Abstracts
Abstract
As one of the key notions in French sociology, habitus has also lately conquered the field of translation studies, at least from the perspective of a sociologically-oriented view of translation. In this paper I will critically highlight the main factors responsible for the term’s potential for translation purposes. Within the discussion of its adoption in translation studies, I will test the enduring claim of the translator’s submissiveness allegedly related to the translatorial habitus. On the basis of a case study on the private (commercial) translation sector in the late Habsburg Monarchy, I will focus on three aspects to substantiate my assumption that towards the end of the nineteenth century, the commercial translators’ activity was already characterized by explicit emancipating processes, mostly driven by the struggle for recognition in the field: the initially weak structure of the field; the habitus as a product of the relation between its collective and individual history; the conditions triggering the dynamism of the translator’s habitus. I will attempt to develop a differentiated view on the habitus concept, challenging traditional discussions of its informative value.
Keywords:
- habitus,
- professional field,
- Habsburg Monarchy,
- translation history
Résumé
Faisant partie des concepts clés de la sociologie française, la notion d’habitus a conquis le domaine de la traductologie, du moins dans le cadre de la sociologie de la traduction. Le présent article vise à mettre en évidence, de façon critique, les principaux facteurs expliquant le potentiel du concept d’habitus en traductologie. Discutant de son adoption au sein de la traductologie, notre objectif est remettre en question l’allégation constante de l’état de soumission du traducteur prétendument lié à l’habitus traductionnel. Se fondant sur une étude de cas portant sur la traduction en pratique privée (professionnelle) dans le contexte de la fin de la Monarchie des Habsbourg, notre étude se concentre sur trois aspects appuyant l’hypothèse selon laquelle, vers la fin du xixe siècle, la traduction professionnelle se caractérisait par un processus d’émancipation explicite, essentiellement motivé par un combat visant à la reconnaissance de cette activité : la faiblesse structurelle initiale du domaine ; l’habitus en tant que produit de la relation entre les histoires collective et individuelles ; les conditions stimulant le dynamisme de l’habitus du traducteur. Nous proposons une vision originale du concept d’habitus qui remet en cause les propos habituellement tenus sur sa valeur informative.
Mots-clés :
- habitus,
- pratique professionnelle,
- Monarchie des Habsbourg,
- histoire de la traduction
Appendices
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