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Architecture Quote by Andrew Chesterman

“In antiquity , for instance, one of the dominant images of the translators was that of a builder: his (usually it was him, not her) task was to carefully demolish a building, a structure (the source text), carry the bricks somewhere else (into the target culture), and construct a new building…” quote by Andrew Chesterman
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““In antiquity , for instance, one of the dominant images of the translators was that of a builder: his (usually it was him, not her) task was to carefully demolish a building, a structure (the source text), carry the bricks somewhere else (into the target culture), and construct a new building - with the same bricks.””

Andrew Chesterman

About This Quote

Translation is like rebuilding a structure with the same bricks in a new cultural context.

In simple terms: Translation rebuilds meaning.

Key Takeaway

Embrace cultural nuance.

Themes

Translation culture construction

Mood

analytical educational

Type

architecture:1 engineering:0 goals:0 somewhere else:0 translation:1 translators:1 builder usually:0 translators builder:0 antiquity instance:0 images translators:0

When to use this quote

  • literary translation
  • software localization
  • interpretive work

Key Concepts

linguistic adaptation cross-cultural communication interpretation

Questions to Reflect On

  • How does culture shape translation?
  • What challenges arise in preserving original tone?
A Different Perspective

Literal translation can lose meaning.

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