The role of the literary translator in the new Europe and the literary translator as role model
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.2005.1.3.447Keywords:
translator, literary translation, european culture, europeanAbstract
Working under the assumption that language and culture are inseparable, a central question arises as to what the role of the translator is in the new Europe of the future.The aspired goal of a single vast network of cultural relations that retains and yet surpasses local identities to create a polyphony rather than a monotone is hardly finite or readily tangible – nor should it be. Yet how do we define this new Europe? How do we define European culture without precise and tangible definitions for either European or culture? The fundamental question the presenters seek to address is what the role of the literary translator is in this network of linguistic-cultural crossings in the still-utopian new Europe of cultural and linguistic union. We consider recent translation theories exemplifying the political, ethical and sociocultural issues raised by Venuti (1995; 1998; 2000) and re-examine traditional translation methods. We suggest that in the new European culture the literary translator can act as a role model for an emerging methodology of transcultural and transliteral formation. We attempt to define and then link the task of the literary translator as transmitter of a European culture by focusing on the bicultural/linguistic overlap in the bilingual or multilingual translator. Questions addressed include: What role will literature play in a fundamental restructuring of what initially will be economic order and political organization? What might ‘Europe’ with the broader sociopolitical and cultural boundaries encompass?
References
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Halliday, M. (1971) Linguistic function and literary style: an inquiry into the language of William Golding’s The Inheritors. In S. Chatman (ed.) Literary Style: a symposium 330–65. London: Oxford University Press.
Hartmann, R. (1980) Contrastive Textology. Heidelberg: Julius Gross Verlag.
Hatim, B. and Mason, I. (1990) Discourse and the Translator. Essex: Longman.
Heaney, S. (1988) The impact of translation. In The Government of the Tongue: selected prose 1978–1987 36–44. London: Faber & Faber.
Hewson, L. and Martin, J. (1991) Redefining Translation. London: Routledge.
Holmes, J., de Haan, F. and Popoviè, A. (1970) The Nature of Translation: essays on the theory and practice of literary translation. Paris: Mouton.
House, J. (1997) Translation Quality Assessment: a model revisited. Tübingen: Gunter Narr.
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Hu, H. C. (2003) Cognitive-functional considerations in translating. IRAL (International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching) 41(2): 107–3.
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Ruuskanen, D. (1996) The effect of pragmatic factors on the definition of equivalence in translation. Language Sciences (3–4): 885–95.
Sandrini, P. (2002) Mehrsprachige Fachkommunikation: Wissen- und Kulturtransfer im Zeitalter der Globalisierung. In L. N. Zybatow (ed.) Translation zwischen Theorie und Praxis, Band I 395–410. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
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Steiner, G. (1975) After Babel: aspects of language and translation Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stephanides, S. (2004) Translatability of memory in an age of globalization. Comparative Literature Studies 41(1): 101–15.
Tosi, A. (2003) European affairs: the writer, the translator and the reader. In A. Tosi (ed.) Crossing Barriers and Bridging Cultures: the challenges of multilingual translation for the European Union. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Toury, G. (1985) Monitoring discourse transfer. In T. Hermans. (ed.) The Manipulation of Literature: studies in literature translation 16–41. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Van der Eijk-Spaan, A. (2001) Der Ton wird schärfer. (Stereotypes in media translation.) In A. Musolff, C. Good, P. Points and R. Wittlinger (eds) Attitudes towards Europe: language in the unification process. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing Limited.
Venuti, L. (1995) The Translator’s Invisibility. London: Routledge.
Venuti, L. (1998) The Scandals of Translation: towards an ethics of difference. London: Routledge.
Venuti, L. (2000) Translation Studies Reader. (Second edition.) London and New York: Routledge.
Zybatow, L. (ed.) (2002) Sprache-Kultur-Translation oder Wieso hat Translation etwas mit Sprache zu tun? In L. Zbatow (ed.) Translation zwischen Theorie und Praxis. Innsbrucker Ringsvorlesungen zur Translationswissenschaft I. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Bassnett, S. (1993) Comparative Literature: a critical introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.
Benjamin, W. [1963] (1969) ‘Die Aufgabe des Uebersetzers.’ In H. J. Stoerig (ed.) Das Problem des Uebersetzens 182–95. Stuttgart: Henry Goverts Verlag. (Translated by H. Zohn, Illuminations 69–82. Walter Benjamin. New York: Schocken.)
Cartford, J. C. (1965) A Linguistic Theory of Translation: an essay on applied linguistics. London: Oxford University Press.
Even-Zohar, I. (1981) Translation theory today: a call for transfer theory. In I. Even-Zohar and G. Toury (eds) Translation Theory and Intercultural Relations. Special issue of Poetics Today 2(4): 1–7.
Galeyeva, N. (2003) Two approaches to translation. In L. N. Zybatow (ed.) Translation zwischen Theorie und Praxis, Band I 308–24. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Gass, W. (1999) Reading Rilke: reflections on the problems of translation. New York: Knopf.
Gentzler, E. (2001) Contemporary Translation Theories. (Second edition.) Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Gyasi, K. (1999) Writing as translation: African literature and the challenges of translation. Research in African Literatures 30(2): 75–87.
Halliday, M. (1971) Linguistic function and literary style: an inquiry into the language of William Golding’s The Inheritors. In S. Chatman (ed.) Literary Style: a symposium 330–65. London: Oxford University Press.
Hartmann, R. (1980) Contrastive Textology. Heidelberg: Julius Gross Verlag.
Hatim, B. and Mason, I. (1990) Discourse and the Translator. Essex: Longman.
Heaney, S. (1988) The impact of translation. In The Government of the Tongue: selected prose 1978–1987 36–44. London: Faber & Faber.
Hewson, L. and Martin, J. (1991) Redefining Translation. London: Routledge.
Holmes, J., de Haan, F. and Popoviè, A. (1970) The Nature of Translation: essays on the theory and practice of literary translation. Paris: Mouton.
House, J. (1997) Translation Quality Assessment: a model revisited. Tübingen: Gunter Narr.
Hu, H. C. (2002) Negotiating semantics and figurative language in four poems by Sylvia Plath. Word: Journal of the International Linguistic Association 53(2): 197–215.
Hu, H. C. (2003) Cognitive-functional considerations in translating. IRAL (International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching) 41(2): 107–3.
Iser, W. (1974) The Implied Reader. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Iser, W. (1995) On translatability: variables of interpretation. In W. Riehle and H. Keiper (eds) Anglistentag 1994 Graz: Proceedings. Tagungsberichte des Anglistentags Verbands Deutscher Anglisten, Bd. 16 299–310. (Proceedings of the Conference of the German Association of University Teachers of English, Vol. 16) Tübingen: Niemeyer.
Koller, W. (2002) Linguistik und Kulturelle Dimension der Übersetzung-in den 70er Jahren und heute. In L. N. Zybatow (ed.) Translation zwischen Theorie und Praxis, Band I 39–55. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Lefevere, A. (1992) Translating Literature: practice and theory in a comparative literature context. New York: Modern Language Association.
Macey, D. (2000) Beginning the translation. Parallex 6(1): 2–12.
Newmark, P. (1981) Approaches to Translation. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Newmark, P. (1988) A Textbook of Translation. New York: Prentice Hall.
Newmark, P. (1998) More Paragraphs on Translation. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Nishizawa, S. (2002) Translating literature/transforming lives: an exploration of the third space. JCT 18(3): 9–40.
Pym, A. (1998) Method in Translation History. Manchester, UK: St. Jerome Publishing.
Rafael, V. (1998) Contracting Colonialism: translation and Christian conversion in Tagalog society under early Spanish rule. New York: Cornell University Press.
Reiss, T. J. (1993) Literature and the idea of Europe. PMLA 108(1): 14–29.
Robinson, D. (1997) Translation and Empire: postcolonial theories explained. Manchester, UK: St. Jerome.
Robinson, D. (2002) Editor’s preface. In D. Robinson (ed.) Western Translation Theory xvii–xxi. Manchester, UK and Northampton, MA: St. Jerome Publishing.
Rose, M. (1997) Translation and Literary Criticism Translation as Analysis. Manchester, UK: St. Jerome.
Ruuskanen, D. (1996) The effect of pragmatic factors on the definition of equivalence in translation. Language Sciences (3–4): 885–95.
Sandrini, P. (2002) Mehrsprachige Fachkommunikation: Wissen- und Kulturtransfer im Zeitalter der Globalisierung. In L. N. Zybatow (ed.) Translation zwischen Theorie und Praxis, Band I 395–410. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Snell–Hornby, M. (2002) From ALPAC to EU: translation in Europe through the decades. In L. N. Zybatow (ed.) Translation zwischen Theorie und Praxis 1–13. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Steiner, G. (1975) After Babel: aspects of language and translation Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stephanides, S. (2004) Translatability of memory in an age of globalization. Comparative Literature Studies 41(1): 101–15.
Tosi, A. (2003) European affairs: the writer, the translator and the reader. In A. Tosi (ed.) Crossing Barriers and Bridging Cultures: the challenges of multilingual translation for the European Union. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Toury, G. (1985) Monitoring discourse transfer. In T. Hermans. (ed.) The Manipulation of Literature: studies in literature translation 16–41. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Van der Eijk-Spaan, A. (2001) Der Ton wird schärfer. (Stereotypes in media translation.) In A. Musolff, C. Good, P. Points and R. Wittlinger (eds) Attitudes towards Europe: language in the unification process. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing Limited.
Venuti, L. (1995) The Translator’s Invisibility. London: Routledge.
Venuti, L. (1998) The Scandals of Translation: towards an ethics of difference. London: Routledge.
Venuti, L. (2000) Translation Studies Reader. (Second edition.) London and New York: Routledge.
Zybatow, L. (ed.) (2002) Sprache-Kultur-Translation oder Wieso hat Translation etwas mit Sprache zu tun? In L. Zbatow (ed.) Translation zwischen Theorie und Praxis. Innsbrucker Ringsvorlesungen zur Translationswissenschaft I. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
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Published
2007-02-18
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Articles
How to Cite
Trotter, E., & DeCapua, A. (2007). The role of the literary translator in the new Europe and the literary translator as role model. Linguistics and the Human Sciences, 1(3), 447-462. https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.2005.1.3.447
