Self-translation
Encyclopedia
Self-translation is a translation
of a source text into a target text by the writer of the source text. Self-translation occurs in various writing situations. Since research on self-translation largely focuses on literary self-translation, this article will tend to have a similar focus.
The practice of self-translation has attracted critical attention especially since the beginning of this century, in the wake of intensive investigation into the field of non-authorial translation in the twentieth century. Literary self-translation has been recognized as a special branch of translation studies at least since the publication of the first edition of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies in 1998.
. A comprehensive bibliography on self-translation can be found on autotraduzione. This bibliography is based on the bibliography published by Julio-César Santoyo in 2006 and is regularly updated on the website. Research topics are the reasons for self-translation, the methods of self-translation and the textual relation between both texts.
's self-translation into Italian of two passages from his "Work in Progress" (later entitled "Finnegans Wake"). Other relevant cases are the self-translations of Stefan George
and Rainer Maria Rilke
.
-- Self-translation may result from a process in which either the mother tongue or an acquired tongue is the source language, so that the target language varies accordingly. The latter case is represented by a few Belgian poets of the period between the two World Wars (among them Roger Avermaete
and Camille Melloy), who self-translated their texts into Flemish shortly after completing the originals in the acquired yet fully mastered French language.
-- Self-translation may occur either some time after the original has been completed or during the process of creation, so that the two versions develop almost simultaneously and inevitably influence each other. These two types are sometimes referred to as consecutive self-translation and simultaneous self-translation.
-- Self-translation may even involve more than one target language, whether native or acquired. This is the case with authors like Fausto Cercignani
, Alejandro Saravia, and Luigi Donato Ventura.
-- The cultural dominance of a specific language in a multilingual society may encourage self-translation from a minority language to the dominant one.
-- The cultural dominance of the national language may encourage self-translation from a local dialect.
-- The cultural dominance of a specific language in the international context may encourage self-translation from a national language to an internationally recognized language like English. But English as a target language is more common in cases where the author migrates to an English-speaking country.
-- Perfect or almost perfect bilingualism may encourage self-translation in either direction, irrespective of market-related considerations.
-- Dissatisfaction with existing translations or distrust of translators may encourage self-translation, irrespective of market-related considerations.
Some of the prominent self-translators are Vladimir Nabokov
, Samuel Beckett
, Karen Blixen
, Chinghiz Aitmatov
and Julien Green
. According to Julio-César Santoyo the history of self-translation can be traced back to the Middle Ages.
, Canada
, China
, France
, India
, Spain
, and the USA.
in Kenya and André Brink
and Antjie Krog
in South Africa. Ngugi Wa Thiong'o
writes in Gĩkũyũ
and English. André Brink
and Antjie Krog
are both writing in Afrikaans
and English.
(1895–1976) is one of the earliest self-translators from China. Another prominent self-translator is Eileen Chang
, who translates some of her books into English.
(French-English), Vassilis Alexakis (French-Greek) and Anne Weber
(French-German)
, Girish Karnad
, Kamala Das
, Qurratulain Hyder
.
, Italo Calvino
, Beppe Fenoglio
, Carlo Goldoni
, Luigi Pirandello
, Giuseppe Ungaretti
, and others.
The most well known self-translators are Carme Riera
(Catalan-Spanish), Manuel Rivas
(Galician-Spanish) and Bernardo Atxaga
(Basque-Spanish).
(English-French), Rosario Ferré
(Spanish-English), Rolando Hinojosa-Smith (Spanish-English) and Ariel Dorfman
(Spanish-English).
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
of a source text into a target text by the writer of the source text. Self-translation occurs in various writing situations. Since research on self-translation largely focuses on literary self-translation, this article will tend to have a similar focus.
The practice of self-translation has attracted critical attention especially since the beginning of this century, in the wake of intensive investigation into the field of non-authorial translation in the twentieth century. Literary self-translation has been recognized as a special branch of translation studies at least since the publication of the first edition of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies in 1998.
Research
Within the study of translation, literary self-translation has been one of the most neglected practices. Until recently, very little research has been done in this area. Many studies focus on single authors, most of them on Samuel BeckettSamuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
. A comprehensive bibliography on self-translation can be found on autotraduzione. This bibliography is based on the bibliography published by Julio-César Santoyo in 2006 and is regularly updated on the website. Research topics are the reasons for self-translation, the methods of self-translation and the textual relation between both texts.
Types of self-translation
-- Self-translation may result either from a regular activity of the author or from a merely sporadic experience, which may be due to a variety of reasons. The latter case is represented, for example, by James JoyceJames Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's self-translation into Italian of two passages from his "Work in Progress" (later entitled "Finnegans Wake"). Other relevant cases are the self-translations of Stefan George
Stefan George
Stefan Anton George was a German poet, editor, and translator.-Biography:George was born in Bingen in Germany in 1868. He spent time in Paris, where he was among the writers and artists who attended the Tuesday soireés held by the poet Stéphane Mallarmé. He began to publish poetry in the 1890s,...
and Rainer Maria Rilke
Rainer Maria Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
.
-- Self-translation may result from a process in which either the mother tongue or an acquired tongue is the source language, so that the target language varies accordingly. The latter case is represented by a few Belgian poets of the period between the two World Wars (among them Roger Avermaete
Roger Avermaete
Roger Avermaete was a Belgian writer who wrote in Dutch and French.In 1968, he was part of the cross-arts team which created the Christophe Plantin Prize.-Sources:*...
and Camille Melloy), who self-translated their texts into Flemish shortly after completing the originals in the acquired yet fully mastered French language.
-- Self-translation may occur either some time after the original has been completed or during the process of creation, so that the two versions develop almost simultaneously and inevitably influence each other. These two types are sometimes referred to as consecutive self-translation and simultaneous self-translation.
-- Self-translation may even involve more than one target language, whether native or acquired. This is the case with authors like Fausto Cercignani
Fausto Cercignani
Fausto Cercignani is an Italian scholar, essayist and poet.- Biography :Born to Tuscan parents, Fausto Cercignani studied in Milan, where he graduated in foreign languages and literatures with a dissertation dealing with English at Shakespeare’s time...
, Alejandro Saravia, and Luigi Donato Ventura.
Factors that encourage self-translation
-- The elitarian character of a specific language may encourage self-translation from this to a local language, for example from Latin to vernacular in medieval and early modern times.-- The cultural dominance of a specific language in a multilingual society may encourage self-translation from a minority language to the dominant one.
-- The cultural dominance of the national language may encourage self-translation from a local dialect.
-- The cultural dominance of a specific language in the international context may encourage self-translation from a national language to an internationally recognized language like English. But English as a target language is more common in cases where the author migrates to an English-speaking country.
-- Perfect or almost perfect bilingualism may encourage self-translation in either direction, irrespective of market-related considerations.
-- Dissatisfaction with existing translations or distrust of translators may encourage self-translation, irrespective of market-related considerations.
Self-translation versus non-authorial translation
Irrespective of the intrinsic qualities of the secondary text, self-translations are often regarded as superior to non-authorial translations. This is because "the writer-translator is no doubt felt to have been in a better position to recapture the intentions of the author of the original than any ordinary translator". If not based on the intrinsic qualities of the secondary text, arguments against self-translation may reflect specific socio-cultural considerations or a desire to criticize dubious editorial practices.History
To date, the most comprehensive overview of the history of self-translation is given by Jan Hokenson and Marcella Munson in their study The Bilingual Text: History and Theory of Literary Self-Translation.Some of the prominent self-translators are Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
, Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
, Karen Blixen
Karen Blixen
Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke , , née Karen Christenze Dinesen, was a Danish author also known by her pen name Isak Dinesen. She also wrote under the pen names Osceola and Pierre Andrézel...
, Chinghiz Aitmatov
Chinghiz Aitmatov
Chyngyz Aitmatov was a Soviet and Kyrgyz author who wrote in both Russian and Kyrgyz. He was the best known figure in Kyrgyzstan's literature.- Life :...
and Julien Green
Julien Green
Julien Green , was an American writer, who authored several novels, including Léviathan and Each in His Own Darkness...
. According to Julio-César Santoyo the history of self-translation can be traced back to the Middle Ages.
Self-translators
Countries where literary self-translation is predominantly seen are AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and the USA.
Africa
Some of the prominent self-translators in Africa are Ngugi Wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a Kenyan author, formerly working in English and now working in Gĩkũyũ. His work includes novels, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children's literature...
in Kenya and André Brink
André Brink
André Philippus Brink, OIS, is a South African novelist. He writes in Afrikaans and English and is a Professor of English at the University of Cape Town....
and Antjie Krog
Antjie Krog
Antjie Krog, born October 23, 1952 in Kroonstad, Orange Free State, South Africa, is a prominent South African poet, academic and writer. In 2004 she joined the Arts faculty of the University of the Western Cape.- Early life :...
in South Africa. Ngugi Wa Thiong'o
Ngugi wa Thiong'o
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a Kenyan author, formerly working in English and now working in Gĩkũyũ. His work includes novels, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children's literature...
writes in Gĩkũyũ
Gikuyu language
Gikuyu or Kikuyu is a language of the Bantu family spoken primarily by the Kikuyu people of Kenya. Numbering about 6 million , they are the largest ethnic group in Kenya. Gikuyu is spoken in the area between Nyeri and Nairobi. Gikuyu is one of the five languages of the Thagichu subgroup of the...
and English. André Brink
André Brink
André Philippus Brink, OIS, is a South African novelist. He writes in Afrikaans and English and is a Professor of English at the University of Cape Town....
and Antjie Krog
Antjie Krog
Antjie Krog, born October 23, 1952 in Kroonstad, Orange Free State, South Africa, is a prominent South African poet, academic and writer. In 2004 she joined the Arts faculty of the University of the Western Cape.- Early life :...
are both writing in Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
and English.
China
Lin YutangLin Yutang
Lin Yutang was a Chinese writer and inventor. His informal but polished style in both Chinese and English made him one of the most influential writers of his generation, and his compilations and translations of classic Chinese texts into English were bestsellers in the West.-Youth:Lin was born in...
(1895–1976) is one of the earliest self-translators from China. Another prominent self-translator is Eileen Chang
Eileen Chang
Eileen Chang was a Chinese writer. Her most famous works include Lust, Caution and Love in a Fallen City....
, who translates some of her books into English.
France
Self-translators in France are mainly immigrant writers like Nancy HustonNancy Huston
Nancy Louise Huston, OC is a Canadian-born novelist and essayist who writes primarily in French and translates her own works into English.-Biography:...
(French-English), Vassilis Alexakis (French-Greek) and Anne Weber
Anne Weber
Anne Weber is a German-French author, translator and self-translator. Since 1983 Anne Weber lives in Paris. She studied in Paris and worked for several editors....
(French-German)
India
Some of the prominent self-translators from India are Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, Girish Karnad
Girish Karnad
Girish Raghunath Karnad is a contemporary writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and movie director in Kannada language...
, Kamala Das
Kamala Das
Kamala Suraiyya was a major Indian English poet and literateur and at the same time a leading Malayalam author from Kerala state, South India...
, Qurratulain Hyder
Qurratulain Hyder
Qurrat-ul-Ain Haider was an influential Urdu novelist and short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. One of the most outstanding literary names in Urdu literature, she is most known for her magnum opus, Aag Ka Darya , a novel first published in Urdu in 1959, from Lahore, Pakistan, that...
.
Italy
Self-translations by Italian writers have been offered, at various times, by Fausto CercignaniFausto Cercignani
Fausto Cercignani is an Italian scholar, essayist and poet.- Biography :Born to Tuscan parents, Fausto Cercignani studied in Milan, where he graduated in foreign languages and literatures with a dissertation dealing with English at Shakespeare’s time...
, Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...
, Beppe Fenoglio
Beppe Fenoglio
Beppe Fenoglio was an Italian writer. His work was published in a critical edition after his death, but controversy remains about his book Il partigiano Johnny , often considered his best work, which was published posthumously in 1968.The works of...
, Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty...
, Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, and short story writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934, for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written...
, Giuseppe Ungaretti
Giuseppe Ungaretti
Giuseppe Ungaretti was an Italian modernist poet, journalist, essayist, critic and academic. A leading representative of the experimental trend known as Ermetismo , he was one of the most prominent contributors to 20th century Italian literature. Influenced by symbolism, he was briefly aligned...
, and others.
Spain
Self-translation is prominent amongst Catalan, Galician and Basque writers.The most well known self-translators are Carme Riera
Carme riera
Carme Riera Guilera is a novelist and essayist. She has also written short stories, scripts for radio and television, and works of literary criticism...
(Catalan-Spanish), Manuel Rivas
Manuel Rivas
Manuel Rivas is a Galician writer, poet and journalist. He began his career in some Spanish newspapers like El Ideal Gallego, La Voz de Galicia, El Pais, and was the sub-editor of Diario 16 in Galicia...
(Galician-Spanish) and Bernardo Atxaga
Bernardo Atxaga
Bernardo Atxaga is a Basque writer and self-translator.-Biography:Atxaga was born in Asteasu, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country), in 1951. He received a diploma in economics from the University of Bilbao, and studied philosophy at the University of Barcelona...
(Basque-Spanish).
USA
Some of the prominent self-translators in the USA are Raymond FedermanRaymond Federman
Raymond Federman was a French–American novelist and academic, known also for poetry, essays, translations, and criticism. He held positions at the University at Buffalo from 1973 to 1999, when he was appointed Distinguished Emeritus Professor. Federman was a writer in the experimental style, one...
(English-French), Rosario Ferré
Rosario Ferré
Dr. Rosario Ferré is a Puerto Rican writer, poet and essayist. Her father, Luis A. Ferré, was the third elected Governor of Puerto Rico, and the founding father of the New Progressive Party. When her mother, Lorenza Ramírez de Arellano, died in 1970...
(Spanish-English), Rolando Hinojosa-Smith (Spanish-English) and Ariel Dorfman
Ariel Dorfman
Vladimiro Ariel Dorfman is an Argentine-Chilean novelist, playwright, essayist, academic, and human rights activist. A citizen of the United States since 2004, he has been a professor of literature and Latin American Studies at Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina since 1985.-Personal...
(Spanish-English).
Non-literary self-translation
Jung, Verena (2002): English-German Self-Translation of Academic Texts and its Relevance for Translation Theory and Practice Frankfurt: Peter Lang.Literary self-translation
- Beaujour, Elizabeth Klosty (1989): Alien Tongues: Bilingual Russian Writers of the 'First' Emigration. Ithaca: Cornell UP.
- Bessy, Marianne (2011): Vassilis Alexakis: Exorciser L'exil. Rodopi.
- Fitch, Brian T. (1988): Beckett and Babel: An Investigation into the State of the Bilingual Work. Toronto: U of Toronto P.
- Friedman, Alan Warren & Charles Rossman & Dina Sherzer (Eds.) (1987): Beckett translating/translating Beckett. Pennsylvania State UP.
- Grayson, Jane (1977): Nabokov Translated: A Comparison of Nabokov's Russian and English Prose. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
- Hokenson, Jan Walsh & Marcella Munson (2007): The Bilingual Text: History and Theory of Literary Self-Translation. Manchester: St. Jerome.
- Klünder, Ute (2000): "Ich werde ein grosses Kunstwerk schaffen...": Eine Untersuchung zum literarischen Grenzgängertum der zweisprachigen Dichterin Isak Dinesen / Karen Blixen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
- Oustinoff, Michaël (2001): Bilinguisme d'écriture et auto-traduction: Julien Green, Samuel Beckett, Vladimir Nabokov. Paris: L'Harmattan.
- Sardin-Damestoy, Pascale (2002): Samuel Beckett autotraducteur ou l'art de 'l'empêchement, Arras: Artois Presses Université.