Translation studies and Bible translation

An overview of recent developments of the discipline that studies the activity of translation, as well as the implications for Bible translation, is presented. Starting off with a discussion on the name and content of the discipline, an overview of some translation approaches focusing on the source text, the process of translation, the reception of the translated text and the cultural-social bound character of translation, is offered. Since the early eighties there has been a tendency within translation studies to move away from the normative and prescriptive approaches to translation and to adopt a descriptive approach towards the study of translated literature. Descriptive translation theorists attempt to account not only for textual strategies in the translated text, but also for the way in which the translation functions in the target cultural system. The implications that these recent theoretical developments bare for Bible translation practice, criticism of Bible translations, the training of theologians and Bible translators are finally indicated.