ABSTRACT
Translation, interpreting and lexicography are three separate areas of human activity, each with its own theories, models and methods and, hence, its own disciplinary underpinnings. At the same time, all three disciplines share a marked interdisciplinary dimension in the sense that their practice fields are typically “about something else”. Translators may, for example, be called upon to translate medical texts, and interpreters may be assigned to work on medical speeches. Similarly, practical lexicography may produce medical dictionaries. In this perspective, the three disciplines frequently come into contact with each other. This chapter discusses and explores some of the basic aspects of this interrelationship, focusing on the (potential) contribution of lexicography to translation and interpreting. In the mutual relation between translation, interpreting and lexicography, translation and interpreting represent the main activity in which translators and interpreters are engaged, whereas the consultation of dictionaries is a secondary activity which is only relevant to them when experiencing information needs during the translation or interpreting process. As such, lexicography is above all viewed as an auxiliary discipline. The relationship between (written) translation and lexicography is strong and well-established, whereas the link between interpreting and lexicography is much weaker. The chapter shows that there is no reason that this should continue to be the case, especially because the current introduction of disruptive technologies into lexicography is creating new possibilities of satisfying both old and new user needs.
