Is That a Fish in Your Ear? [antikvár]

PrologueWhen I was an undergraduate, a story went around among students in my college that a fellow called Harris had refused to teach translation classes on the grounds that he did not know what "translation" was.He'd challenged the faculty board to tell him what it was he was being asked to teach. Everyone knows what it is! they said. Translation has been taught here for centuries. But knowing how to perpetuate an academic tradition is not the same thing as knowing what you're doing. Harris could not possibly teach a subject his seniors were unable to define.We thought it a great giggle: a junior don had used a philosophical conundrum to get out of a chore and tied the fuddy-duddies into knots.Despite the tantalizing puzzle set by Roy Harris at the start of my adult life, I have dared to teach translation for several decades since then. I have also translated many books and become the director of a program in translation and intercultural communication. So it's about time I tried to answer his question.However, answers are best found when the question itself is well put. "What is ?" doesn't normally provide a good prompt. It usually leads you headlong into hairsplitting disputes about the meanings of words.