywell
benomorethanamemeplex.

Fromamemeseyeview,humanbeingsarejustconvenientandrather
efficientmachinesforspreadingmemes,asmemesengageintheirDarwinian
struggleforspaceandsurvival.Memesspreadaspeopletalktoeachother,as

theyreadbooksandlistentomusicorastheyattendalecture.Memesalso
spreadviatranslations,ofcourse.Infact,thisisreallywhatthewhole
translationbusinessisabout:spreadingmemesfromoneplacetoanother,
makingsurethattheygetsafelyacrossculturalborders.SoTranslation
Studiesisawayofstudyingmemesandtheirtransmissionunderparticular
circumstances.

2.Amemepool

Atanygivenpointoftime,wecandescribethestateofacultureasasetof
memesamemepool.Wecanalsodescribethestateofsomepartofthat
cultureinsuchaway,orthestateofascientificfield.Supposewetrytolist
thememesinthememepoolofTranslationStudies:herearesomethatoccur
tome.

Translationtransfers/preservesmeaning
Thesourcetextisholy
Translatingiscopying/imitating...
Translatingisperforming/representing...
Traduttoretraditore
Translationsenrichthetargetculture
Translationhonoursthesourcetext
Translationcanrevealthepurelanguage
TranslationdomesticatestheOther
Translationsaremoreneutralthanoriginals
TranslationsshowsignsofSTinterference
Thebesttranslationsarenotrecognizedassuch
ThebesttranslationsgetthesameeffectastheST
SomeSTsgettranslatedmorefreelythanothers
Translatingisrecoding
Translatingiscommunicatingamessage
Theformofatranslationisdeterminedbyitsfunction
Translationscanhavehiddenagendas
Translationislikecannibalism
Translatingisadecisionmakingactivity
Translatorsmakeformalandsemanticchanges
Translatorschangecultures
Translatorsmakemistakes

Translationsareoftendonebyamateurs
Machinescan/cannottranslatewell

InMemesofTranslation(1997)Isuggestthattherearealsosupermemesin
thismemepooltheseareparticularlydominantmemesthatkeepcoming
upallovertheplace,ofteninslightlydifferentforms.Theyareextremely
persistent:infact,theyjustwontgoaway!

Thesourcetargetmeme
Theequivalencememe
Theunranslatabilitymeme
Thefreevs.literalmeme
Theallwritingistranslatingmeme

Nownoticewhathappenstosomeofthesesupermemesifwelookat
translationitselfasamemeticactivity.Thismeansthatweseeitasbeing
basednotonanequativerelation,norononeoftransfer,butonreplication:an
additiverelation.

Not:A=A(equative)
Nor:A>B(transfer)
But:A>A+A(additive)

Itistheadditiverelationthatmostcloselyrepresentswhatisessentialabout
theactoftranslation.Thereisdynamicmovementovertime,yes,butnot
fromasourcetoatarget;oneisnotcarryingsomethingfromoneplaceto
another,becausethesomethingstillremainsatthesourceafterthe
translationprocessiscompletedsourcetextsormessagesdonotdisappear
simplybecausetheyhavebeentranslated.Whathappensisthatattime1we
haveonetextormessage(A),andthenattime2wehavetwo:boththe
original(A)andanadditionalone,areplica(A)thathappenstobeina
differentlanguage.SothememesoftextormessageAnowspreadfurther.
Theydonothavetostopspreadinginthesourceculture,sotheirterritoryhas
expanded.

3.Memesintranslationteaching

IclaimedearlierthatTranslationStudiesisabranchofmemetics.Letus
examinewhetherthishypothesisbringsanyaddedvaluetothewaywemight
teachtranslation.Iwillsuggestthreewaysinwhichanapplicationof
memeticsmightbebeneficial.

3.1.Memesareconceptualtools

Translationisatoolboxskill,notanalgorithmicskill(Sguinot,forthcoming).
Inthecaseofanalgorithmicskill,thereisonlyoneanswer,oneformula:you
justhavetolearnitinordertoarriveattherightsolution,asinlearninghow
touseanewwordprocessingprogram.Inthecaseofatoolboxskill,you
needseveraltoolsinyourpack,andyouneedtoknowhowtoselecttheright
onetoaccomplishagiventask.Translatortrainingactuallyinvolvesan
initiationintotheuseoftwokindsoftools,andbothshouldbegivenadequate
spaceinthesyllabus.Sometoolsaretechnical:computerprograms,for
instance.Othertoolsareconceptual.Theseconceptualtoolsarememes,and
canbetaughtexplicitlyasmemes.Inthisway,theyspreadstillfurther.

Thefirstapplicationofmemeticstotranslatortrainingisbasedonthisfact
thatmemesareconceptualtools.Memesabouttranslation,inthecurrent
memepool,canbeusefulintheactivityoftranslationitself,andinthe
activityofteachingtranslation.Forwithoutconceptualtools,wecannotthink
atall.Traineetranslatorsneedtobeawareofwhattheyaredoing,andofwhat
professionaltranslatorsdo.Inordertoachievethisawareness,theyneedways
ofthinkingabouttheactivityoftranslation,waysofanalysingit;theyneed
therelevantconcepts.

Somememesabouttranslationarewidespread,butothersaremorespecificto
thecommunityofprofessionaltranslators.Allprofessionalshaveacquireda
stockofconceptsabouttranslation.Thesesharedconceptswecouldcall
themprofessionaltranslationmemesaretheconceptualtoolsoftheirtrade.
Professionalsacquiretheseconceptualtoolspartlyfromexperience,butpartly
(perhapsmostly)fromtheirtraining.Thetaskofatranslationtrainer,
therefore,istospreadmemesabouttranslationusefulmemes.Lets
considersomeexamples.

(i)Translationisamemeticactivity.Supposethatthisideaoftranslationis
introducedattheverybeginningofatrainingcourse.Ithighlightsanumber

ofvaluableaspectsoftranslationthatoftenremainabitneglected.Translators
areagentsinthespreadingofideas,forinstance;theyarenotmerecopiersof
texts.Translationschangethestateoftheworld,byaddingnewtexts.The
activityoftranslationisattheheartofculturaldevelopment,oftheevolution
ofideas.Becausememeticreplication(almost)alwaysinvolvesvariation,we
donotneedtofocusontheimpossibilityofpreservingsomekindofidentity;
instead,wecanfocusonthewaytextschangeastheyaretranslated,and
examinethenatureandmotivationofsuchchanges:thisisamorerealistic
approach,andonethatgivesthetranslatormorefreedomofresponsibilityand
morescopeforcreativity.

(ii)Strategymemes.Oneofthemostusefulsetsofprofessionaltranslation
memesisthatofstrategymemes.Thesememesare,inaparticularlyobvious
sense,essentialconceptualtoolsofthetranslatorstrade.BystrategyhereI
meananywellestablishedwayofsolvingatranslationproblem.These
strategiesarewidelyusedandwellknownintheprofession(notnecessarily
underthesamenames,ofcourse).Onewayoftellingthedifferencebetweena
professionalandanamateuristhattheprofessionalusuallyknowsatonce,or
candecidequitequickly,whatkindofstrategytouse.Professionalscando
thiseitherbecausetheyhavelearnedthestrategiesexplicitlyduringtraining,
orbecausetheyhavediscoveredthemfromtheirownexperience,orbecause
theyhavepickedthemupfromcolleagues.Thisisnottosaythat
professionalsalwaysusethemconsciously;theymaywellbecomeroutine,
automaticresponses.Butitseemslikelythatatthebeginningofatranslators
careertheyareusedconsciously;andcertainlyintrainingtheycanbe
introducedexplicitly.

Translationproblemscomeinmanyshapesandsizes,andsodostrategies.
Someproblemshavetodowithwheretofindagiventerm;othersare
comprehensionproblems.Stillothershavetodowiththeselectionofthe
optimalequivalent.Andothersagainconcernsuchthingsastranslators
block,gettingstuck,losingtheflow.Forallthesekindsofproblems,various
standardsolutionsareavailablethatareworthtrying.Theyarepossibleshort
cuts,youmightsay:tricksofthetrade.

Herearetwoextractsfromarecentarticlefromthefinancialpageofthe
GuardianWeekly(March23,2000).TheheadlineisHitechsharesbrought
lowasoldeconomyrises,andthetopicisthefallinnewtechnologyshare

pricesandariseinthevalueofoldeconomystocks.Ihaveaddedthe
italics.

1.[Theopeningsentences]ItisacorporateremakeofTheEmpireStrikesBack.Two
weeksagoaclutchofnewtechnologystarssoaredintotheeliteoftheFTSE100index.
Sincethen,thesharesofFreeserve,PsionandKingstonCommunicationshave
plummetedbymorethanathird,andevenBaltimoreTechnologyhaslostmorethan
10%ofitsvalue.

2.[Laterinthearticle]Butanalystswarnthatnotallcheapstocksarebargains.Michael
OSullivanofWarburgDillonReedpointstocompanieswithconsistentlygoodresults
andstrongpositionsintheirmarkets,suchasGKN,theengineer,CRH,andBAe.He
likestechnologystocksbutsays:AsforFreeserveandlastminute.com,wesay
waitaminute.com.

Howtotranslatethebitsinitalicsinto,say,Norwegian?Doesawonderful
translationspringimmediatelytomind,ordoyoufeelthereisaproblem
here?Aprofessionalmightthinklikethis(ifhehasreadLeppihalme1997):
In(1)wehaveaculturalallusion,ofthepropernamekind.Welltried
strategiesfortranslatingtheseculturalallusionsare:retainunchanged,retain
withguidance,replacebylocalequivalent,replacebycommonnoun,give
overtexplanation,andomit(inthisorderofpreference).SoIlltake...In(2)
wehaveanexampleofwordplay.Here,theestablishedsolutionsare...well,
whatarethey?YoumightliketohavealookatDelabastita(1993).

Inotherwords,thisprofessionalalreadyhastheconceptualtoolsavailablein
histoolbox,heknowswhatoptionsareavailable,andcanproceeddirectlyto
selectthebestoneforthiscontext.Hedoesnothavetowastetimefindingout
whatthepossibilitiesarefirst,beforechoosing,buthecanexploitthe
experienceofprevioustranslatorsandscholarswhohaveexploredthe
problemoftranslatingculturalallusionsorwordplay.Hecanmakeuseof
previousexamplesofbestpractice,goodproblemsolvingideas.(Forafuller
classificationandselectionofstrategymemes,seetheappendixtothispaper.)

Intranslatortraining,strategymemesneedtobepresentedfromtwoangles.
First,traineesneedtoknowwhatthestrategiesare.Thismeansbecoming
acquaintedwiththeconcepts,learningwhattheymean,howthestrategiescan
bedefined,seeingwhatisavailable.Second,traineesneedtolearnsomething
abouttheconditionsunderwhichdifferentstrategiestendtobeused.(Thisis
oneofthebigproblemsfortranslationresearch.)Amemeticallyenlightened

professional,then,issomeonewhocanrecognizeatypicalproblem,register
therelevantcontextualconditions,andselectanappropriatestrategy.

(iii)Normmemes.Anotherusefulsetofmemesconcernstranslationnorms.
Thesetooneedtobetaughtexplicitly,asessentialmemes.Translationnorms
guidethetranslatorsdecisionsatamoregenerallevel.Theyareconstraints
onthetranslatorsfreedomofchoice,buttheyarealsoremindersthat
translatorsbelongtoaprofessionalcommunitygovernedbyagreementson
howweshouldbehave,whatourtextsshouldlooklike.Theycanthus
reinforcethetranslatorssenseofprofessionalidentity.Moreover,ifyou
knowwhatthenormsare,youcanfeelfreertoexerciseyourcreative
imaginationwithinthelimitstheyset,asachildcanfeelfree,confidentand
responsiblewithinthelimitssetbytheparents.Ifyouknowwhatthenormis,
youdonothavetowonderhowfaryoucango.Normsarenotlaws,however.
Normscanbebroken,andbetteronesproposed.Eachtimeatranslator
conformstoanorm,andthusspreadsthememe,thenormbecomesstronger.
Buteachtimesomeonebreaksthenorm,itbecomesabitweaker.

Translationnormshavebeenanalysedandclassifiedinmanyways(seee.g.
Bartsch1987,Toury1995,Chesterman1997,Schffner(ed.)1998,Hermans
1999).Somenormsgoverntherelationbetweensourcetextandtargettext;
othersrelatetotheformofthetargettext,totargetlanguageconventionsof
styleetc.;otherstotheprocessofeffectivecommunication.Thesenorms
makemanifestthegeneralcodeofconductwithintheprofession,andalsothe
responsibilityoftheprofessionvisvissocietyatlarge.Normmemescarry
ideasaboutwhatatranslatorshoulddo;strategymemescarryideasabout
whatatranslatorcando.

3.2.Encouragemutualistmemes!

Butareallmemesuseful?Afterall,somegenesaredestructive...Thesameis
trueofmemes:someareparasitic,somemutualist.Aparasiticmemeis
onethat,inthelongrunatleast,isharmfultoitscarrier.Amutualistoneis
beneficialtothesurvivalofitscarrier.Inteaching,weshouldtrytoencourage
mutualistmemesanddiscourageparasiticones.Wecandothisquite
explicitly,showingthatsomedoharmtothetranslatorsprofessionandself
confidence,whileothersareconstructive.Thestrategyandnormmemes
mentionedaboveareallmutualistones.


Herearesomeparasiticmemes,whicharebadforthepeoplethatcarrythem,
i.e.badfortranslators.Aparticularlydestructiveoneis:Thereisnoneedfor
atheoryoftranslation.Thisisbadfortranslators(andalsofortranslator
trainers,nottomentiontranslationscholars...)becauseitimpliesthat
translationissomethingsosimple,sostraightforward,thatanyonecandoit
withtheireyesclosed,andsothewholestatusoftheprofessioniswatered
downtonothing.Afterall,whatisatheory?Originally,atheorymeantaway
ofseeingsomething,awayoftakingacarefullook,asystematicand
contemplativeperspective.Tosaythatwedontneedatheoryimpliesthatwe
donotneedtolookatwhatwearedoing,wedontneedtothinkaboutit.Or,
ontheotherhand,itmightmeanthatthereisnothingspecialabout
translation:allweneedisatheoryofcommunication...(SeeGutt1990,
ConditTirkkonen1992.)Butthistooisaviewthatunderminesthe
professionsidentity,reducesitsdistinguishingfeatures.

Anotherparasiticmemeistheuntranslatabilitymeme.Despitecenturiesof
evidencetothecontrary,thememeisapersistentone,stressedbysceptics
whowishtodownplaythetranslatorscreativity,toreducetranslationto
somethingsecondary,donebypeoplewhoarenotrealwriters,andsoon.
Translationisimpossible,andsoanyeffortattranslatingisboundtofail.
Translatorsarebetrayersoftheoriginal,andparticularlyiftheytryto
translatepoetry,becausepoetrycannotbetranslated,indeed,poetryisthat
whichcannotbetranslated...Notapositionthatencouragespositivethinking,
norevenarealisticone.Peoplewholikethismemeevidentlyfeelthatthe
verypossibilityoftranslationissomekindofthreat;theythendefend
themselvesagainstthisthreatbyclaimingthattranslationisimpossible,and
thusbanishingthethreatbyaneatcircularargument.

Thismemegoeshandinhandwithanotherone(together,theyforma
mememe)thesamenessmeme.Thisistheideathattranslations(atleast,
propertranslations)areinsomewaythesameastheiroriginals.Thatthe
jobofthetranslatoristotransfersomethingthatremainsthesame,
unchanged.Becausethisneveroccursthatis,itneveroccursexactly
thereforetranslations(propertranslations)areimpossible.Theyare,in
fact,theoreticallyimpossible.(Notetheinterestinglyparadoxicalappealto
theoryinthiskindofargument,inordertodenytheexistenceoftheobjectof
thetheory.)Ifyouthinkthatyourtranslationsmustachievesameness,and

youneverthelessacceptthatyoucanneverreachthissameness,thenyouwill
alwaysseeyourtranslationsasfailures.Again,thisisnotahelpfulattitude.

Isuspectthatthesamenessmemeisalsoconnectedtothesourcetarget
supermemementionedearlier.Ifyouworkwiththemetaphoroftransfer,of
movingsomething(amessage,ameaning)fromoneplacetoanother,then
youseemboundtobelievethatthissomethingdoesnotchangeduringthe
transferprocess.Youcrosstheriver,butyoudonotchangeyouridentityas
youdoso.Fromamemeticpointofview,thismetaphorissurelya
destructiveone.

InoppositiontotheparasiticsamenessmemeIwouldsetthemutualistmeme
ofrelevantsimilarity.Thisseemstometobeamuchmorepositiveand
realisticwaytoconceiveoftheequivalencerelationshipbetweensourceand
targettexts.Itisalsomoreflexible:morethanonesimilaritymayexist
betweenthesametwotexts,dependingonwhatisrelevant,i.e.dependingon
thepointofview,onthepurposeofthetranslation,andsoon.Considerhow
thisviewaffectsthewayatranslatorcanthinkofthetranslationprocess:the
aimnowistoproducearelevantsimilarity,notanimpossiblesameness.So:
whatkindofsimilaritywillbethemostrelevantone?Howmuchsimilarity,
too?Thesequestionsforcethetranslatortogivesomethoughttotheskopos
ofthetranslation,andtothevariouskindsofsimilaritythatmightbepossible,
beforechoosingthemostappropriateoneanddecidinghowtorealizeit.
Surelythisisaviewthatwouldbenefitthetranslationprofession,inthatit
shouldleadtogoodtranslationsandsatisfiedclients.

Anotherusefulmutualistmemeistheideaofthetranslatorasanexpert,rather
thanasahumbleslaveofthesourcetextoritsauthor,ortheclient.Thisisa
pointmadeparticularlystronglybytheskopostheorists.Itsbeneficial
influenceonatranslatorsselfimageisobvious.

3.3.Memesevolve:teachtranslationhistory!

Memesarenotstatic,theyevolve.Theymutateastheyspread,sometimes
more,sometimesless.Youcanlookatthehistoryoftranslationasthe
evolutionoftranslationmemes:asuccessionofideasthatcomeandgo,like
passingfashions,somemorelonglastingthanothers.Theydonotcomeand
goontheirown,ofcourse:therearealwayssocioculturalcauses,andwilling

orunwillingcarriersofmemes.Memesoftentendtorecurunderdifferent
names,whichnatuallyaffectstheirmutation.Compare:

Translatewordforword
Translateclosely
Translateliterally
Translateinasourceorientedway
Produceasemantictranslation
Produceadocumentarytranslation

Noneofthesemeanexactlythesamething,butyoucanseethattheyare
manifestations,mutations,ofmoreorlessthesamememe.

Whyshouldtraineesbeawareofthewaytranslationmemeshaveevolved?
Becausethisisthehistoryoftheirownprofession.Thisisoneexcellentway
tobecomesocializedintothetraditionoftheprofession,tobegintoidentity
oneselfwithitandfindonesownplacewithinit.Ifyouareawareofthe
historicalbackground,itisalsoeasiertoformyourowntheoryoftranslation,
yourownparticularcombinationofmemesthatmakebestsensetoyou.It
mayalsobethattheontogeneticdevelopmentofanindividualtranslatorruns
somehowparalleltothephylogeneticevolutionoftheprofessionasawhole
(seeChesterman1997:159f).Ifthisisso,anawarenessofthephylogenetic
progressionmayspeeduptheontogeneticone.

Memesmutateastheyevolve.Traineescanalsobeencouragedtotakepartin
thismutation.Thiswouldmeanexploringandexperimentingwithnorm
breakingtranslation,newsolutions,newcombinationsofideas...maybealso
keepingupwiththelatestinnovationsintranslationresearch.

4.Memesintranslationresearch

HereIwillbrieflymentionthreewaysinwhichmemeticscanbeconceptually
appliedintranslationresearch.Tosomeextent,theserecapitulatesomeofthe
pointsalreadymadeabove.

4.1.Theculturalturn

Mostobviously,memeticsappearseminentlyrelevanttothewholeofthe
culturalturnthathastakenplaceinTranslationStudiesoverthepasttwenty
yearsorso(seee.g.BassnettandLefevere1990).Thiswasinpartareaction
againstlinguisticapproachesthatwerethoughttobetoonarrowandto
neglectthewiderculturalandsocialaspectsoftranslation.Asaresultofthis
turntowardsaculturaldimension,scholarshavelookedattranslationmoreas
awayoftransmittingideasfromoneculturetoanother,andthusasawayof
influencingothercultures.

Oneofthefashionableconceptshasbeenthatofmanipulation(Hermans
1985).Thiscanbeunderstoodintwosenses.Translatorsandtheirclients
manipulatethetargetculturebyintroducingandspreadingnewmemesthere;
andtranslatorsmanipulatethesourcetextitselfastheytranslate,sothatthe
memestheyexpressinthetargettextaremutationsofthoseintheoriginal
forinstance,theymaybeideologicallycoloured.Muchinterestingresearch
hasexploredthesesensesofmanipulation.

Anotherinterestingkindofresearchwhichisclearlymemeticisthestudyof
whatisknownasthecometstailphenomenon.Thismeanslookingatthe
wayagivenwork,ortheworkofaparticularauthor,spreadsthroughaseries
ofcultures,viatranslation(directorindirect).StudiesofShakespeare
translation,forinstance,havefollowedhisprogressthroughEuropeinthis
way.Onetranslationsparksoffanother,andthenanother,sothatawholetrail
oftranslationsiscreatedamotorwayforthespreadofmemes.(Seee.g.
workbytheGttingenresearchgroup,suchasKittel1992.)

Amemeticscholarwouldbeparticularlyinterestedinquestionslikethese:
Whathappenstoideasastheymutateviatranslation?Whichideastendto
survivebetterthanothers,andwhy?Howdoestranslationaffecttheir
survival,bothinthetargetcultureandinthesourceculture?Oneexampleof
suchresearch(notovertlymemetic,butcertainlymemeticinprinciple)isthat
ofLianeri(forthcoming)ontheconceptofdemocracyin19thcenturyBritain.
(Theconceptofdemocracyisacomplexandpersistentmeme,and
presumablyamutualistone.)LianerishowshowJ.S.Millstranslationsof
GreektextsondemocracyaffectedthewayVictoriansthoughtaboutit.She
alsoshowshowMillhimselfmanipulatedtheGreektextsinaccordancewith
hisownideasofdemocracy.Millthusparticipatedinamemeticmutationthat
hadquitewidespreadeffectsonBritishculture.


4.2.Thehistoricalcurve

Imentionedthisabove:thewayoflookingattranslationhistoryasa
successionofrecurringmemes,aspartofculturalevolution.Anexampleis
giveninChesterman(1997,chapter2).

Onepossibleapplicationofthiswayofthinkinghastodowithmaking
predictions.Ifwediscoverthattheevolutionoftranslationmemestendsto
occurincertainwavesorpatterns,notjustinonecultureonlybutmore
generally,wemightbeabletomakepredictionsaboutupandcomingmemes
inaparticularculture.Wemightalsobeabletoofferexplanationsabout
currentmemepatterns,intermsofuniversallawsofmemeticevolution.

Anotherlineofpotentiallymemeticresearchwithahistorical,temporal
dimensionisthestudyofretranslations.Thedecisiontotranslateagiven
workagainintothesametargetlanguage,forinstanceagenerationlater,
seemstosuggesttheneedtorevivecertainmemesthatwereperhapsin
dangeroffadingaway.Whatarethecharacteristicsoftranslationsthatneedto
besupplementedbyretranslations?Howdoretranslationsdifferfromearlier
translations?Inotherwords,howarethememesreexpressed?Whatarethe
characteristicsoftranslationsthatseemtosurvivewithoutretranslations?
Morepowerfulmemes?Amoreeffectiveexpressionofthem?Howdo
differenttranslationsthencompeteforthehonourofcarryingthememes?(On
retranslationingeneral,seee.g.thespecialissueofPalimpsestes4,1990.)

4.3.Thecognitivetwist

Cognitiveresearchontranslationisrelativerecent.Ininterpreting,therehas
beensomeresearchusingEEGmeasurements,butinTranslationStudiesthe
mainmethodologyherehasbeentheuseofThinkAloudProtocols(TAPs).
(Forarecentexample,theTRANSLOGproject,seeHansen1999.)The
centralquestioninthisresearchis:whathappensinthetranslatorshead?
Howaredecisionsmade?Whatkindofdecisionsaremade?When?Howcan
weobservethis?

Fromthememeticpointofview,however,thecrucialquestionis:domemes
existinthebrain,insomeobservableform?Chemically?Neurologically?So

far,weonlyhaveguesses...butperhapstheTAPstudiesofthefuture,
combinedwithotherresearchmethodsthatwillhavetobemoreintrusive
ones,willcomeupwithsomeevidence.Maybe,oneday,weshallbeable
literallytoseeanidea.

Indeed,maybecognitivememeticscouldevenhelpprovideananswertothe
reallybigquestion:whatisconsciousness?

5.Criticism

Memeticshasnotgoneunchallenged,ofcourse.Itsreceptionsofarhasbeena
mixedone,withreactionsrangingfromenthusiasmtoscepticism.Themost
frequentcriticismhasbeenthatmemesarenomorethanmetaphors,sothey
arenotproperlyscientific.Onemightreplythatallscienceisbased
conceptuallyonmetaphors,thatthisisthewayweunderstandagreatmany
things.Weunderstandlight,forinstance,byseeingitasparticles,oras
waves,orasbothatthesametime.

Criticshavealsostressedthatmemesarenotobservable,somemeticsisonly
speculation.Memeticsscholarscanonlyreplythatgenes,too,werenot
observablewhentheywerefirstthoughtof.Norwereatoms.Somesub
atomicparticlesarenotyetobservable,apparently.Andwhataboutthestrings
ofstringtheory,ofwhichsomesaytheuniverseultimatelyconsists?Memes
mightbeobservableoneday,whoknows?

Afurthercriticismhasbeenthefuzzinessofthememeconcept:howbigisa
meme?JustthefirstfournotesofBeethovensFifth,orthewholesymphony?
Maybeboth?Itistruethattheconceptneedstobemadesharper.Atoms,too,
neededtoberedefinedafteritbecamepossibletosplitthem,theycouldno
longerbedefinedasunsplittableelements.

Scepticsargue,furthermore,thattheconceptofamemehasnoadded
heuristicvalue.Itisjustanotherwayoftellingusthingsthatwealreadyknow
thatideasspread.Whybuildanelaborateparallelwithgeneticsifwedont
needitinordertounderstand?

Andwhataboutthedeterministicaspect?Memeticsseemstotaketheposition
thathumanactionisdetermined,ifnotbygenesthenbymemes.Takentoits

extreme,thispositionleavesnoroomforhumanagencyorfreewill;it
thereforeundermineshumandignityandvalueandisprofoundlyanti
humanistic.Sosaythecritics...

Thememeticsmemeisneverthelessspreadingfast.Thereisnowanonline
JournalofMemetics,andhundredsofmemeticssitesontheInternet.Agood
placetostartistheMemesCentralsiteat<http://www.memes.org.uk/>.Fora
criticalreviewofBlackmoresbook,byMartinGardnerintheLosAngeles
Times,see
<http://www.calendarlive.com/calendarlive/books/bookreview/20000305/t000
000143.html>.

References

Bartsch,Renate(1987)NormsofLanguage.London:Longman.
Bassnett,SusanandAndrLefevere(eds)(1990)TranslationHistory,and
Culture.London:Pinter.
Blackmore,Susan(1999)TheMemeMachine.Oxford:OxfordUniversity
Press.
Chesterman,Andrew(1996)Teachingtranslationtheory:thesignificanceof
memes.InCayDollerupandVibekeAppel(eds),TeachingTranslation
andInterpreting3.NewHorizons.Amsterdam:Benjamins,6371.
Chesterman,Andrew(1997)MemesofTranslation.Amsterdam:Benjamins.
Chesterman,Andrew(1998)Communicationstrategies,learningstrategies
andtranslationstrategies.InKirstenMalmkjaer(ed.)Translationand
LanguageTeaching.Manchester:St.JeromePublishing,135144.
Dawkins,Richard(1976)TheSelfishGene.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.
Delabastita,Dirk(1993)TheresaDoubleTongue.Aninvestigationintothe
translationofShakespeareswordplay,withspecialreferenceto
Hamlet.Amsterdam:Rodopi.
Dennett,DanielC.(1991)ConsciousnessExplained.Harmondsworth:
Penguin.
Gutt,ErnstAugust(1990)Atheoreticalaccountoftranslationwithouta
translationtheory.Target2/2,135164.

Hansen,Gyde(ed.)(1999)Probingtheprocessintranslation:methodsand
results.CopenhagenStudiesinLanguage24.Copenhagen:
Samfundslitteratur.
Hermans,Theo(ed.)(1985)TheManipulationofLiterature.Studiesin
LiteraryTranslation.London:CroomHelm.
Hermans,Theo(1999)TranslationinSystems.Manchester:St.Jerome
Publishing.
Leppihalme,Ritva(1997)CultureBumps.Anempiricalapproachtothe
translationofallusions.Clevedon:MultilingualMatters.
Lianeri,Alexandra(forthcoming).Translationandtheshapingofmodern
democracy.InA.Chesterman,A.,N.GallardoandY.Gambier
(eds),TranslationinContext.Amsterdam:Benjamins.
Kittel,Harald(ed.)(1992)Geschichte,System,Literarischebersetzung/
Histories,Systems,LiteraryTranslations.[GttingerBeitrgezur
Internationalenbersetzungsforschung5.]Berlin:ErichSchmidt.
Schffner,Christina(ed.)(1998)TranslationandNorms.Clevedon:
MultilingualMatters.
Sguinot,Candace(forthcoming).Knowledge,expertise,andtheoryin
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(eds),TranslationinContext.Amsterdam:Benjamins.
TirkkonenCondit,Sonja(1992)Atheoreticalaccountoftranslation
withouttranslationtheory?Target4/2,237245.
Toury,Gideon(1995)DescriptiveTranslationStudiesand
Beyond.Amsterdam:Benjamins.
Vermeer,HansJ.(1997)Translationandthememe.Target9/1,155166.
Wilson,EdwardO.(1998)Consilience.London:Little,BrownandCompany.
Appendix.Translationstrategies

Thisappendixoutlinesthemainkindsoftranslationstrategies,innoteform.
(Formoredetails,seee.g.Chesterman1997,chapter4,andalsoChesterman
1998.)

1.Strategiesarealsoknownastacticsorprocedurestheterminology
varies.Strategiesareestablishedwaysofsolvingproblems:potentially
conscious;intersubjective.

2.Aproblemisaperceiveddifficultyingettingfromthepresentstatetothe
desiredgoalstate.
Difficultybecause:
(a)meanstoreachgoalstatearenotknown
>aMEANSproblem(e.g.alchemy)
(b)cannotdecidewhatisthebestmeans
>aCHOICEproblem(chess)
(c)cannotseegoalstateclearly
>aGOALproblem(creativewriting)

3.Differentkindsofproblemsrequiredifferenttypesofstrategies.

3a.MEANSproblems:searchstrategies(referenceworks,paralleltexts,
databases,terminologies,Internet,telephoneetc.)

3b.CHOICEproblems:textualstrategies(alsocalledprocedures,
shifts).Someofthesearelanguagepairspecific,ofthekind:ifthereis
structureXintheEnglishsourcetext,trystructureYinaNorwegian
translation(>contrastiveanalysis).
Othersaremoregeneraltextualtricks.Someexamples:
(i)Syntacticstrategies
Literaltranslation
Loan
Calque
Transposition(wordclasschange)
Unitshift(morpheme,word,phrase...)
Structurechangesatlevelofphrase.../clause.../sentence...
Cohesionchange
Changeofrhetoricalscheme(pattern),
e.g.alliteration,repetition...
(ii)Semanticstrategies
Usinganearsynonym
Usinganantonym+anegation
Usingahyponymorasuperordinate
Changingbetweenabstractandconcrete
Changingthedistribution(condensingordiluting)
Changeofemphasis
Changeofrhetoricaltrope(metaphor,personification...)

(iii)Pragmaticstrategies
Culturalfiltering(domesticatingorforeignizing)
Explicitationorimplicitation
Addingoromittinginformation
Changeofformalitylevel
Changeofspeechact
(e.g.rhetoricalquestion;speechrepresentation...)
Changeofcoherence
Transediting

3c.GOALproblems:creativityordistancingstrategies...survival
strategies!Howtokeepupthefeelingofflow?Whattodowhenyouget
stuck?
SomeexamplessuggestedbytheEUtranslationservices.

Whenproducingtext:
Planfrequentsmallbreaks
Sharethejobwithothers
Switchtoanothertaskforabit
Leaveovernight
Changeinternalstate(e.g.fromcreativemodetocheckingmode;e.g.
bychangingchair,posture)
Changefromcogitatetocontemplate
Changeyoursurroundings
Changethemedium(trydictating?)
Consultsomeoneelse(realorimagined;adifferentpointofview)

Whendecoding:
Putyourselfintheplaceoftheauthor
Readanotherdocumentonthesamesubject
Getthesubconsciousworking...(music?)

Whenrevising:
Learntoforget
Changethemedium(screen,print)
Givethetexttosomeoneelsetoread
Imagineyouaresomeoneelsereading
Startreadinginthemiddle

Adoptaregularproofreadingroutine
Separatethetasksinvolved:
>completeness
>accuracyofnumbers,spelling,names,formatting
>clarityofsyntaxandstyle
>transmissionofthemessage