Translation Studies Diary of 27 July, 2024

Toury would like to reconstruct the norms that have been in operation in the translation.
He placed norms between rules and idiosyncrasies, which could be illustrated on a cline.

-Rules: the strongest constraints (supported by legislation)
-Norms: generally agreed forms of behaviour
-Conventions: more informal modes of behaviour
-Idiosyncrasies: tendencies specific to an individual

Take, for example, the translation of patent specifications.
-Rules: European Patent Convention / Patent Cooperation Treaty etc.
-Norms: selection of claim forms that are likely to lead to patentability / unification of text and claims to avoid violations against formal requirements, etc.
-Conventions: textual orientation preferred within a particular firm
-Idiosyncrasies: choice of words preferred by certain patent attorneys