Translations, Translators and Translation Criticism in Latvia Between the Wars (1918–1940)

Abstract

Latvia’s brief period of independence (1918/20–1940) saw book publishing on a massive scale. The range of source languages was growing, with English slightly ahead of German in the pre-war years (German was also the main intermediary language), and French and Russian following. The literature translated was also extremely varied, as was quality. The choice of works to be translated was very much in the hands of translators and publishers, who in turn thought of marketing interests. With the advent of cheap books, print runs grew longer and high-quality literature became accessible to a broader public. The authoritarian system since 1934 gently pushed the media in the direction of more substantial and classical values. Print runs were not very long: averaging around 2000. The percentage of translations seems to fluctuate widely, but in the domain of novels, translations always numerically surpassed native production. A large number of translators were also writers in their native Latvian, many were highly notable ones, but members of other professions frequently produced specialised translations as well. Gradually some individuals became professional translators from the favourite source languages. Translator visibility grew over time and depended on the status of the work translated. Visibility was high for high-quality texts and lower for the lower end. Translation criticism, however, remained very limited, mainly focusing on the quality of the Latvian, and lambasting pulp-literature translation in general.