Fifty Years of Translation. the Index Translationum Completes a Half Century

8/11/2019 Fifty Years of Translation. the Index Translationum Completes a Half Century

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Fifty Years of Translation

The

ndex T r a n sl a t i o n um

Completes a Half Century

Vaiju Naravane

Index Translationum tracks translations published all over the world. Its statistics

prov ide insight into th e cultural geo grap hy of publishing.

h e Index Transla t ionum w h i c h o f f i c ia l l y c e l e b r a t e s f i f t y y e a r s o f e x i s t e n c e ,

c o u l d b e l i k e n e d t o a d o w a g e r d u t c h e s s h i d i n g h e r a g e . F o r a l t h o u g h t h e

I n d e x o f f i c i a l l y c a m e i n t o b e i n g a s a U N E S C O p u b l i c a t i o n i n 1 94 8, i ts r e a l li f e

p r e d a t e s t h a t o f t h e O r g a n i z a t i o n s i n c e i t f i rs t s a w t h e l ig h t o f d a y u n d e r t h e

aegis

o f t h e L e a g u e o f N a t i o n s i n 1 93 2.

A u n i q u e p u b l i c a t i o n , t h e Index Transla t ionum w h i c h i s p u b l i s h e d i n P a r i s

b y U N E S C O , t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s E d u c a t i o n a l, S c ie nt if ic a n d C u l t u r a l O r g a n i -

z a t io n , is a n i n t e rn a t i o n a l b i b l i o g r a p h y o f t r a n s l at e d w o r k s p u b l i s h e d i n t h e

w o r l d . T h r o u g h t hi s l is t w h i c h s e r v e s as a r e f e r e n c e w o r k , U N E S C O p r o v i d e s

b o t h s c h o l a r s a n d t h e g e n e r a l p u b l i c w i t h a n i r r e p l a c e a b l e t o o l f o r m a k i n g

b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l i n v e n t o r i e s o f t r a n s l a t i o n s o n a g l o b a l s ca l e.

A Chequered History

T h e Index Transla t ionum f ir s t c a m e o u t i n 1 9 32 i n t h e f o r m o f a q u a r t e r l y

b u l l e t i n p u b l i s h e d b y t h e L e a g u e o f N a t i o n s . I t l i s te d t h e t ra n s l a t i o n s p u b -

This article was originally pub lished b y UN ESC O and is adapted wi th their assistance. It de-

scribes Index Translationum: International Bibliography of Translations. A yearly cumulative edition

on CD -RO M from 1979-. The latest editio n available: 6th 1979-1997 1999) The statistics we re

established from the 4th edition. M ore detailed statistics may be fo und at http://firewalI.unesco.org/

culture/xtransfl~tmI_eng/indexl.htm.

Address for correspondence: Maria Cristina Iglesias, Editor, Index Translationum c/ o UNESCO,

7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP France; or via e-mail at [email protected]


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24 Publishing ResearchQu arterly/Winter 1999-2000

lished in six countries: Germany, Spain, United States of America, France,

United Kingdom and Italy. The number of countries featured in the In d ex had

increased to 14 by the time publication ceased in January 1940 due to the

outbreak of World War II. Almost ten years were to elapse before the In d ex

Trans la t ionum re-appeared under the auspices of UNESCO. The project to re-

sume publication was the subject of a recommendat ion put forward by the

Conference of Allied Ministers of Education held in London on 28 June 1945.

The In d ex thus predates the Organizat ion itself and can be said to be UNESCO's

oldest programme.

The first volume of the new series appeared in 1948. It contained 8,570

entries from twenty-six countries including Brazil, Canada, Chile, Egypt and

Turkey. Ever since the

Index Trans la t ionum

has been published annually. The

last volume to be published on paper was number 39, which covered 60,543

references from fifty-six countries. In 1993, keeping abreast of technological

progress, the In d ex changed over from print to CD-ROM. Users can now take

advantage of cumulative data built up since 1979, the year in which the

In d ex

was computerised. This anniversary edition, for example, contains almost one

million entries from over 100 countries ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe. It

covers every subject, including agriculture, architecture, art, biography, eco-

nomics, education, geography, exact, natural and social sciences, history, law,

literature, management, medicine, philosophy, psychology, religion, science

and technology, sp or t .. . Almost 200,000 authors are listed and 400 languages

are mentioned. Every bibliographic entry carries the following information:

author's name, translated title of the work, translator's name, publisher 's name,

year of publication, number of pages, the original language, and, in many

cases, the original title. The subject matter is arranged to the Universal Deci-

mal Classification (UDC) headings. Today some 60,000 new bibliographic ref-

erences find their way into the Index each year.

B a b e l o f L a n g u a g e s

Translation exists because humanity speaks in many tongues. Why should

human beings speak thousands of different, mutually incomprehensible lan-

guages? One of the most central questions in the study of man's cerebral and

social evolut ion continues to baffle researchers and anthropologists alike.

Why does

Homo Sapiens

whose digestive track has evolved and functions

in precisely the same complicated ways the world over, whose biochemical

fabric and genetic potential are, orthodox science assures us, essentially com-

mon, the delicate runnels of whose cortex are wholly akin in all peoples and at

every stage of social evoluti on- -why does this unified, though individually

unique mammalian species not use one common language? asks Professor

George Steiner in his book Afte r Babel Asp ects o f Language and Translation (1975).

In fact man speaks in not one or two or half a dozen but over six thousand

languages. These living languages themselves are the remnants of a much


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aravane 5

l a r g e r n u m b e r s p o k e n i n t h e p a s t . I n m a n y p a r t s o f t h e w o r l d t h e l a n g u a g e

m a p i s a m o s a i c e a c h o f w h o s e s to n e s , s o m e o f t h e m m i n u s c u l e , i s e n t i r e l y o r

p a r t i a l l y d i s t i n c t f r o m a ll o th e r s i n c o l o u r a n d t e x tu r e .

F o r M e x i c o a n d C e n t r a l A m e r i c a a l o n e a l m o s t 2 0 0 l a n g u a g e s h a v e b e e n

l i s t e d n o t t o s p e a k o f t h e v e r i t a b l e k a l e i d o s c o p e t h a t m a k e s u p t h e A s i a n a n d

A f r i c a n l i n g u i s t i c l a n d s c a p e . A b a , a n A l ta i c i d i o m s p o k e n b y T a r t a rs i s t h e f i r st

e n t r y i n t h e l a n g u a g e c a t a l o g u e w h i c h e n d s w i t h Z y r i e n e , a F i n n o - U g a r i a t i c

s p e e c h u s e d b e t w e e n t h e U r a l s a n d t h e A r c t i c s h o r e . B a r r i e r s e r e c t e d b y l i n -

g u i s t i c d i f f e r e n c e s h a v e o f t e n l e d t o m u t u a l c o n t e m p t , h a t r e d a n d s t r i f e b e -

t w e e n c o m m u n i t i e s . I n A s i a , A f r i c a o r S o u t h A m e r i c a l a n g u a g e d i f f e r e n c e s

h a v e p r e v e n t e d c o m m u n i t ie s f r o m c o m i n g t o g e th e r t o f ig h t e c o n o m i c i so l a-

t i o n , f r o m p o o l i n g t h e i r e n e r g i e s a g a i n s t f o r e i g n i n v a d e r s . D e p r i v e d o f t h e i r

o w n l a n g u a g e b y c o n q u e r o r s a n d c o lo n is e rs , m a n y c u l tu r e s h a v e b e e n s t u n t e d ,

n e v e r r e c o v e r i n g a v i t a l i d e n t i ty .

T h i s m u l t i p l i c i t y o f t o n g u e s h a s , t h r o u g h o u t t h e a g e s , c a p t u r e d t h e r e l i g i o u s

a n d p h i l o s o p h i c i m a g i n a t io n . A m o n g t h e G n o s t i cs th e r e a r e tw o m a i n l i n e s o f

c o n j e ct u r e: t h a t G o d , i n c re a t i n g t h e E a r th m a d e a n e r r o r w h i c h r e s u l t e d i n t h e

s c a t t e r in g o f l a n g u a g e s o r th a t t h e d i v i s i o n s e re c t e d b y l a n g u a g e s a r e a f o r m o f

d i v i n e p u n i s h m e n t . T h e o c c u l t t r a d i t i o n e v e n h o l d s t h a t a s i n g l e p r i m a l l a n -

g u a g e , a n

Ur Sprache

l ie s b e h i n d t h e c a c o p h o n o u s d i s s o n a n c e o f c l a s h i n g

t o n g u e s . I t i s v i a th e G e r m a n p h i l o s o p h e r G o t t f r ie d L e i b n i z 1 64 6-1 71 6), a n d

m o r e r e c e n t ly J.G . H a m a n n , t h a t l a n g u a g e m y s t i c i s m en t e r s th e c u r r e n t o f

r a t i o n a l l i n g u i s t i c s t u d y .

T o T r a ns la t e O r N o t T o T r a n s l a t e

T h e k e y q u e s t i o n t h a t l in g u i s t i c t h e o r y p o s e s i s w h e t h e r o r n o t t r a n s l a t io n ,

e s p e c i a l l y b e t w e e n d i f f e r e n t la n g u a g e s i s p o s s i b l e a t a ll . T h e u n i v e r s a l i s t v i e w ,

i s t h a t th e u n d e r l y i n g s t r u c tu r e o f la n g u a g e i s u n i v e r s a l a n d c o m m o n to m a n -

k in d , t h a t t he d i f fe rences a re e s sen t i a l l y supe r f i c i a l. T ran s l a t i on i s r ea l isab l e

prec i se ly beca use t hose de ep sea t ed u n ive rs a l s , gene t ic , h i s t o r i ca l , soc ia l , f rom

w h i c h al l g r a m m a r s d e r i v e c a n b e lo c a te d a n d r e c o g n i s e d a s o p e ra t iv e i n e v e r y

h u m a n i d i o m , h o w e v e r s i n g u l a r o r b i z a r r e i ts s u p e r f i c ia l fo r m s . T o t r a n s l a t e is

t o d e s c e n d b e n e a t h t h e e x t e r i o r d i s p a r i t i e s o f t w o l a n g u a g e s i n o r d e r t o b r i n g

i n t o v i t a l p l a y t h e i r a n a l o g o u s , a n d , a t t h e f i n a l d e p t h s , c o m m o n p r i n c i p l e s o f

b e i n g . H e r e t h e u n i v e r s a l i s t p o s i t i o n t o u c h e s c l o s e l y u p o n t h e m y s t i c a l in t u -

i t io n o f a l o s t p r i m a l o r p a r a d i g m a t i c s p e e ch .

T h e o p p o s i n g v i e w i s t h e b e l i e f t h a t r e a l t r a n s l a t i o n i s i m p o s s i b l e . W h a t

p a s s e s f o r t r a n s l a t i o n i s a c o n v e n t i o n o f a p p r o x i m a t e a n a l o g i e s , a r o u g h - c a s t

s i m i l i t u d e , j u s t t o l e r a b l e w h e n t h e t w o r e l e v a n t l a n g u a g e s a r e c o g n a t e , b u t

a l t o g e t h e r s p u r i o u s w h e n r e m o t e t o n g u e s a n d f a r - r e m o v e d s e n s i b il it i es a r e i n

q u e s t i o n . M o s t l i n g u i s t s a n d t r a n s l a t o r s f i n d th e m s e l v e s v a c i l l a ti n g b e t w e e n

t h e s e t w o e x t r em e s .

P e r h a p s t h e m o s t b e a u t if u l , p r o f o u n d , c o n c e n t r at e d a n d a c u te c o m m e n t a r y


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6

Publishing Research Quarterly / W inter 1999 2000

o n t h e a c t o f t ra n s l a t i o n i t se lf h a s b e e n o f f e r e d b y t h e A r g e n t i n e w r i t e r J o r g e

L u i s B o r g e s i n h i s s t o r y

Pierre Menard Au thor o f Don Quixote

(1 93 9) i n w h i c h

M e n a r d , i n 19 18 , s e t s h i m s e l f t h e t a s k o f t o ta l t r a n s l a t i o n o r t r a n s u b s t a n t i a t i o n .

T h r e e c e n t u r i e s a f t e r t h e o r i g i n a l w a s w r i t t e n , h i s a i m i s n o t t o m a k e a m e -

c h a n i c a l c o p y o f t h e o r i g i n a l . H i s i n t e n t i o n i s t o p r o d u c e a f e w p a g e s w h i c h

w o u l d c o i n c i d e , w o r d f o r w o r d , l in e fo r l in e w i t h t h o s e o f M i g u e l d e C e r v a n t e s .

H i s a p p r o a c h t o t h e ta s k , s a y s P r o f e s s o r S t e i n e r , i t w a s o n e o f u t t e r

m i m e s i s . . . i .e . t o p u t o n e s e l f s o d e e p l y i n tu n e w i t h C e r v a n t e s ' b e i n g a s t o

r e - e n a c t, in e v i t a b l y , t h e e x a c t s u m o f h i s re a l i sa t i o n s a n d s t a t e m e n t s . T h e a r d u -

o u s n e s s o f t h e g a m e is d i z z y i n g . . . . I n o th e r w o r d s , a n y g e n u i n e a c t o f t ra n s la -

t i o n i s , i n o n e r e g a r d a t l e a s t , a n e n d e a v o u r t o g o b a c k w a r d s u p t h e e s c a l a t o r

o f t i m e a n d t o r e -e n a c t v o l u n t a r i l y w h a t w a s a c o n t i n g e n t m o t i o n o f s p i r i t . .

T o r e p e a t a n a l r e a d y e x t a n t b o o k i n a n a li e n t o n g u e is t h e t r a n s l a t o r 's m y s t e -

r i ou s d u t y . . , d i f f i cu l t p a s t h u m a n i m a g i n i n g .

T h e New York Times o n c e d e s c r i b e d G r e g o r y R a b a s s a , w h o h a s b r o u g h t u s

t h e b o o k s o f G a b r i e l G a r c i a M a r q u e z i n E n g l i s h a s t h e f in e s t t r a n s l a t o r w h o

e v e r d r e w b r e a t h . W h e n a t r a n s la t o r c o m e s v e r y c lo s e t o r e p l i c a t i n g t h e o ri g i-

n a l i n b o t h l e t t e r a n d s p i r i t , h e b e c o m e s a l m o s t a m i r r o r - r e f l e c t i o n o f t h e a u -

t h o r. N e e d l e s s t o s ay , s u c h o c c a s i o n s a r e e x t r e m e l y r ar e .

ridging Cultures

T r a n s l a t i o n i s p e r h a p s a s o l d a s w r i t i n g i t s e l f . T h r o u g h o u t t h e c e n t u r i e s

t r a n sl a to r s h a v e b e e n a t t e m p t i n g t o b r i d g e c u l t u re s a n d b r e a k d o w n b a r r i e r s

b e t w e e n n a t i o n s , c o n t i n e n t s a n d c i v i li sa t io n s . T h e y h a v e b r o u g h t t h e p a s t c lo s e

t o t h e p r e s e n t , s e m a n t i c a l l y c o n q u e r i n g t i m e a n d s p a c e. T h e y h a v e b e e n i n -

s t r u m e n t a l i n p r o p a g a t i n g r e l ig i o u s b e l ie f s a n d c u l t u r a l v a l u e s . T h e y h a v e

p l a y e d a c ru c i al r o le in s h a p i n g t h e h i s t o r y of m a n k i n d . A r o u g h a n d r e a d y

d i v i s i o n r u n s t h r o u g h t h e h i s t o r y a n d p r a c t i c e of t r a n s l a ti o n a n d t h e r e is h a r d l y

a tr e a t is e o n t h e s u b j ec t w h i c h d o e s n o t d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n t h e t r a n s l a t i o n o f

c o m m o n m a t t e r - - p r i v a t e , c o m m e r c i a l, cle ric al , e p h e m e r a l - - a n d t h e r e c re a t i v e

t r a n s f e r f r o m o n e l i t e r a ry , p h i l o s o p h i c o r r e l i g io u s t e x t to a n o t h e r .

I n t h e a n n a l s o f r e l i g io u s t r a n s l a ti o n s t h e n a m e o f S a i n t J e r o m e , t h e p a t r o n

s a i n t o f t r a n s l a t o r s , i s w r i t t e n i n l e t t e r s o f g o l d . H e w a s t h e f i r s t p e r s o n t o

t r a n s l a te t h e B ib le i n t o L a ti n a n d t h e O l d T e s t a m e n t d i r e c t l y f r o m t h e H e b r e w

i n t o L a t i n . B u t h e h a d s e v e r a l o t h e r c o m r a d e s i n a r m s s u c h a s W u l f i l a w h o

e v a n g e l i s e d t h e G o t h s , C y r i l w h o h a s g i v e n h is n a m e t o t h e C y r i ll ic a l p h a b e t .

T h e i n c r e d ib l e e x p a n s i o n o f B u d d h i s m w h i c h s p r e a d f r o m I n d i a t o C h i n a,

J a p a n a n d o t h e r p a r ts o f S o u t h E a s t A s i a is d u e t o v e r y e a r l y r u d i m e n t a r y

t r a n s l a ti o n s d a t i n g b a c k t o th e 1 s t c e n t u r y a l t h o u g h t h e f i rs t s y s t e m a t i c r e n d e r -

i n g o f B u d d h i s t t e xt s in t o C h i n e s e w a s u n d e r t a k e n b y K u m a r a j i v a i n th e V t h

c e n t u r y .

T h e r e i s n o a s p e c t o f o u r l i f e , s c i e n t i f i c , h i s t o r i c a l , c u l t u r a l , l i t e r a r y o r s o c i a l

w h i c h h a s n o t b e e n a f f e c te d b y t h e h a n d o f t h e t r a ns l a to r . T o d a y w i t h t h e


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world shrinking into a global village , the need for translation is more keenly

felt than ever. To speak a language, said Frantz Fanon is to take on a world,

a culture. In seeking to transport words or texts from one language into

another the translator cannot merely search for equivalent words in the target

language to render the meaning of the source. He has to be attentive to the

larger cultural context whence they spring and which they express. As the

expression of a culture, a means of communication, a language emerges to

serve the community that uses it. Language evolves with the community, keep-

ing in step with n ew economic, social and cultural developments, being the

vehicle for the expression of changing needs, ideologies and philosophies. The

influence a language wields derives from the wealth, economic, political intel-

lectual or cultural, of the communi ty to which it belongs.

A language which clings rigidly to its past, refusing, for the sake of purity,

to adapt to the constantly changing and growing world, inevitably gets left

behind. The linguistic landscape has been forged by the historical process.

Sanskrit or Ancient Egyptian, the languages of two of the greatest civilisations

the planet has known have almost disappeared and have ceased to exist as

living languages.

The craft of the translator is deeply ambivalent. The translator re-exper-

iences the evolution of language itself. Our age, our personal sensibilities,

writes Octavio Paz, are immersed in the world of translation, or more pre-

cisely, in a wor ld which is itself a translation of other worlds, of other systems.

S h a k in g O f f o lo n ia l S h a c k le s

The quest ion of colonialism is inherent in any discussion of translation and

Third World writers are increasingly expressing their fears about how their

works are translated and appropria ted by the West. The process of transla-

tion in making non-western cultures comprehensible and available in the West

entails the exercise of colonial power and proceeds in a predictable dir ect ion --

alien cultural forms are recuperated via a process of familiarisation--whereby

they are d en ud ed of their foreignness and radical inaccessibility. Another exer-

cise of Western power has to do with what and who gets translated. This has

to do with the selection of certain voices, certain views, certain texts over

others by the publ ishing industry and by reviewers and critics.

Edward W. Said remembers the time an American publisher told him The

problem is that Arabic is a controversial language. Of all the major wor ld

literatures, he says, Arabic remains relatively unknown and unread in the

West for reasons that are unique, even remarkable, at a time when tastes for

the non-European are more developed than ever before and, even more com-

pelling, contemporary Arabic literature is at a particularly interesting

ju nc tu re .. . There almost seems to be a deliberate policy of maintaining a kind

of monolithic reductionism where the Arabs and Islam are concerned.

Comments social anthropologist Talal Assad: From the coloniser's stand-


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Publishing Research Quarterly / W inter 1999-2000

point the issue is not whether the colonised writer is mod ern but whether he

or she is good enough to be accorded serious critical attent ion as part of

what is called modern world culture. Rightly or wrongly it is the coloniser

who has the power to make this judgement. And even if a novel like Tahar Ben

Jalloun's

La nui t sacrde

is described both as resister and liberator it is the Prix

Goncourt (France's most prestigious literary prize) that locates it unequivo-

cally within modern world culture.

Tahar Ben Jalloun himself is disappointed at the treatment meted out to

several of his Moroccan contemporaries writing in Arabic: They are almost

never translated. For some reason, the West feels that only the Egyptians or

Lebanese are worth translating from the Arabic into modern European lan-

guages. If you do not use the language of the coloniser your chances of being

translated into other modern European languages are very low.

R a p i d r o w t h

Nevertheless, there is an increasing demand for translation. Just how hun-

gry the world is for knowledge of the other, for exchange of every kind is

evident from the spectacular growth in the number of translations published

each year.

The

I n d e x T r a n s l a t i o n u m

grew rapidly, reflecting the development of pub-

lishing activity world-wide. The decolonising process was under way and

more and more countries joined the United Nations system as independent

sovereign States. Enhanced levels of education, increased cultural exchange

and the need, the desire to know and understand the other were other

factors which contributed to the I n d e x T r a n s l a t io n u m s rapid growth.

Thanks to continuing international co-operation the

I n d e x T r a n s l a t i o n u m

re-

mains a work tool that is unique in the world. Each year national libraries or

bibliography centres in the participating countries send UNESCO bibliographi-

cal data concerning translated books in all fields of knowledge. Periodicals,

articles from periodicals, patents and brochures are not included.

W h o U s e s t h e I n de x

Librarians, documentalists, researchers, publishers, journalists, translators,

students, book shops, all consult the I n d e x T r a n s l a t i o n u m to find out if an

author has been translated, into what language and by whom. Furthermore,

the I n d e x is the best reference work for establishing statistics concerning trans-

lations, allowing specialists to analyse international readership and publ ishing

markets according to their needs. It is a huge storehouse of information from

which we can determine trends such as: changes in the tastes of the interna-

tional reading public, the most frequently translated authors, the influence of

certain languages over others, reciprocal influences or subject preferences at

regional or international levels.


7/16

Naravane 29

UNESCO's sector for Culture is in charge of gathering, normalizing, enter-

ing and checking the data. It is also responsible for constantly updating the

ndex Translationum

database. At the Organization's headquarters in Paris, a

small team of professionals painstakingly enters titles sent in by contributing

Member States. Sometimes the data received is incomplete and inconsistencies

cannot always be avoided. It is slow, careful, precise work. Of course with the

data that we have we cannot say anything about the quality of the translation,

whether it is faithful to the original, if it seeks to subvert, oversimplify or

manipulate, says Cristina Iglesias, who heads the unit.

Historic hange

The most powerful and earth-shaking change that has taken place over the

past decade is indubitably the fall of the former Soviet empire. The fall of the

Berlin Wall swept away an ideology that had held sway over the imaginations

of several million people across the globe for over six decades. Its reverbera-

tions have been felt strongly in the field of translations. For a long time Lenin

regularly topped the charts as the most translated author of all time. He has

now been de throned by none other than one of the most assiduous and zeal-

ous fighters of communism: Walt Disney, the emblematic figure of western

capitalism.

The fall of the Berlin Wall has resulted in many changes. Certain types of

books were proscribed in the former Soviet Union. Anything to do with lifestyle,

management, health and fitness, romance or pornography was frowned upon.

There has been a remarkable surge in the translation of books on all these

subjects, especially computer technology, management, health guides and ro-

mance. Mills and Boon or Harlequin romances are being translated with in-

creasing frequency. These books were banned because they were considered

decadent. The newly emerging Eastern democracies are making up for lost

time with a vengeance.

E n g l i sh D o m i n a t es

Another fact which emerges from the perusal of the ndex Translationum is

the dominance of the English language. Almost fifty per cent of all translations

are made from the English into various languages. But only six percent of all

translations are into English. The number of books translated each year also

remains relatively small compared to the total number of books published in

the world.

A London publisher blamed this situation on a lack of good translators. At

least as far a literature is concerned it is extremely difficult to find good trans-

lators, those who understand the cultural contexts of the source and the target

language, people who can get under the skin of the author they are trying to

translate. she said.


8/16

3 Publishing Research Qu arterly/Win ter 1999 2000

N o t e v e r y o n e a t U N E S C O s h a re s t h is p o i n t of v i e w . E v e n f o r l a n g u a g e s

c o n s i d e r e d d i f f ic u l t t h e O r g a n i z a t i o n h a s b e e n a b l e t o f i n d e x c e l l e n t t r a n s la -

t o r s f o r it s s e r i e s o f R e p r e s e n t a t i v e W o r k s is h i g h l y a p p r e c i a t e d b y s c h o l a r s a s

w e l l as t h e g e n e r a l r e a d i n g p u b l ic . C e r t a i n p u b l i s h i n g h o u s e s t e n d t o u s e t h e

d i f f i c u l t y o f f i n d i n g g o o d t r a n s l a t o r s a s a n e x c u s e t o h i d e t h e i r r e l u c t a n c e t o

p a y t r a n s l a t i o n r i g h ts . S o m e c o u n t r ie s a r e e v i d e n t l y m o r e i n f a v o u r o f t r a n s la -

t i o n t h a n o t h e r s . F o r i n s t a n c e i f a b o o k h a s b e e n p u b l i s h e d i n t h e E n g l i s h

l a n g u a g e , f i n d i n g p u b l i s h e r s w i l l i n g to t r a n sl a te i t in t o G e r m a n , F r e n c h , S p a n -

i s h w i l l n o t b e a p r o b l e m . B u t if i t is t h e c o n t r a r y , t h a t i s if th e b o o k h a s b e e n

p u b l i s h e d i n F r e n c h o r S p a n i s h i t is v e r y d i f fi c u lt t o f i n d a p u b l i s h e r w i l l i n g to

p a y t h e r ig h t s a n d p u b l i s h t h e t it le i n E n g li s h . T h i s i s p e r h a p s o n e w a y o f

c o n t r o l l in g th e m a r k e t a n d m a i n t a i n i n g t h e c u l tu r a l d o m i n a n c e o f E n g l i s h a n d

t h e m a r k e t i s c o n t r o l l e d t h r o u g h w h a t is o n o f fe r, t h r o u g h t h e a v a i l a b il it y o f

p r o d u c t s s o l d b y t h e i n d u s t r y o f c u l t u r e - - w h e t h e r i t is m u s i c , o r f il m s o r

b o o k s .

S e v e r a l w r i t e r s w r i t i n g i n l a n g u a g e s o t h e r t h a n E n g l i s h b e i t F r e n c h , A r a b i c ,

o r H i n d i c o m p l a i n o f t h e o v e r w h e l m i n g i n fl u en c e w i e l d e d b y t h e A n g l o - S a x o n

p u b l i s h i n g i n d u s t r y . T h e r e i s a c e r t a i n a r r o g a n c e , t h e y c l a i m , o n t h e p a r t o f

B r i t i s h a n d A m e r i c a n p u b l i s h i n g h o u s e s . I t i s a s i f t h e y c o n s i d e r a n y t h i n g

p u b l i s h e d i n a n o t h e r l a n g u a g e t o b e a u t o m a t i c a l ly i n f er i o r t o w h a t a p p e a r s i n

E n g l i s h . T h e y a r e r e l u c t a n t t o tr a n s l a te f o r e i g n b o o k s . S o w i d e s p r e a d i s t h e

i n f l u e n c e o f E n g l i s h a s a l a n g u a g e t h a t p u b l i s h e r s i n J a p a n w i ll a c c e p t a b o o k

f o r tr a n s l a t i o n o n l y i f i t h a s f ir st b e e n t r a n s l a t e d i n E n g l i s h , as i f b e i n g a c c e p t e d

b y t h e p u b l i s h i n g i n d u s t r y t h e r e h a d a d d e d i n t r i n s i c v a l u e t o t h e w o r k . A n d

t h e n t h e t r a n s l a t i o n i s o f t e n d o n e f r o m t h e E n g l i s h v e r s i o n , n o t f r o m t h e o r i g i-

n a l .

R o b e r t C o l l i s o n , f o r m e r B B C l i b r a r i a n w r i t i n g i n t h e U N E S O o ur ie r i n

19 58 p o i n t e d t o t h e s a m e p r o b l e m . T h e t r a n s l a t io n o f a tr a n s l a t i o n r u n s t h e r i sk

o f d i s t o r t i n g t h e s e n s e o r b e i n g u n f a i t h f u l t o th e o r i g i n a l , h e s a y s .

Span ish The Fastes t G row ing Language

A l t h o u g h G e r m a n r e m a i n s t h e l a n g u a g e w h i c h a c ce p ts t h e m o s t t r a n s la t io n s

S p a n i s h i s u n d o u b t e d l y t h e l a n g u a g e w h i c h i s g r o w i n g t h e f a s t e s t f r o m t h e

p o i n t o f v i e w o f t h e n u m b e r o f ti tl es t r a n sl a t e d e a c h y e a r. T h i s s o r t o f o p e n n e s s

c a n h a v e d i s a s t r o u s c o n s e q u e n c e s fo r S p a n i s h w r i te r s . I a m s u r e t h e r e a r e

c e r t ai n w r i t e r s w h o f a il e d t o f in d p u b l i s h e r s i n S p a i n b e c a u s e t h e r e w e r e t o o

m a n y t r a n s l a t e d w o r k s i n t h e m a r k e t . A p u b l i s h e r h a s t o s p e n d v e r y l i t t l e

m o n e y o n p r o m o t i n g a t ra n s la t io n . T h e b o o k i s u s u a l l y w e l l k n o w n a n d a ll h e

h a s t o p a y i s t h e r i g h t s a n d t h e t r a n s l a t o r . T r a n s l a t i o n c a n b e a t w o e d g e d

s w o r d - - i t c a n o p e n n e w h o r i z o n s f o r r e a d e r s b u t i t c a n a l s o e d g e n a t i o n a l

w r i t e r s o u t o f t h e m a r k e t .

T o m a k e n o m o r e u s e o f t h e I n d e x T r a n s l a t i o n u m t h a n o n e w o u l d o f a b ib l i-

o g r a p h y o f io d i n e , o f g e ro n t o lo g y , o r o f g e n e a lo g y , w o u l d h o w e v e r b e t o


9/16

Naravane 31

ignore completely its value as a significant human document, contends Robert

Collison. By reading through the subject index to it is possible to gauge the

change in public taste and the favour that authors find with their readers.

U N E S C O s C o l l e c ti o n o f R e p r e s e n ta t iv e W o r k s

The collection includes over 1000 titles from more than 80 countries, trans-

lated from a hu ndred or so different languages make up UNESCO's Collection

of Representative Works which also celebrates 50 years of existence this year.

The aim of the Collection is principally to encourage the translation, publica-

tion and distribution in English, French, Spanish and Arabic, of works of liter-

ary and cultural importance which are relatively unk now n outside their lan-

guages or countries of origin. The works translated under this pro gramme are

brought out as co-editions in partnership with publishers from all over the

world. The Collection ranges very widely and includes works from contempo-

rary minori ty cultures and languages as well as more traditional writings.

A number of authors have achieved international recognition following the

translation and publication of their books in this Collection. They include the

Nobel Prize winners Yasunari Kawabata, Vicente A eixandre, Ivo Andritch,

George Seferis, Halldor K. Laxness and Wislava Szymborska. Since it was

launched in 1948, the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works has en-

deavoured to reflect the variety and wealth of the wor ld' s literary heritage.

UNESCO's contribution to this programme is both intel lectual--selection of

authors, works and translators--and financia l--providing assistance for trans-

lation and purchasing copies for distribution and sale. International, multilin-

gual and pluricultural, the collection is in effect, a Library of Libraries which

has o pened wide its doors to new literary works from cultures that were either

fragmented or marginalized.

The Collection includes: anthologies of short stories and poetry, sagas, leg-

ends, epic poems and epics, travelogues, poetry, fiction (including plays), and

basic works of a philosophical, religious or historical nature.

C h i l d r e n s B o o k s

What emerges from a perusal of the I n d e x T r a n s l a t i o n u m as concerns books

for children is that the classics remain perennial favourites. Danish author

Hans Christian Andersen has been translated into some 60 languages includ-

ing Albanian, Euskera (spoken in Spain's Basque region), Malay, Icelandic,

Tadjik, Lithuanian . . .

Once again for this category, the ubiquitous Walt Disney tops the list. It is

however doubtful if Walt Disney Productions can be considered an "original

author" since most of the company's creations are adaptations of all-time

favourite classics, The H u n c h B ac k o f N o t r e D a m e was written by Victor Hugo,

T h e L i tt le M e r m a i d by Hans Christian Andersen, l a d d i n belongs to T h o u s a n d


10/16

32 Publishing Research Quarterly Winter 1999-2000

and One Nights Snow White was created by the Grimm Brothers, The Jungle

Book

is Kipling's,

Peter Pan

was written by James Barry,

Pinocchio

by Carlo

Collodi. The list is endless.

While Disney's adaptations have had a runaway success, the above men-

tioned authors continue to be independently popular with children around the

world. A dventur e stories have an endless appeal as is evident from the innu-

merable translations of Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas, Jack London, Mark

Twain, or Arthur Conon Doyle. With the exception of A Thousand and One

Nights there is a clear dominance by books from the West.

The increasing power of the image over the power of the wor d is reflected

in the fact that comic books are among the most translated titles for children.

Asterix and Obelix the heroes of Gosciny and Uderzo's adventure stories about

the Gauls versus the Romans top the charts. Another favorite is

TinTin

Herge's

reporter-detective, proving more popular than Batman Superman Spiderman

etc. put together. Space travel and extraterrestrial civilizations also appeal to

young minds as is evident from the popularity of Star Trek.

T h e M o s t T r a n s la t ed W r i t e r s

For a long time Vladimir Illyich Lenin was the most translated writer in the

world. His speeches and writings were available in all the languages of the

Soviet Union as well as in most of the world's major languages. Up until the

disintegration of the Soviet Union, that is. Now Lenin is living off past glory

with the number of new translations at a standstill. There are still over 3,000

translations of Lenin avai lable--until stocks last. For a long time Lenin, Queen

of Crime Agatha Christie, The Bible and Walt Disney jostled for a place among

the top four. Lenin having fallen into fourth place the triumvirate has Ms

Christie, the Walt Disney Company and The Holy Book scrambling for first

place. In these days of market capitalism Disney has a definite edge with

surging new found popularity in the former Warsaw pact nations.

The ten most translated authors in the world with over 1500 translations

each are:

9 Agatha Christie

9 The Bible

9 Lenin

9 Jules Verne

9 Barbara Cartland

9 Enid Blyton

Walt Disney Productions

9 William Shakespeare


11/16

aravane

9 H a n s C h r i s t i a n A n d e r s e n

9 T h e G r i m m B r o t h e r s


12/16

34 Publ ishing Research Quarterly / W inter 199 9 2 000

ountry of Pub l icat ion

Germany

France

USA

Spain

Italy

Switzerland

Japan

Brazil

United Kingdom

Portugal

Poland

Norway

Sweden

Finland

Netherlands

Yugoslavia

Former USSR

Denmark

Bulgaria

Total

128016

60187

27896

100776

22770

16822

48976

22584

14003

11005

20775

18007

18806

19822

40722

15637

92373

26282

13284

718743

D i s c i p l i n e s

Applied Sciences

Art/Games/Sports

Educa tion/La w/Soci al Sciences

History/Geography

Generalities / Information

Literature / Children s Literature

Natural and Exact Sciences

Philosophy/Psychology

Religion / Theology

Total:

95077

48120

91501

61611

6679

449801

45044

49488

57123

904444

Language Origina l Target

Arabic 4357

Bulgarian 12503

Classic Greek

Czech 14383

Danish 25359

Dutch 48544

English 446724 69728

Finnish 18882

French 101154 79889

German 81935 153367

Hungarian 16124


13/16


14/16

36 Publ ishing Research Quarterly / W inter 19 99 2000

( con t inued)

u t h o r s

Cookson , Ca the r ine

C o o p e r , J a m e s F e n i m o r e

Chr is t ie , Agatha

Cronin , Arch iba ld Joseph

Dahl , Roald

Dai ley, Janet

De igh ton , Len

Dickens , Char les

Dostoevski j , Fedor Mihaj lovic

D o y l e , A r t h u r C o n a n

D u M a u r ie r , D a p h n e

D u m a s , A l e x a n d r e

Duras , M arguer i t e

Eco, Um ber to

Engels , Fr iedr ich

F lauber t , Gus t ave

Follet , Ken

For sy th , F reder i ck

F r e u d , S ig m u n d

Fromm, E r i ch

Garc ia , M arque z G abr i e l

Gardner , Er ie S tanley

Gibran, Kahli l

G o e t h e , J o h a n n W o l g a n g

Go gol , Nikola j Va si l evic

G o l o n , A n n e

Golon , Se rge

Gork i j, M aks im

Gosc inny , Rene

G r e e n e , G r a h a m

Gr imm, Jacob

G r i m m , W i l h el m

H a g g a r d , H e n r y R i d e r

Ha i l ey , Ar thur

H e m i n g w a y , E r n es t

H e r g e

H e s s e , H e r m a n n

Higgins , J ack

Highsmi th, Pat r ic ia

Ho l t , Victor ia

H o m e r u s

H u s s e in , A d a m

Joannes , Pau lus I I Papa

J o r d a n , P e n n y

Kafka, Franz

381

512

3953

390

627

509

372

1050

1101

1259

382

1406

428

435

1125

496

414

499

589

539

634

698

409

573

412

586

496

592

1292

797

1615

1618

364

355

951

6O0

760

693

466

1046

571

352

1224

378

568


15/16

aravane 37

(con t inued)

u t h o r s

King , S t ephe n

K i p p li n g , R u d y a r d

K l e p in i n a, Z o j a A l e k s a n d r o v n a

Konsa l i k , He inz Gunthe r

K o o n t z , H a r o l d

K u n d e r a , M i la n

Le Car t e , John

Lem, S t an i s l aw

Lenin, Vla dim ir II ic

Less ing, Dor is

Lew is , Cl ive S taples

L indgren , A s t r id

L o n d o n , J a ck

L u d l u m , R o b e r t

M aclean, Al i s ta i r

Makarycev, Jur i j Nikolaevic

M a n n , T h o m a s

Marx, Kar l

M a t h e r , A n n e

M a u g h a m , S o m m e r s e t

M a u p a s s a n t, G u y d e

M ay, Kar l

M c Bain, Ed

M i l le r , H en ry

M ol i e r e

M o n t g o m e r y , L u c y M a u d

M orav i a , A lbe r to

M o ro , M ar i ja Igna t evn a

M u r p h y , J o s ep h

N a b o k o v , V l ad i m i r

Nie t zsche , F r iedr i ch W i lhe lm

N o s o v , N o k o l a j N i k o la e v i c

Nos t l i nge r , Chr i s t ine

Par r amo n, Vi l a sa lo Joseph

Perraul t , Char les

Poe , Edgar A l lan

Pusk in , A leksandr Se rgeev i c

Rende l l , Ru th

R o b i n s , H a r o l d

Sagan, Franqoise

S a in t E x u p e r y A n t o in e d e

Sat re , Jean-Pau l

Scarry, Richard

Schulz, Char l e s M onro e

Scott , Walter

1167

730

365

755

455

401

566

425

3391

456

470

948

1331

729

1139

394

418

1268

454

377

502

591

499

465

409

384

420

592

358

373

551

370

378

354

855

659

570

572

801

363

490

571

410

490

458


16/16

38 Publ ishing Research Quarterly / W inter 19 99 2000

cont inued)

u t h o r s

Shakespeare , W i ll iam

Shaw, I rwin

She ldon , S idney

S i m e n o n , G e o r g e s

Singer , I saac Bashevis

Sjowall , Maj

Smi th, Wi lbu r A.

Sophoc l es

Steele, Daniele

S t e inbeck , J am es

Steiner , Rudol f

S t endha l

S t evenson , Rober t Loui s

Stout , Rex

S t r a t emeyer , Edouard

Swif t , Jonatha n

Tagore , Rab ind rana th

Tolk ien , John Ro na ld R eue l

Tolstoj , Lev Nikolaevic

Turgenev , Ivan Sergeev i c

Twain , M ark

Uderzo , A lbe r t

Vernes , Jules

Vil l iers, Gerard de

Wahloo , Pe r

Wal l ace , Edg ar

W e l ls , H e r b e r t G e o r g e

W es t , M o r r is

Wi lde , Osca r

Zola , Emi le

1760

384

688

1394

575

372

466

350

977

532

785

451

1066

393

455

453

361

547

1189

401

1284

489

2733

473

440

899

370

369

732

473

Documents

Fifty Years of Translation. the Index Translationum Completes a Half Century