A Neo-descriptivist Approach to Translation Studies: Problems and Methods

Ever since the end of the 20th century, norm-based descriptive translation studies have been one of the mainstream paradigms.However, subjective interpretations and experience-based judgments are inevitable since there is a 'gross' exaggeration between translation norm and operational translation act.This brings the naturalistic positivist research into eclecticism.Descriptive translation studies, as it is, are exploratory inquiries starting from 'not knowing' and ending up with 'knowing'.When using the existing 'norm theory' to account for the observable data, one will bring the research into another predicament, that is, it needs to go without theoretical explanations, which is impossible.Neo-descriptivism highlights 'rigidified descriptions' by using scientific or theoretically-evolved instruments and excludes qualitative description and 'circular description' which only targets at justifying the correctness of existing theoretical assumptions.In light of this methodology, a neo-descriptivist approach to translation studies has been framed, highlighting the aim of investigating authentic translation problems and that of falsifying and modifying the existing translation theories.