Description du projet
Les dimensions politiques de la traduction littéraire russe
La traduction permet d’éviter l’isolement culturel et national entre les nations. Cependant, la traduction peut être politisée et conditionnée par des préjugés idéologiques ou par l’influence de l’État. Ce «côté obscur» de la traduction peut être utilisé par des nations subalternes afin de lutter pour l’égalité culturelle face aux voisins plus importants. Le projet RUSTRANS, financé par l’UE, étudiera la manière dont les personnes et les gouvernements utilisent la traduction dans ce sens en traduisant leur propre littérature dans des langues mondiales telles que l’anglais. Il analysera en particulier l’impact de la littérature russe sur les autres cultures européennes, en étudiant la traduction en tant que vecteur d’autopromotion et d’unification culturelle pour les États-nations émergents, et comparera également ce type de traduction avec les nouvelles stratégies de traduction utilisées dans la Russie moderne.
Objectif
What is the dark side of translation? Translation is valued, taught, and often funded as a deterrent to monolingual nationalism and cultural parochialism. Yet the praxis of translation is highly politicized, often subverted by ideological prejudice or state interference. Translators have a personal agenda, as do editors, publishers, and other agents. Every translation is an act of cultural appropriation. This may not be detrimental to the culture of origin; even inaccurate translations can confer prestige on the former. The ‘dark side’ of translation – its immanent politics – often allows subaltern nations to assert cultural parity with larger neighbours.
RusTRANS investigates how individuals, and governments, exploit this ‘dark side’ to reap cultural capital by translating their own literature into global languages (and the reverse). The PI and postdoctoral research assistant will research four case studies about translators of Russian literature, and their networks, in Anglophone contexts (Ireland, the UK, and the USA). Three doctoral students will study the transmission of Russian literature in other European cultures. We will also commission new translations of contemporary Russian writing in order to observe the dynamics of translator (and publisher) networks today.
RusTRANS offers two key innovations. First, we explore an obscure, paradoxical, yet crucial function of translation: as a means of self-promotion and cultural consolidation for emergent nation-states. By focussing on literary translation, and on the transmission of a single language (Russian), we create a coherent paradigm for historians of the cultural reception of national literatures in translation. Second, our diachronic approach to translation praxis allows us to contrast past translation networks and strategies with cultural agents in the ever-more volatile context of modern Russia, as we document the political pressures placed on contemporary authors, translators, and publishers.
Programme(s)
Thème(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-STG - Starting GrantInstitution d’accueil
EX4 4QJ Exeter
Royaume-Uni