This volume contains a generous selection of articles on translation by Professor José Lambert (K.U. Leuven). It traces the intellectual itinerary of their author, who started out as a French and Comparative Literature scholar some four decades ago trying to get a better grip on the problem of inter-literary contacts, and who soon became a key figure in the emergent discipline of Translation Studies, where he is widely known as an indefatigable promoter of descriptively oriented research. This collection shows how José Lambert has never stopped asking new questions about the crucial but often hidden role of language and translation in the world of today. It includes some of the author’s classic papers as well as a few lesser known ones that deserve wider circulation. The editors' introduction and the bibliography complete this thought-provoking survey of the career of one of the most creative researchers in the field.

Table of contents

Introduction: José Lambert and descriptive research

Into literature, translation and culture ix–xxii Editorial note xxiii Acknowledgments xxv Tabula gratulatoria xxvii–xxviii Traduction et technique romanesque (1977) 1–14 Production, tradition et importation: une clef pour la description de la littérature et de la littérature en traduction (1980) 15–21 L'éternelle question des frontières: littératures nationales et systèmes littéraires (1983) 23–35 On describing translations (with Hendrik Van Gorp, 1985) 37–47 Twenty years of research on literary translation at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (1988) 49–62 In quest of literary world maps (1991) 63–74 Shifts, oppositions and goals in translation studies: towards a genealogy of concepts (1991) 75–85 Literatures, translation and (de)colonization (1995) 87–103 Translation, systems and research: the contribution of polysystem studies to translation studies (1995) 105–130 Problems and challenges of translation in an age of new media and competing models (1997) 131–145 From translation markets to language management: the implications of translation services (with Johan Hermans, 1998) 147–162 Cultural studies, the study of cultures and the question of language: facing / excluding the new millennium (2000) 163–171 La traduction littérature comme problème belge, ou la littérature comme traduction (CETRA, 2004) 173–198 Bibliography 199–218 (1) Publications by José Lambert 199–207 (2) Other references 207–218 Name index 219–221 Subject index 223–225