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Article published In: Target
Vol. 18:2 (2006) ► pp.205–228

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Translation channels

A primer on politicized literary transfer

 | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Published online: 1 May 2007
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.18.2.02pop
Focusing on a comparative analysis of the translations in French of literary works from four Eastern European countries (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania) during the communist period, this article examines the political stakes of the international circulation of literary texts. More precisely, it proposes a model for describing the different modalities of international circulation—referred to here as translation channels—based on the statistical analysis of a relevant set of variables. These channels allow us to present a gradation of the degree of politicization and institutionalization of the literary transfer, and to go well beyond an analysis in terms of the undifferentiated flow of imported books or the simple opposition of authorized vs. unauthorized translations or submissive vs. dissenting writers.
Résumé
A partir d’une analyse comparée de la traduction en France d’oeuvres littéraires provenant de quatre pays de l’Est (la Pologne, la Tchécoslovaquie, la Hongrie et la Roumanie) pendant la période communiste, l’article entend examiner les enjeux politiques de la circulation internationale des textes. Il propose, plus précisément, un modèle d’analyse distinguant plusieurs modes de circulation—appelés circuits de traduction—qui sont définis et décrits statistiquement en fonction de plusieurs variables. Ces circuits permettent d’observer une gradation selon le niveau de politisation et d’institutionnalisation du transfert littéraire. Ils montrent ainsi l’intérêt de dépasser non seulement une approche indifférenciée des flux des traductions, mais aussi l’opposition tranchée entre traductions autorisées/non-autorisées, ou encore, entre soumission et dissidence.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • The Eastern European communist system: Elements of the historical context
  • A methodological approach to politicized literary transfer
  • Examining the six translation channels
    • 1.The exportation channel and the promoted author
    • 2.The official channel and the authorised author
    • 3.The patrimonial channel and the figure of the canonised author
    • 4.The semi-official channel and the figure of the banned author
    • 5.The parallel channel and the figure of the clandestine author
    • 6.The direct and in transit channels and the figure of the exiled author
  • Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Références
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