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Article published In:
Translation Spaces
Vol. 12:1 (2023) ► pp.1–20

The position of machine translation in translation studies

A definitional perspective

ORCID logo | Bar-Ilan University
Attempts to define the concept of translation have historically both reflected and driven developments and demarcations in the field. In light of the ubiquitous rise of machine translation (MT), the current article considers how definitional approaches to translation that preceded the MT era, and were formulated with human translation in mind, correspond with today’s MT. The article engages with two influential definitional strands in the discipline: a-priori prescriptive definitions, and descriptive definitions focused on the reception of translations. The general compatibility of both definitional approaches with MT, notwithstanding some empirical and moral criticisms pertaining to the first approach, encourages us to conceive of MT as a full-fledged translational object of inquiry, fully at home in translation studies. Finally, the article suggests that shifts in the professional status of human translators may lead to new definitions, aimed at differentiating human from machine translation by focusing on the notion of (conscious) agency.
Keywords: definitions of translation, machine translation, disciplinary boundaries, prescriptive vs. descriptive definitional approaches, conscious agency
Article outline
  • Definitions and disciplinary boundaries
  • Definitions and their empirical focus
  • A-priori prescriptive definitions, and how MT fits in
  • Moral-ideological criticisms
  • Descriptive definitional approaches, and how MT fits in
  • What the future holds: The notion of (conscious) agency
  • References
Published online: 20 February 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.22035.ass
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