Translating for Future Readers: Glossing Haitian Literature in English Translation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce librarians, faculty, and other interested individuals to contemporary German literature in English translation.Design/methodology/approachGerman‐language authors born in 1950 or later and listed on the Contemporary Living Authors Comprehensive List developed by the German vendor Otto Harrassowitz are searched in OCLC's WorldCat database to determine the existence of English translations. A bio‐bibliographical list is then developed featuring all contemporary German‐language authors who have achieved an English language translation of at least one of their literary works.FindingsOf the approximately 1,400 writers on Harrassowitz's comprehensive list, a surprisingly large number of almost 80 authors of the younger generation (born in 1950 or later) have been translated into English.Originality/valueThis bio‐bibliography of contemporary German belles lettres (of the younger generation) in English translation is the first of its kind. It can be used by librarians to check their current library holdings and to expand their collections of German literature in English translation.

Inspired by studies on minority language in translation and feminist translation studies, this article presents an analysis of a small corpus of Kurdish literature in English translation and examine the process of its constitution, its main actors and practices, and the image of Kurdish literature it depicts. In the absence of state and institutional support, Kurdish translation initiatives are largely individual supply-driven and they entail a form of activism. Presenting a historical overview of Kurdish literary translation into English, we illustrate the diversity of actors in its complex evolution. We examine the opportunities collaborative practices such as co-translation offer Kurdish as a stateless minority language but also the perils of such practices in reinforcing the minority and dominated status of Kurdish. Finally we assess the (re)presentation of Kurdish literature in English translation and demonstrate that it is at odds with the Kurdish canons.

Review: The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation: The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation

(2004). A Chronological Bibliography of Turkish Literature in English Translation: 1949–2004. Translation Review: Vol. 68, Turkish Literature and Its Translation, pp. 15-18.

Jason Wilson, "An A to Z of Modern Latin-American Literature in English Translation" (Book Review)

This article examines the process by which translated Chinese literature becomes ‘canonical’ in the anglophone literary system. Adopting a notion of the ‘classic’ that takes into account both essentialist and historical stances, it conducts a study of Penguin Classics originally written in Chinese under the aspects of choice of texts, translations, publishing, and literary-critical reception. It addresses the questions: What is the current canon of Chinese literature in English translation? What are the forces that certify some Chinese works as deserving canonical status in anglophone culture? And what consequences might the politics of recognition have for the understanding of world literature at large? It argues that translated texts are valorized by multiple mediators within institutional frameworks, and the status they are accorded reflects the structures of the global literary economy.

(1986). A bibliography of modern Persian literature in english translation. Iranian Studies: Vol. 19, No. 3-4, pp. 327-346.

(1980). A bibliography of Angolan and Mozambican literature in English translation. World Literature Written in English: Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 151-162.

This chapter outlines a history of English translations Chinese children’s literature from the late Qing dynasty to the present. Part I examines the types of text selected for translation, analyzes the fluid relationship between the source and target text, and reveals how the text served shifting religious, political, educational, cultural, and commercial interest. It also discusses ideological incongruity as a major barrier for importing children’s literature from China to the West. It then reviews the breakthroughs of Chinese children’s literature in English translation during the first two decades of the twenty-first century, highlighting major authors, illustrators, titles, and international recognition. Part II offers a survey of commercial and noncommercial agents that have facilitated an international network of authors, illustrators, translators, and publishers. It highlights international children’s literature organizations, libraries, festivals, book fairs, academic institutions, translators’ professional communities and initiatives, and the most active figures that have played important roles in raising the visibility of Chinese-language children’s literature, promoting high-quality translated works, and professionalizing the field of translation.KeywordsChinese children’s literatureTranslations into EnglishChinese folk talesChinese picture booksChinese-to-English translatorsTranslation initiativesMissionaries in China

The goal of the article is to investigate translations from a language of relatively low diffusion (Polish) into the world’s lingua franca (English) in the period of 1912–2021. In the context of a significant asymmetry between the import and export of children’s literature in the Polish setting, where numerous titles are translated from dominant languages but few are translated out of Polish and published abroad, the article seeks to address questions about emerging translation patterns across history. Specifically, it aims to identify periods of heightened activity and inactivity, delayed translations, the popularity of specific authors and genres and how such patterns relate to and reflect shifting cultural priorities, institutional support, or global literary trends. The article sets out by considering translation as a cultural ecosystem of historically and anthropologically situated practice, where both texts and contexts matter, to move on to address the methodological and practical challenges of a project dedicated to investigating and documenting the history of Polish children’s literature in English translation (1912–2021) in a lexicon format. These challenges involve periodization, time framework, inclusion criteria as well as macro- and micro-structure of the lexicon. The article also discusses selected findings of the project, such as the establishment of translation-specific turning points in the discussed period and the identification of internal, domestic distribution channels of literary transfer in the historical and political context of the Polish People’s Republic. For the analysed period, a corpus of around 100 translations was established. The most frequently translated genre of Polish children’s literature published abroad was the picturebook, with the English translation of richly-illustrated Maps (2013) and its international success paving the way for further translations of visual literature.

ABSTRACTIn the past two decades, the field of translation studies has increasingly focused on the role of ideology in literary translation and cross-cultural transfer. This paper presents findings from the close textual comparison of original works of Hebrew literature and their English translations published in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. I specify translation strategies that have had ideological effects on the source texts, and demonstrate how historically or ethically charged subject matter was manipulated so as to subdue “problematic” aspects of the text for the (largely Jewish) target audience. The two major categories of manipulations had to do with the moral dimension of the portrayal of Israel and Israeli society, particularly in subject matter related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; and with the relationship between Israel and other nations, and between Israel and Diaspora Jews. As stressed by recent sociological studies of translation, the translations can be seen both as reflective of contemporary socio-political trends of thought, and as practices playing an unseen role in strengthening these trends.

CHAPTER 7 - How to Trace Foreign and Subject Bibliographies, Library and Sale Catalogues, and Guides to Libraries

Throughout history, translators have played a vital role as cultural agents in shaping the histories of different nations and cultures. Nevertheless, the translators’ role has been largely ignored in translation history research studies, which have often focused on the texts translated. Therefore, many scholars in translation history research (Adamo 2006; Munday 2014; Pym 2009) have argued for the importance of studying translators themselves. The present study draws on the method of microhistory and applies it to the Arabic translation tradition by analyzing the life, personal relationships, and statements of one of the leading translators of Modern Arabic Literature (MAL) into English, Denys Johnson-Davies (J-D). The paper explores and analyses J-D’s autobiography, interviews, and paratextual materials accompanying his translations in order to better understand how J-D’s experience as a translator and cultural agent can shed light on the bigger picture of MAL translation history. The data analysis reveals insights into the status of translation during the different periods of MAL translation history. This includes the publication of Arabic-translated literary works into English, the reception of MAL by the English readership, and the reception of translators and their work by Arab authors and governments during the different periods of the translation history of MAL. This study also confirms the argument that the study of translators is a valid, useful method for researching translation history. Keywords: Modern Arabic Literature, Translation Microhistory, Arabic Translation history, Denys Johnson-Davies, Humanizing translation history, Translator Studies

Relatively few histories of Portuguese literature have been written in English, perhaps because the subject is unlikely to attract sufficient readers to justify such an undertaking and there is a general assumption that anyone with an interest in this subject will have, at the very least, a reading knowledge of Portuguese. This rationale inevitably excludes readers with an interest in comparative literature who do not possess the required linguistic knowledge. Histories of the translation of Portuguese literature into English are even scarcer: the potential readership is extremely small, and the information required to produce such a history is difficult to locate. And yet, works of Portuguese literature have been translated into English – from Portuguese, Latin and Spanish – for more than six centuries and for the most varied reasons. It is not easy to arrive at a complete overview of this intercultural activity: the timespan in question is simply too long, the translated works do not belong to one specific genre and could never have been aimed at a single, homogeneous readership. Works have been translated because their content is deemed to have some intrinsic value or aesthetic quality, because of their social, cultural or political significance, or on account of some particular relevance for potential readers. In any event, translations do not happen by accident: for every translation that makes it into print, other potential translations have been left by the wayside.

Reviewed by: The Epic of the Cid, with Related Texts Bobby D. Nixon Michael Harney, ed. and trans. The Epic of the Cid, with Related Texts. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co ., 2011. xxvii+219 pp.: maps. ISBN: 978-1-60384-316-4 (cloth); 978-1-60384-315-7 (paperback) A new English translation of the Cantar de mio Cid could not have arrived in my life at a more opportune moment. After teaching the Song of Roland in an undergraduate course of medieval European literature in English translation, I decided that for next year I would choose the Cid. The original-language edition that I have always used in Spanish courses is that of Juan Carlos Conde. It includes the text established by Ramón Menéndez Pidal exactly [End Page 338] one hundred years ago, along with necessary explicatory footnotes. Opposite the medieval text is a modern prose rendering by Alfonso Reyes from 1919 that is intended to assist readers with the difficult vocabulary of the original. Conde’s informative introduction is aimed at students and nonspecialists, and the appendix includes other medieval Castilian epic texts such as Roncesvalles, Mocedades de Rodrigo, and the Poema de Fernán González, along with various Cidian texts from the Estoria de España and the Spanish ballad tradition. Upon opening Harney’s English-language edition, I was very pleased to find many of the same features as Conde’s volume. He chose to translate the Cantar de mio Cid as the “Epic of the Cid”, as opposed to “Poem” or “Song” because, as he states in the introduction, it is part of the epic tradition of “The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid, Beowulf, or The Song of Roland” (xviii). The chansons de geste are part of an epic tradition that was either sung or recited, so either Song or Epic is certainly preferable to Poem, which implies a literary rather than an oral tradition. The prose translation is easily readable for an undergraduate in the United States, allowing the reader to focus on the plot rather than the difficult vocabulary or the rhyme scheme. On the other hand, the reader does not get the sense of enjoying a medieval text that was part of a Castilian oral tradition. Extensive footnotes are no longer necessary in order to explain the linguistic complexities, but there is still much background information that could have appropriately found its place in this section. Fortunately, the tripartite division into cantares is maintained, but the division by tiradas or laisses is no longer present. Many scholars, such as Matthew Bailey, have stated that we should question the division by laisses and eliminate the caesura in each line, since these characteristics are not present in the medieval manuscript. Most editors have accepted this division based on shifts in assonance. The caesura represents a pause that is also present in the Spanish ballad tradition, an undeniable descendent of the medieval epic tradition. While a verse translation from a Romance language into modern English is always difficult to achieve, a noteworthy recent attempt has been made by Burton Raffel (Penguin, 2009) in a verse translation that maintains the tiradas without Menéndez Pidal’s headings and includes the original text on the opposite page. For this edition Raffel chose the title Song of the Cid. It is based on Colin Smith’s Spanish edition (1985), and includes endnotes instead of footnotes, which are likely to be overlooked since they are not indicated [End Page 339] within the text by superscript. This new translation has replaced the earlier prose translation by Rita Hamilton and Janet Perry. They also included the original epic on the opposite page using Menéndez Pidal’s text, maintaining the division by laisses, and eliminating the headings for each of these. Paul Blackburn’s 1966 edition is a much more literal verse translation that does not include the original text or other useful information for students or scholars. Although undergraduates will certainly find Harney’s text quite readable, it is a shame that they cannot see it in its original language with the division in tiradas. When we transform a text in such a way it is essential to...