On the Issue of Uncertainty as a Category of Theory and Methodology of Translation

Abstract

In the context of the growing interest in the psychological and cognitive aspects of translation process, one of the directions of modern translation studies is the study of the constraints accompanying translation activity. This article considers the phenomenon of uncertainty as a source of constraints in translation process. The article provides a description of the system of external and internal constraints in translation activity; discusses the necessity of including the context of uncertainty in translation process research; reveals the nature of uncertainty from linguistic, hermeneutic and didactic perspectives; describes the specificity of uncertainty in translating pragmatic and literary texts. The author also proposes to consider the phenomenon of uncertainty in translation activity in terms of decision-making and draw a connection between the degree of uncertainty of the situation and the amount of intellectual effort on the part of the translator. The article also emphasizes the significant role of the phenomenon of uncertainty for the translation didactics and provides a brief overview of teaching practices incorporating the phenomenon of uncertainty into the context of translation training.