Translation: art or science?

Abstract

The present article tries to demystify one of the ancients’ myths in the field of Translation: its genesis and whether translation had its berth in Art or/and Science. The article combines desk research with data collected from results of exercises administered to students of Translation Theory and Methodology of Translation disciplines of the Translation Degree Course in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, at the Eduardo Mondlane University. The article tries to provide answers to the quest to understanding the myth on Translation or Translation Studies and the correlation that may there be with Art and Science by combining the results of the analysis of the collected data, the author’s professional experience in university teaching and translation and interpretation practice, as well as the analysis of several published studies in the field. The study shows that that there is a non-conclusive link between Art and Science and the berth of Translation Studies as a discipline. It clearly shows, however, that there is an unquestionable crystal clear link indicating that Translation studies started from the Greco-Roman (55 BC /384 BC, Roman Classic Era) and from the pioneering work by São Geronimo (419 or 420 AD) in the field of Translation to the contemporary work of the past 60-80 years in the field of Translation (NIDA, 1964; IMMEL, 1997; MILTON, 1998; BARBOSA, 1990; HOLMES, 2008; NOGUEIRA, 2018).