chronotopos – A Journal of Translation History
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The poetic, the personal and the political : Two Dutch translations of “L’Internationale”
Full text linkThis contribution provides a comparative analysis of two Dutch translations of “L’Internationale”, one made by Henriette Roland Holst in 1900 and the other by Ernst van Altena in 1981, respectively. The comparison is relevant for two reasons: (1) the latter translation can be considered a reaction to the former; and (2) each translator paid particular attention to the literary rather than the musical characteristics of the source text. The lyrics are therefore given a prominent place in the analysis; at the same time, we also dwell on the multimodal dimensions of the text. Roland Holst’s version was clearly meant to be sung. In her translation, she added a number of forms of address, which make the text more personal. She also adapted the text to make it less party-political and incitive. Finally, her lyric can be considered more poetic than the original. Alternatively, the tenor of van Altena’s translation is more concrete and informal than the source text. He provides another view on the original, but one that is not necessarily less mediated one, contrary to what he has suggested in public reflections. The result is a hybrid form comprising a demarcation strategy with regard to Roland Holst and his preliminary wish of rendering the source text as completely as possible.
Viral Translations: Retranslation and Periodicals
No full textRe-translations within periodicals have hitherto received limited scholarly attention. This paper seeks to address this gap by examining whether Stemmatology provides a pertinent methodological framework for elucidating the intricate dynamics of rapidly succeeding retranslations. Through a case study focusing on translations of Leo Tolstoy\u27s story "God Sees the Truth, But Waits" ("Bog pravdu vidit da ne skoro skažet") in Dutch newspapers throughout the nineteenth century, we investigate the feasibility of employing Stemmatology in mapping these retranslations. Our analysis demonstrates that juxtaposing variation against chronological sequence enhances comprehension of the underlying dynamics, and that the proposed model aligns with certain established aspects of retranslation
"Ich bin wahrscheinlich nicht die typische Übersetzerin, die Sie suchen.“: Werden und Wirken der Übersetzer:innen chinesischer Literatur in der DDR
Full text linkDer vorliegende Beitrag widmet sich den Übersetzer:innen chinesischer Literatur in der DDR, deren Geschichte bisher weitgehend unbekannt ist und sucht ihre Leistung als Entdecker:innen und Vermittler:innen der Literatur und Kultur Chinas in der DDR und darüber hinaus zu dokumentieren und zu würdigen. Zu diesem Zweck wurden zahlreiche Befragungen mit Übersetzer:innen, Herausgeber:innen und Lektor:innen geführt, die seltene Einblicke in das Leben und Wirken der Übersetzer:innen gewährten. Entlang der Punkte Ausbildung und beruflicher Werdegang, Motivation und Selbstverständnis, finanzielle Situation und translatorische Praxis werden im Folgenden die Rahmenbedingungen des Literaturübersetzens aus Sicht der Übersetzer:innen skizziert. Die Rückschau veranschaulicht, dass die Übersetzungen chinesischer Literatur von einigen wenigen Personen angefertigt wurden und diese aufgrund der fehlenden Sprach- und Landeskenntnisse in den Verlagen über das Übersetzen hinaus eine zentrale Rolle im gesamten Publikationsprozess innehatten. Des Weiteren werden Einsichten in einzelne Übersetzer:innenbiographien präsentiert und wichtige Hinweise für die Bedeutung von Netzwerken sichtbar. Im größeren Rahmen sollen die Ergebnisse beitragen zu einer noch zu schreibenden Übersetzungsgeschichte der DDR, insbesondere hinsichtlich der sogenannten „exotischen“ Sprachen
Sinister ironies: The Romanian translation of “L’Internationale” from an anthem of the oppressed to the last words of a tyrant
Full text linkThis article explores the cultural history around the publication of the Romanian translation of Pottier’s “L’Internationale” by C. Z. Buzdugan in 1900 in the socialist newspaper Lumea nouă, as well as the song’s subsequent contexts during the communist regime (1944–1989). Combining an etymologically and stylistically-informed comparative close-reading of Buzdugan’s translated text and Pottier’s original with an account of the coeval crisis of early Romanian socialism, I provide fresh insight into how Romania’s still ruralized, post-feudal social structures at the turn of the twentieth century influenced some omissions and insertions in this previously neglected early translation. Aside from contributing to translation history, this article also sheds light on the importance of remediation and performance in the process of shaping the meanings of a widely circulated text. Through an analysis of the chameleonic totalitarian appropriation of “L’Internationale” in the Romanian context and of its perusal in Ceaușescu’s cunning game of distancing himself from Soviet control and appeasing the West while continuing to oppress the population of his country, I reveal a dark facet of the song’s potential to animate masses. Finally, I zoom in on the dictator’s final intonation of the workers’ anthem before the execution squad as an iconic and ironic historical lesson about the power of repetition and brainwashing to hollow out the positive message of this text and reduce it to a memento of Ceaușescu’s own empty glorification. I use this example as a caveat against the treacherous powers of propaganda, which to this day threaten Romanian society
Lehmstedt, Mark (2022): „Uebersetzungsmanufactur“ und „proletarische Scribenten“. Buchmarkt und Übersetzungswesen im 18. Jahrhundert. Leipzig: Lehmstedt Verlag.
Full text linkPhilosophical Tradition in Translation: Poetics of Tradition and Heuristics of its Dis/Continuation on the Basis of Paratextual Evidence
Full text linkWhile reflecting upon the intrinsically multilingual and translational history of philosophy, philosophers and philosophy scholars frequently argue metaphorically in terms of a tradition. The perspectives vary in emphasizing either the tradition’s continuance or its transition, whereas translation is perceived of as the central or an auxiliary force in both processes. Four approaches where a philosophical tradition is differently poeticized are discussed in the paper. They reveal specific operations of transfer and transformation which are claimed to be supported or accelerated by/in translation. Such tradition-related operations appear to qualify for being traced and pinned down in a given philosophical translation. The paper seeks to work out this heuristic potential within the selected poetics of tradition and draws upon the paratextual comments on the first Russian translation of Heidegger’s “Being and Time” to eventually illustrate the translation-induced shifts of whatever might be called a philosophical tradition.
A conference mosaic – History & Translation conference Tallinn 2022
Full text linkoai:ojs2.cts.journals-02.qucosa.de:article/1How can a conference as large and diverse as the first conference of the History and Translation Network in Tallinn in May of 2022 be adequately represented and remembered? To archive, share, and promote the multiplicity of topics and approaches that came together, we invited panel chairs and, in some cases, panelists to write short texts about their panels. These now form a conference mosaic as tiles. As is often the case with a mosaic, the tiles vary in size and style, with some leaving a blank space. From time to time, tiles in different languages remind us of the multilingual reality of the research subjects, the researchers, and also the conference. The texts have been arranged in three overarching categories: methods & approaches, actors & themes and time & space. We thank all contributors for their efforts and hope readers enjoy browsing the mosaic.
Edited by Chronotopos, contributors of texts are named below each text
The Translation of Science in the Era of Italian Nation-building: The Journal Antologia (1821–1833) between Fixation on France and Nationalisation Efforts
Full text linkThe early nineteenth century saw the beginning of intensive translation activity on the Italian peninsula in order to promote the cultural and scientific process of national unification (Risorgimento). Despite efforts to open up Italian culture to the English and German-speaking world, the French axis remained the central source of scientific and cultural import for Italy in the 19th century. This is evidenced not least by the appearance on the Italian peninsula in the 1820–1830s of scientific journals such as Antologia (1821–1833), conceived purely as translation organs and dedicated to the transfer of science and culture through translations from French journals. Taking Antologia as an emblematic example of this development, this article examines the early translation policy of this journal in its political and cultural context. Specific emphasis is placed on exploring the twists and turns of this translation policy, its influence on the scientific, cultural and political discourse in Italy, and the resulting implications for the process of Italy’s internationalisation and nationalisation
Literary Translations in the Book Production of Estonian Exile Publishers
Full text linkThe article treats the activities of Estonian exile publishers in the Soviet Union (1918–1937) and in the West (1944–1991), concentrating on the publications of translated literary works. The analysis includes the study of the motives for publishing literary translations and the functions these publications were supposed to fulfil in these two different contexts of production and reception. The publishing of Estonian-language literary works in the Soviet Union is studied in the framework of national and cultural policies of the 1920s and 1930s, which determined the development of minority publishing. The output of translated literature by Estonian-language publishers is compared with the all-union translation policy and its preferences in the selection of authors for translation. The treatment of the Estonian-language publishing in the West focuses on the activities of Andres Laur and his publishing house Orto that issued most of the literary translations. The translation publications by other publishers (Vaba Eesti, Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv) represent alternative modes of selection, illustrating the variety of motives