Applications may be obtained from a British Council office or from:

International Seminars Department
The British Council
10 Spring Gardens
London SW1 2BN, UK
fax: +44-171-389 4154
e-mail: international.seminars@britcoun.org

at the Centro Stefano Franscini, Ascona/Ticino (Switzerland), January 12-17, 1997. The Workshop will bring together methodological approaches from a variety of disciplines that have a direct bearing on interpreting studies with the aim of linking these to the study of all aspects of interpreting, the selection of interpreters and interpreter training. A number of experts will present research methodology from their own fields of specialization with a view to how these approaches could fruitfully be adapted to and employed in interpreting research. Each presentation will be followed by in-depth discussion among all participants.

For more information write to:

École de Traduction et d'Interprétation
Université de Genève
102, bd Carl-Vogt
CH-1221 Genève, Switzerland
fax: +41-22-781.62.21
e-mail: moser@uni2a.unige.ch

The Conference will be held on November 27-30, 1996. Contributions are invited on the following: Translation Studies; The Teaching of Translation in the Arab World; Legal, Scientific and Technical Translation; Literary Translation; Translation and Advanced Technologies; Translation and the Media; Interpreting; Terminology.

For more information contact:

École Supérieure Roi Fahd de Traduction
Université Abdelmalek Essaâdi
Route du Charf, B.P. 410
Tanger, Maroc
fax: +212-9-94 08 35

will take place on 22-24 October, 1997.

For more details write to:

Mlle Yilmaz Hülya
Yildiz Teknik Üniversitesi
Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi
Bati Dilleri Bölümü
Abidei Hürriyet cad.
80270 Sisli / Istanbul, Türkiye
fax: (90.212) 224.50.13

ICLA TRANSLATION STUDIES WORKSHOP, 1997

The Translation Studies Committee of the International Comparative Literature Association is organizing one of the major sections of the 15th Congress of ICLA, to be held at the Rijksuniversiteit, Leiden, from August 16 to August 22, 1997, under the general title of:

The aim is to explore the interactions of translation and writing systems, and the resulting changes in specific cultures and literatures. ("Writing systems" is taken in a broad sense to include cultural conventions, canons, and even questions of style.)

While there will be openness to a variety of new approaches the general framework will be descriptive-explanatory, target-culture oriented papers which deal in some way with how translation correlates with cultural change.

For more information on this section contact:

Prof. Theresa Hyun
Division of Humanities, York University
4700 Keele St.
North York, Ontario
Canada M3J IP3
fax: +1-416-538 9229

For information on the ICLA 1997 Congress contact:

Prof. Theo L. D'Haen, Chair
Dept of English and American Literature
Leiden University
P.N. Van Eyckhof 4
P.O. Box 9515
NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
fax: +31-71-272615NEW BOOKS

NEW BOOKS

Jean Delisle and Judith Woodsworth, eds. Translators through History. Amsterdam-Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1995. xvi + 345 pp. ISBN Hb.: (Eur.) 90-272-1613-4; (US) 1-55619-694-6. Hfl. 150.-. [Benjamins Translation Library, 13.]

Translators have invented alphabets, helped build languages and written dictionaries. They have contributed to the emergence of national literatures, the dissemination of knowledge and the spread of religions. Importers of foreign cultural values and key players at some of the great moments of history, translators and interpreters have played a determining role in the development of their societies and have been fundamental to the unfolding of intellectual history itself.

Published under the auspices of the International Federation of Translators (FIT), Translators through History is organized around nine themes that illustrate the main areas in which translators have distinguished themselves through the ages. Nearly fifty scholars from twenty different countries have helped to compile this survey. For a French edition see TRANSST 25 (April 1996), p. 10. (JB)

Marshall Morris, ed. Translation and the Law. Amsterdam-Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1995. 337 pp. ISBN Hb.: (Eur.) 90 272 3183 4, Hfl 130,-; (US) 1-55619-627-X, $ 75.00. [American Translators Association Scholarly Monograph Series, VIII.]

This reference book on the innumerable and increasing ways that the law intersects with translation and interpretation features essays by scholars and professionals from the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Japan, and Sweden. The essays range from sophisticated treatments of historical and hence philosophical variations in concept and practice to detailed practical advice on self-education. Essays show a particular concern for the challenges of courtroom discourse when the parties not only use different languages but operate from different cultural and legal traditions. (JB)

Angelika Lauer, Hrsg. Perspectives on Translation Evaluation: Möglichkeiten der Übersetzungsevaluierung. Duisburg: L.A.U.D., 1996. [Series B: Applied and Interdisciplinary Papers, 271.]

Die Beiträge dieses Bandes wurden im Juni 1994 in einem Workshop "Übersetzungsevaluierung" in der Fachrichtung 8.6, Angewandte Sprachwissenschaft sowie Übersetzen und Dolmetschen, der Universität des Saarlandes vorgetragen. Sie stellen unterschiedliche Ansätze der Übersetzungsevaluierung - bzw. der Fehlerlinguistik - vor und wenden diese auf einen englischen Werbetext und dessen Übersetzungen in die deutsche bzw. spanische Sprache an. Das Ziel des Workshops war es, anhand eines Beispieltextes und seiner Übersetzungen unterschiedliche Möglichkeiten des Übersetzungsevaluierung zu veranschaulichen und zur Diskussion zu stellen.

Heidrun Gerzymisch-Arbogast. Termini im Kontext: Verfahren zur Erschließung und Übersetzung der textspezifischen Bedeutung von fachlichen Ausdrücken. Tübingen: Narr, 1996. xii + 339 pp. ISBN 3-8233-4540-0. DM 136,-. [Forum für Fachsprachen-Forschung, 31.]

Das Buch bietet Erschließungs- und Übersetzungsstrategien im Umgang mit kontaminierten Termini in Texten an. Dabei wird ausgehend vom leksemantischen Bedeutungsbegriff und dem IKS-Modell Mudersbachs das Wüstresche Wortmodell modifiziert und um die Ausarbeitung der Verwendungsebene ergänzt. So können Termini in ihren Eigenschaften auf der System-Ebene des terminologischen Eintrags und auf der Individual-Ebene des Kontexts getrennt voneinander betrachtet und miteinander verglichen werden. Über die wechselseitige Betrachtung beider Ebenen werden kontextspezifische Terminus-Variationen beschrieben und textspezifische Begriffe erschließbar. Der Übersetzungsbezug wird über die Systematisierung der terminologischen Grundsatzentscheidungen beim Übersetzen in Form eines Entscheidungsbaumes hergestellt. (H.G-A.)

Peter Jansen, ed. Translation and the Manipulation of Discourse: Selected Papers of the CERA Research Seminars in Translation Studies 1992-1993. Leuven: CETRA - The Leuven Research Center for Translation, Communication and Cultures, 1995. 305 pp. [Publications of the CERA Chair for Translation, Communication and Cultures, 3.]

In 1989 the Catholic University of Leuven created the CERA Chair, a research program in translation studies, in order to promote training in the study of translational phenomena and to stimulate high level research into the cultural functions of translation. Every year talented young scholars gather for one month of research in Leuven under the supervision of a team of prominent researchers, and of the CERA Professor, an outstanding scholar in translation studies who is annually nominated.

Here, a selection of the papers they submitted after having completed the seminar of 1992 and 1993 is presented, 17 in number. This work not only meets international publication standards, but also clearly demonstrates that the young generation of translation scholars assumes an attitude of healthy skepticism toward their teachers. (José Lambert)

Christoph Gutknecht and Lutz J. Rölle. Translating by Factors. State University of New York Press, 1996. Hardcover: ISBN 0-7914-2957-1, $62.50; paperback: ISBN 0-7914-2958-X, $23.95.

By emphasizing the notion of factor set, this book fosters the awareness that successful and adequate translation requires properly accounting for the pertinent translation factors in each individual case. The factor approach gives translation criticism an objective yardstick for assessing the quality of translations. The authors explore the linguistic factors, including treatment of illocution and its indeterminacy, and perlocution, as well as non-linguistic factors such as factuality, situation, and culture. The book also includes aspects more genuinely linked to the notion of translation itself, such as translation units and word class and the nature and status of factors in translation theory. (SUNY)

Fritz Nies, ed. Literaturimport und Literaturkritik: Das Beispiel Frankreich. Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 1996. 170 pp. ISBN 3-8233-4088-3. DM 38,-. [Transfer, 9.]

Gegenstand des Bandes sind die Leistungsfähigkeit von Literaturkritik sowie Erschließungs-Chancen von Leistungsreserven auf dem seit Jahrzehnten schnell wachsenden Feld des Literaturimports. Die Beiträge stammen von erfahrenen Redakteuren und Kritikern, Verlagsleuten, Übersetzern und Wissenschaftlern - Vertreten von Gruppen also, die sich kaum kennen und normalerweise mißtrauisch zu beäugen pflegen. Sie alle gehen aus von der gemeinsamen Grunderkenntnis, daß Literaturprodukte fremder Kulturen eine andere Art von Präsentation und Sachverstand erfordern als Inlandgewächse und künftige Kritik sich darauf stärker einzustellen hat. Am Beispiel einer wichtigen Herkunfts-Literatur wird geprüft, wieweit Kritiker und andre Mittler-Typen sich zu Unrecht gegenseitig herabsetzen, wo Gefahren drohen, wo konkrete Verbesserungen erreichbar wären oder deren Grenzen liegen. (Narr)

HEIDE SCHMIDT-CROME (1943-1996)

Heide Schmidt-Crome, Professor of Translation Studies for Russian at the Institute of Linguistics and Translation Studies at Leipzig University, died on February 24, 1996, at the age of 52. A student, and later colleague, of Otto Kade, Gert Jaeger and Albrecht Neubert, she can be considered a younger representative of the Leipzig School. For 15 years, she was head of group on Russian translation studies and for two years - head of the newly created Institute of Linguistics and Translation Studies.

Prof. Schmidt's research interests were extensive. They included comparative linguistics, stylistics, translation studies, didactics and teaching of translation and language for special purposes. She published about 50 articles in edited books and journals and edited three books, including Interferenz in der Translation (Leipzig, 1989). (C.Sch.)

CHAIM RABIN (1915-1996)

The editors of Target regret having to announce once again the death of a pioneering scholar in Translation Studies, Prof. Chaim Rabin of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Professor Rabin was among the first Israeli scholars to theorize on translation, in Hebrew as well as other languages. His most influential article is probably "The Linguistics of Translation" (1958). One of the most important contributions Prof. Rabin made to the study of actual translation practices was the extended survey of Bible Translation he edited and contributed some of its parts. This survey (in Hebrew) was first published as an entry in Encyclopaedia biblica, 8 (1982), 737-870 and then in book form (1984; 189 pp.).

DIRECTORY OF HISTORIANS OF TRANSLATION

The Committee for the History of Translation of FIT has just published the third edition of the International Directory of Historians of Translation. The number of scholars listed in the Directory is 180, as against 68 in the first edition (1991) and 116 in the second (1993). Historians of translation wishing to be included in later editions are kindly requested to write to

Prof. Jean Delisle
23, rue Villefranche
Gatineau (Québec), Canada J8T 6E1

NEW JOURNAL

Interpreting is a new International Journal of Research and Practice in Interpreting. It will provide an open forum for interdisciplinary research in all areas of interpreting: simultaneous, consecutive, media, conference, court, community, teleconferencing, sign language and computer-assisted interpreting, by encouraging cross-disciplinary inquiry into the process of interpreting, its practice and the training of professional interpreters. Interpreting, edited by Barbara Moser-Mercer and Dominic W. Massaro and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company, aims to unite theory, methodology and practice.

UPCOMING SEMINAR

The School of Translation in Toledo (Spain) is organizing the second seminar on translation from Arabic and Hebrew into Spanish. The seminar will be held on September 16-27, 1996.

For more information write to:

Escuela de Traductores de Toledo
Palacio del Rey Don Pedro
Plaza de Santa Isabel, 5
Apdo. 192
E-45080 Toledo, España
fax: +34-25-214105

A DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

Louise Brunette. Towards a Pedagogy of Revision (English-French Translations) in a bilingual Country: Canada. University of Montreal.

Translations have been revised ever since translation exists. Nevertheless, it seems that so far revision has not kept pace with the advances in Translation Studies. This may be because translation revising has never been accounted for as an occupation in itself. When this is done - and this is precisely what the present dissertation attempted to do - one should be able to work out a method for revising texts as well as a methodological approach for teaching it. Both practice and teaching will mainly rely on a grid comprising four basic criteria relating to the source text and/or the target text, namely text coherence, text producer purpose, text environment and norm (especially in a bilingual environment). These revision parameters ensure the quality of both translation and revision and shed new light on translation assessment.

AUTHORS' STATEMENTS

Michael Cronin. Translating Ireland: Translation, Languages, Cultures. Cork: Cork University Press, 1996. 276 pp. ISBN: Hb: 1-85918-018-3, £30; Pb: 1-85918-019-1, £14.95.

Translating Ireland examines the history of translation activity in Ireland throughout the ages. It analyses the widespread translation activity in the Middle Ages and argues for a re-evaluation of the work of translators from that period. The central role of translation in the political and cultural upheaval of the 16th and 17th century is then considered, particularly the theoretical responses of translators to changing political conditions. Antiquarianism, the Celtic Revival and emergent nationalism in the 19th century are all bound up with translation and Translating Ireland analyses the tensions and competing cultural allegiances of translators in the 18th and 19th century. Literary revival in both English and Irish looked to translation as a source of creative energy and the new State saw translation as both necessary and desirable. There is an analysis of the fortunes of translation in Ireland in the 20th century, both as pragmatic activity in an officially bilingual State and as a way of opening up the languages and literatures of Ireland to the literatures and cultural experiences of other peoples. (MC)

Jacqueline Hulst. De doeltekst centraal: Naar een funcioneel model voor vertaalkritiek. Amsterdam: Thesis, 1995. 256 pp. ISBN 90-5170-347-3. Hfl 45,-. [Perspectieven op taalgebruik.]

In this study, Focus on the Target Text, a functional model for translation quality assessment is developed, based on two fundamental elements: a set of instruments enabling one to compare source and target texts, and a specific view on the relationships between the two texts, which determines the method of analysis. The main focus here is on the target text as an independent entity, whereas the study of the relationships between it and the original has a secondary position. The practicability of the approach is demonstrated by the analysis and comparison of four pairs of Spanish non-literary texts and their translations into Dutch. An extensive account is given of the current state of the applied branches of translation studies as well as discourse analysis and textlinguistics. (JH)

NEW TITLES

* Bärbel Fritz. Was geschah mit Don Pedro Calderón... Fallstudien zu deutschsprachigen Theaterbearbeitungen dreier Comedias. Tübingen: Narr, 1994. 277 pp. ISBN 3-8233-4034-4. DM 78,-. [Forum Modernes Theater, 14.]

* Burton Raffel. The Art of Translating Prose. Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995. 169 pp. ISBN 0271010800. $31.25.

* Dirk Delabastita and Theo Hermans, eds. Vertalen historisch bezien: Tekst, metatetekst, theorie. 's Gravenhage: Stichting Bibliographia Neerlandica, 1995. 182 pp. ISBN 90-71313-55-5. Hfl 32,50.

* Marilyn Gaddis Rose, ed. Translation Horizons: Beyond the Boundaries of Translation Spectrum: A Collection of Essays Situating and Proposing New Directions and Major Issues in Translation Studies. State University of New York at Binghamton: Center for Research in Translation, 1996. viii + 347 pp. $20 prepaid, $25 billed. ISSN 0890-4758. [Translation Perspectives, IX.]

* John O'Brien. Anacreon redivivus: A Study of Anacreonic Translation in Mid-sixteenth Century France. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1995. 276 pp. ISBN 0-47-2106171.

* Alton L. Becker. Beyond Translation: Essays towards a Modern Philology. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1995. xii + 438 pp. ISBN 0-47-72105736.

* Jeanette M.A. Beer and Kenneth Lloyd-Jones, eds. Translation and the Transmission of Culture between 1300 and 1600. Kalamazoo, Mich.: Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University, 1995. xii + 358 pp. ISBN 1879288559.

* Michèle A. Lorgnet. Pour une traduction holistique: recueil d'exemples pour l'analyse et la traduction. Bologna: CLUEB, 1995. 133 pp. ISBN 88-8091-275-5. L. 16.000. [Biblioteca della Scuola Superiore di Lingue Moderne per Interpreti e Traduttori, Forli, 7.]

* Katrin van Bragt, avec la collaboration de Lieven D'hulst et José Lambert. Conception technique: Ludo Meyvis. Bibliographie des traductions françaises (1810-1840). Répertoires par disciplines. Leuven: Presses Universitaires de Louvain, 1995. xxvii + 1033 pp. ISBN 90 6186 707 X. [Symbolae Series A, 21.]

* Wilhelm Graeber. Der englische Roman in Frankreich: 1741-1763: Übersetzungsgeschichte als Beitrag zur französischen Literaturgeschichte. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag C. Winter, 1995. 356 pp. ISBN 3-8253-0317-9. [Studia Romanica, 85.]

* International Who's Who in Translation & Terminology / Traduction et Terminologie, Répertoire biographique international. Paris-Nottingham-Bonn-Wien: Union Latine-Praetorius Limited-International Where + How-Infoterm, 1995. xxxviii + 427 pp. (+ 1 floppy disk). ISBN 0-9516572-5-9; 92-9122-002-7.

* Daniel Mercier. L'Épreuve de la représentation: L'enseignement des langues étrangères et la pratique de la traduction en France aux 17ème et 18ème siècles. Besançon: Annales Littéraires de l'Université de Besançon, n°ree; 589 - Diffusion Les Belles Lettres, 1995. 270 pp. ISBN 2 251 60589 4.

* Adolfo Gentile, Uldis Ozolins and Mary Vasilakakos, with Leong Ko and Ton-That Quynh-Du. Liaison Interpreting: A Handbook. Melbourne University Press, 1996. ix + 144 pp. ISBN 0-522-84581-9.

* Translation and Meaning, Part 3: Proceedings of the Maastricht Session of the 2nd Maastricht-Lódz Duo Colloquium [...], 1995, eds. Marcel Thelen and Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk. Maastricht: Rijkshogeschool, 1996. 610 pp. ISBN 90-801039-2-6. Hfl. 90,-.

* Translation and Meaning, Part 4: Proceedings of the Lódz Session of the 2nd Maastricht-Lódz Duo Colloquium [...], 1995, eds. Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk and Marcel Thelen. Maastricht: Rijkshogeschool, 1996. ca. ISBN 90-801039-3-4. 600 pp. Hfl. 90,-.

* Jerzy Zmudzki. Konsekutivdolmetschen: Handlungen - Operationen - Strategien. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej, 1995. 268 pp. ISBN 83-227-0799-1.

* Jean-Claude Gémar. Traduire ou l'art d'interpréter: Fonctions, statut et esthétique de la traduction, Tome I: Principes. Sainte-Foy: Presses de l'Université du Québec, 1996. xxii + 257 pp. ISBN 2-7605-0824-2.

* Jean-Claude Gémar. Traduire ou l'art d'interpréter: Langue, droit et société: éléments de jurilinguistique, Tome II: Application. Sainte-Foy: Presses de l'-Université du Québec, 1996. xvi + 232 pp. ISBN 2-7605-0860-9.

* Theo Hermans, ed. Door eenen engen hals: Nederlandse beschouwingen over vertalen (1550-1670). 's-Gravenhage: Stichting Bibliographia Neerlandica, 1996. 159 pp. ISBN 90-71313-56-5. Hfl. 31,50. [Vertaalhistorie, 2.]

* Jutta Muschard. Relevant Translations: History, Presentation, Criticism, Application. Frankfurt/M-Berlin-Bern-New York-Paris-Wien: Peter Lang, 1996. 253 pp. ISBN 3-631-49615-X. SFr. 64,-. [European University Studies, Series XXI, 163.]

* Douglas Robinson. Translation and Taboo. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1996. xix + 232 pp. ISBN 0-87580-209-5 (cloth) $ 35.00; 0-87580-571-X (paper) $ 18.50.

* Ulrich Erckenbrecht, ed. Shakespeare sechsundsechzig: Variationen über ein Sonett (Shakespeares Sonett Nr. 66 in 88 deutschen Translationen). Göttingen: Muriverlag, 1996. 199 pp. ISBN 3922494145.

* Agnes M. Zwaneveld. A Bookseller's Hobby-Horse, and the Rhetoric of Translation: Anthony Ernst Munnikhuisen and Bernardus Brunius, and the First Dutch Edition of "Tristram Shandy" (1776-1779). Amsterdam-Atlanta, GA: Rodopi, 1996. xii + 237 pp. ISBN 90-5183-956-1. [Approaches to Translation Studies, 13.]

NEW BOOKS

Sándor Hervey, Ian Higgins and Michael Loughridge. Thinking German Translation: A Course in Translation Method: German to English. London-New York: Routledge, 1995. 256 pp. ISBN 0-415-11638-4. £14.99; $19.95.

Sándor Hervey, Ian Higgins and Louise M. Haywood. Thinking Spanish Translation: A Course in Translation Method: Spanish to English. London-New York: Routledge, 1995. 240 pp. ISBN 0-415-11659-7. £14.99; $19.95.

These are two comprehensive 20-week courses in translation method offering a challenging and entertaining approach to the acquisition of translation skills. This method has been piloted at the University of St. Andrews (United Kingdom). Translation is presented as a problem-solving activity. Discussion, examples and a full range of exercise work should enable students to acquire the skills necessary for a broad range of translation problems. Examples are drawn from a wide variety of material, from technical and commercial texts to poetry and song. Teachers' Handbooks and accompanying cassettes containing material essential for the courses are also available. (Routledge)

Wolfram Wilss. Knowledge and Skills in Translator Behavior. Amsterdam-Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1996. xiii + 259 pp. ISBN 90-272-1615-0. Hfl. 140,-. [Benjamins Translation Library, 15.]

The book represents an approach which is intended to give readers a general insight into what translators really do and to explain the concepts and tools of the trade, bearing in mind that translation cannot be reduced to simple principles that can easily be separated from each other and thus be handled in isolation. On the whole, the book is more process- than product-centered. Translation is seen as an activity with an intentional and a social dimension establishing links between a source-language community and a target-language community and therefore requiring a specific kind of communicative behavior based on the complex question "Who translates what, for whom and why?" To the extent that the underlying principles, assumptions and conclusions are convincing to the reader, the practical implications of the book, last but not least in translation teaching, are obvious. (JB)

Christina Schäffner and Helen Kelly-Holmes, eds. Cultural Functions of Translation. Clevedon, Philadelphia, Adelaide: Multilingual Matters, 1995. 86 pp. ISBN 1-85359-333-8. £22.95.

This book discusses the far-reaching effects translated texts may have in the target culture and illustrates that translation as a culture-transcending process is an important way of positioning cultures. The focus is on the role of translation for the formation of cultural identities, and on effects of globalisation for translating advertising. The book is made out of two papers, each followed by an extensive, sometimes hot debate: Lawrence Venuti's "Translation and the Formation of Cultural Identities" and Candace Séguinot's "Translation and Advertising: Going Global". It was also published as an issue of Current Issues in Language and Society (1:3).

Johann Strutz and Peter V. Zima, eds. Literarische Polyphonie: Übersetzung und Mehrsprachigkeit in der Literatur. Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 1996. 249 pp. ISBN 3-8233-5163-X. DM 68,-.

Übersetzung und Mehrsprachigkeit sind insofern komplementäre Erscheinungen, als Übersetzung in allen ihren Formen stets Mehrsprachigkeit voraussetzt. Im vorliegenden Sammelband geht es um Probleme der literarischen Übersetzung und um zwei bislang vernachlässigte Aspekte literarischer Polyphonie: um zwei- oder mehrsprachige Schriftstellerinnen und Schriftsteller und um Schriftsteller als Übersetzer. Vor allem in den Beiträgen über Triest und die literarische Polyphonie Istriens und Italiens wird klar, daß Literatur in vielen Fällen nur als mehrsprachiges und multikulturelles Phänomen zu verstehen ist. In diesem Zusammenhang tritt nicht nur die Begrenztheit der Nationalphilologie, sondern auch die methodologische und thematische Unvermeidlichkeit der Komparatistik zutage. (Narr)

Irma Sorvali. Translation Studies in a New Perspective. Frankfurt/M. etc.: Peter Lang, 1996. 142 pp. ISBN 3-631-49446-7. DM 49,-.

This book raises a wide range of questions and views on translation and translation studies, with the aim of stimulating discussion and promoting interest in both teaching and research. The book is largely based on the author's own analyses and introduces new methods and concepts she has developed for these purposes. (PL)

Larry E. Syndergaard. English Translations of the Scandinavian Medieval Ballads: An Analytical Guide and Bibliography. Turku: The Nordic Inst. of Folklore, 1995. x + 242 pp. ISBN 952-9724-11-X; ISSN 0355-8924. [NIF Publications, 30.]

The book provides the first nearly complete record of the translations into English of any major folk genre. Through its introduction the book is among the first to explore the several ways in which the translations of oral-traditional material are more problematic than are translations of conventional literature; identity itself is often elusive. In addition the introduction conceptualizes ballad translation as a kind of intercultural communication and is among the first to place the translation of folk literature within Translation Studies. The tabular format introduced by this book provides an analysis of every translation in terms of the sociocultural tradition, era, and genuineness of its source; the presence of original language and music; and the translator's strategy.

Todd Burrell and Sean K. Kelly, eds. Translation: Religion, Ideology, Politics. Binghamton: Center for Research in Translation, State University of New York at Binghamton, 1995. vi + 169 pp. ISSN 0890-4758. [Translation Perspectives, 8.]

This publication represents the eighth volume of Translation Perspectives, a monograph series published periodically by the Center for Research in Translation at Binghamton. Several of the essays included in it were first presented at a conference entitled "Religion, Politics, Ideology" which was held in spring of 1994 and sponsored by Cornell University's Religious Studies Program.

Contributors include: Brigitte Kahl & Heidemarie Salevsky, William H. Snyder, Todd Burrell, Margareta Bowen, Fu-Jen Chen, Douglas Robinson, Petar Ramadanovic and Viggo Hjørnager Pedersen.

Michel Ballard et Lieven D'hulst, éds. La Traduction en France à l'âge classique. Villeneuve d'Ascq: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, 1996. 325 pp. 150 FF. ISBN 2-86531-070-1. [UL3 Travaux et Recherches.]

La traduction en France à l'Age Classique a été marquée par le long développement de la réflexion théorique, articulée avec la grammaire générale, l'étude des langues, la rhétorique, puis la poétique. Cette théorisation tend à s'individualiser dans les domaines touchant à l'enseignement.

En contrepoint, la période voit naître et s'épanouir un genre spécifique, les «belles infidèles», et l'on trouvera évoqués ici des avatars plus ou moins classiques de cette manière de procéder en relation avec non seulement les productions de l'Antiquité mais aussi celles d'autres pays européens et même du Nouveau Monde et de l'Orient. Il est également fair référence aux contraintes institutionnelles qui agissent sur la traduction au sein de l'Académie et dans le cadre des pratiques liturgiques.

Mais l'Age Classique est aussi, sous un autre aspect, le théâtre d'une lutte entre un idéal languissant et de nouvelles sources d'inspiration et de nouveaux modes d'écriture qui progressivement s'installent grâce notamment à la traduction des littératures espagnole et anglaise. C'est le début d'un renouveau, fait d'ouverture à l'étranger et à la modrnité que l'on voit esquissé dans le troisième volet de ce volume.

Geoffrey T. Harris (ed.) On Translating French Literature and Film. Amsterdam/Atlanta, GA: Rodopi, 1996. 227 pp. Bound: ISBN 90-5183-933-2, Hfl. 130,-; Paper: ISBN 90-5183-961-8, Hfl. 35,-. [Rodopi Perspectives on Modern Literature, 16.]

This volume is of particular relevance to literary and filmic translators, to translation theorists and to anyone with an interest in translation as an art. Throughout the majority of the essays in this volume, translation is projected as a complex creative task and not as an exercise in simply re-encoding the meaning of an ST. The received superiority of the original is ultimately questioned here. The customary binary divide between original and translation or copy, and between author and translator is forcefully challenged as cinematic and literary translation is presented as an essentially creative process. Whether highlighting specific author-related problems or whether focusing on the broader issues of the ethics of translation, of cultural transmissibility or of obsolescence, the general thrust of these essays seeks to demonstrate the authorial credentials of the translator. (Rodopi)

Andreas F. Kelletat, ed. Übersetzerische Kompetenz: Beiträge zur universitären Übersetzerausbildung in Deutschland und Skandinavien. Frankfurt am Main etc.: Peter Lang, 1996. 288 pp. ISBN 3-631-49773-3. DM 84,-. [FASK, 22.]

In den 18 Beiträgen dieses Bandes geht es u.a. um übersetzungsrelevante Text-analyse, Textsortenauswahl und fachsprachliches Übersetzen, kontrastive Gram-matik und ihre Bedeutung für das Übersetzen, Kulturkontraste und ihre Vermittlung in der universitären Übersetzerausbildung, um Aspekte literarischen Über-setzens sowie um den Stand kulturwissenschaftlicher Textinterpretation. Mit "Übersetzerische Kompetenz" ist also nicht angeborene oder im Prozeß des Fremdsprachenlernens quasi unbewußt erworbene Fähigkeit gemeint, Texte aus der Sprache in die andere bringen zu können, sondern der Begriff faßt ein ganzes Bündel von sprach-, übersetzungs- und literatur/kulturwissenschaftlichen Lernzielen zusammen, die in der universitären Ausbildung von Übersetzern eine Rolle spielen müssen. (PL)

Jorma Tommola, ed. Topics in Interpreting Research. Turku: University of Turku, Centre for Translation and Interpreting, 1995. 144 pp. FIM 65,00.

This volume contains 10 research papers from the International Conference on Interpretation held at the University of Turku in 1994. The contributions look at conference interpreting, community interpreting and court interpreting from a variety of angles, and also discuss cognitive aspects of the process, memory performance, and acquisition of research methodology. Contributors include: Valeria Darò, Peter Jansen, Gabriele Mack & Lorella Chattaruzza, Viera Makarovská, P. Padilla et al., Franz Pöchhacker, Christina Schäffner, Marianna Sunnari, Jorma Tommola & Johan Lindholm, Livia Tonelli & Alessandra Riccardi. The volume can be ordered from:

Centre for Translation and Interpreting
University of Turku
Tykistokatu 4
FIN-20520 Turku, Finland