Descriptive Linguistics and Translation Studies: Interface and Difference.

The two papers that make up this discussion derive from two seminars presented at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Utrecht, 15-16 April, 1998. I am grateful to the University and to the Platform Vertalen & Vertaalwetenschap for making my visit possible and to Ton Naaijkens and Cees Koster for inviting me to air my views among their colleagues. It was for me an opportunity to receive invaluable feedback from the participants in the seminars, and I thank them for making me think again about a number of issues. These papers, then, are not identical to those presented at the seminar, but are, I hope, the better for the differences. My musings may be seen a step towards developing a sound theoretical basis and a methodology for carrying out research on the borderline between descriptive linguistics and translation studies.