The Pragmatics of Intercultural Mediation in Translation

This article looks at translation as a product of intercultural mediation. It explores possibilities of using pragmatic equivalence theory in situations where literal renderings become untenable. As such, the importance of understanding linguistic and cultural givens of the source text in order to reformulate them pragmatically in the target text is highlighted by looking at the nexus existing between culture, language and translation. The disconcerting spate of mistranslations born out of attempts to translate the translation corpus literally underlines the need for an alternative translation method-sense for sense. And the latter is actualised by having recourse to pragmatic equivalences. It is clear from the renderings elicited that professional translators need to be more concerned with building meaning in their renderings. The translations proposed actually show that the translation task has been satisfactorily discharged. Lastly, the renderings elicited also show that pragmatic renderings are products of mediation between two cultures.