Publication details
Statistics and Memories: Czech Literary Translation 1945-1989 [presentation]
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| Year of publication | 2011 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The period between the end of the Second World War and the Velvet Revolution represents a very specific chapter in the Czech literary translation history. The communist regime created very specific conditions under which the translator had to work and make his living. These included limited access to original materials, reference sources and dictionaries, restricted publication opportunities and censorship, and samizdat. On the other hand, translators were usually afforded sufficient time and abundant editorial support in the process of their work. Consequently, although at first sight prohibitive and oppressive towards literary translation, the communist era gave birth to exceptional renditions of English literature. The aim of the present paper is to shed light on selected quantitative and qualitative aspects of English-to-Czech literary translation of the period in question. In particular, it compares the numbers of translated works from different English-speaking cultural backgrounds, and presents the results of a series of interviews with the most prominent figures in the field. The first part of the paper focuses on statistical analysis of published book translations with regards to chronological and cultural variables. It shows how different periods and cultural backgrounds of the original authors influenced translators’ choices and thus shaped reading opportunities of the Czech readership. In the second part, the emphasis is placed on the experience and memories of the key players of the literary translation scene of the period. Employing the methodological principles of oral history research, the paper reveals surprising facts about the hardships and pitfalls with which translators had to cope on a daily basis. All in all, the paper gives a global picture of the situation in the Czech literary translation in 1945-1989, both from the point of view of the hard data and human experience. The paper is based on the findings of a project granted by the CSF. |