On the “Transdisciplinarity” Foundations in Modern Domestic and Foreign Translatology (Part I)

Abstract

The article deals with the emergence of Jean Piaget’s idea of “transdisciplinarity” that marked the steady advent of a new era in global scientific endeavor, including, in particular, a social and humanitarian component, an important part of which represents the “transdisciplinarity of translatology” in its theoretical, methodological, and practical aspects of functioning and development in various spheres of intercultural communication. The Introduction (Section I) succinctly presents the history of the social response emergence to the phenomenon of “transdisciplinarity,” aimed at a fundamental theoretical and methodological shift in scientific, academic, educational, and other spheres of global society. The initial reactions of domestic and foreign translation theory and methodology scholars to the new — transdisciplinary scenario for the translatology development are also highlighted. Section II of the article explores transdisciplinary postulates in general theoretical and applied terms, embodied in specific scientific and methodological sections. It also reflects a brief history of transdisciplinarity implementation in various humanities, particularly in higher education, in the spirit of innovative educational standards that facilitate a shift in higher education toward transdisciplinary academic discourses, as well as in various spheres of life. A detailed description of transdisciplinarity’s essence and content is presented, contrasting it with traditional methodologies of interdisciplinarity and multi-/polydisciplinarity in modern translation studies. Section III highlights the challenges of transdisciplinarity in translation theory and practice, with particular attention paid to the phenomenon of “localization” and the application of AI in transdisciplinary translations. Finally, it is stated that translation is, by its very nature, a transdisciplinary act, crossing the boundaries of languages, cultures, and fields of knowledge.