The role of translator and translation in the age of knowledge globalization

The authors of the article consider the problem of translation in the age of knowledge globalization. The English language, which is used to transfer knowledge, brings a serious influence on the target language and target culture. The dominant position of English academic discourse in the publishing industry might erode the discourse standards accepted in the less dominant cultures partly due to translation strategies applied by the translator. In this context, the role of translator is crucial. The authors point out that nowadays the foreignizing rather than domesticating approach is used. At the same time, the authors emphasize that it is hardly possible to reveal either the absolute foreignization or the absolute domestication in practice. A wide range of famous linguists underline that the foreignized translation is source language oriented, while the domesticated translation is target language adjusted. Many factors affect the choice of strategy: the translator’s ideology and education, the translation’s goal, the target languages norms, reader’s reaction, etc. However, the major factor is the translation’s goal. To produce a successful translation, the best translator’s solution would be to adopt a more flexible approach, i.e. to employ both strategies. The foreignization and the domestication may coexist, as they are supplementary. The issues considered in the paper may be of interest to ESP teaching staff at schools of higher education.