ABSTRACT
This chapter expands the notion of translation to accommodate not only the nonverbal channels present in much modern communication, but also types of communication not involving language in a traditional sense. Getting to grips with the nature of translation and the multitude of texts representing – or re-presenting – existing texts also implies dealing with the myriad types of “multi-channel” or polysemiotic texts typical of contemporary society. Traditional approaches to translation have only dealt with intrasemiotic translation (translation within a given sign system), and almost exclusively its subcategory interlingual translation, i.e. the transfer of verbal messages from one speech community to another. However, any kind of translation is multi-faceted, and the (English) word “translation” covers at least two dimensions in which a message is expressed: time, i.e. the temporal progression of the translational process, and space, including the semiotic composition of the translational product. To illustrate the manifold nature of translation, the chapter presents a taxonomy of translation which is functional, as it reflects how each type of translation is processed by the intended audience.
