Towards a Model of Intersemiotic Translation

The phenomenon of intersemiotic translation (IT) represents a special creative domain of language procedures and practices. Hypothetically it involves a radical change of habits of interpretation and new forms of sign manipulation. Despite its theoretical relevance, and in spite of the frequence in which it is practiced, the phenomenon remains virtually unexplored in terms of conceptual modeling, especially from a semiotic perspective. Indeed, the phenomenon of IT is difficult to characterize and compare with analogous phenomena (interlingual translation). As it involves systems of rather distinct nature, its analysis creates additional difficulties in any theoretical approach compromised with the logic of semiotic processes. This work proposes an approach based on Charles S. Peirce's model of sign process, to provide a preliminary conceptual framework to the phenomena, emphasizing hierarchical properties and aspects. One of the consequences of our approach is the importance ascribed to the materiality and dynamic involved in IT, prioritizing the semiotic properties of hierarchical relations between the source and the target signs.