Based on a perspective of translation as cross-cultural communication centred on language and as a professional decision-making activity where the translator has to make decisions, in this article we argue for an approach to translation research linking up the descriptive, theoretical and applied branches of Translation Studies (TS). We suggest that the various sub-branches of Applied Translation Studies – pertaining to the professional and more practical aspects of translation (translator training, translation quality assessment, translation aids etc.) – are to be included in the disciplinary core of TS, providing both a benchmark for theoretical statements, and a breeding ground to identify problems and the appropriate solutions as well as explanations to be fed into the theory.
