Chapter 9

Abstract

This chapter examines the evolving role of the literary translator, focusing initially on Lawrence Venuti’s concept of ‘invisibility’ in Anglo-American culture, where translation norms and publishing practices prioritize fluency and obscure the foreignness of the source. Venuti’s strategies of ‘domestication’ and ‘foreignization’ advocate for resistance to dominant ethnocentric values, building on Antoine Berman’s call for translations that preserve the experience of the foreign. The chapter then explores the translator as an agent within a wider sociocultural network that includes publishers and other stakeholders, highlighting the power dynamics that influence translation decisions. Paratexts created by translators and publishers—especially in digital contexts—are shown to shape how texts are received. To model these interactions more precisely, translation studies has drawn from sociological theories, including Bourdieu’s notion of symbolic capital. A case study on Egyptian Arabic translations of Shakespeare illustrates the application of these ideas. The chapter also connects to broader philosophical and cultural discussions developed in Chapters 8 and 10.

Video Introduction

Flashcards

Test your understanding of the foundational concepts within the chapter by using these flashcards.

Quiz

Test your understanding of this chapter with our multiple choice questions.

Research Questions

Examine how ‘visible’ translation is in your own culture, looking at translation flows and rates. Do your findings tally with Venuti’s analysis of English?
How far do you agree with Venuti’s statement (1992: 10, see chapter) that ‘any attempt to make translation visible today is necessarily a political gesture’? What kinds of ethical decisions does a translator have to make?
What do you think of the hypothesis of Pym (2004: 200, fn7, see chapter) that ‘the sheer size of English could mean that much of the variety and new blood that other language groups seek through translation, English language cultures may be receiving through distribution without translation’.
Look at Rabassa’s and Levine’s works and at Venuti’s descriptions of his own translations. How far do you agree with Toury that such accounts by translators are ‘unreliable’? Search for other accounts by translators of your own language pairs.
Find reviews of other work(s) or author(s) in your TL. How do the reviewers’ comments compare to the comments analysed in the case study? Look at a range of paratexts (peritexts and epitexts) of one translated book, or an author. What is the function of these different paratexts in your examples?
Carol Maier (1990) called for the incorporation of translation theory into reviews of translation. Put together your own model for translation reviews, incorporating elements of theory (from this and previous chapters). Try writing a critique of a TT with your model. How successful is it?
Many translation theorists have spoken of the need for more ‘raw material’ (Maier 2007: 2, see chapter) about translators, their history and their working practices. What kinds of ‘raw material’ are available? How might you go about researching it? What type of material seems to be lacking?
Examine translation research that draws on Bourdieu, Latour and Luhmann (see Further Reading). Note the different terminology and features of each model. What is the main focus of each? In your opinion, which is the most appropriate for the questions you wish to investigate? If possible, speak to sociologists in your institution about these and other theorists whose ideas may be applicable to the study of the translator.
Simeoni (1998: 31, see chapter) lamented that ‘modern sociographies of single translators’ professional trajectories are sorely lacking’. He suggested using simple interviews and biographical research to fill this gap. Make such a study of a translator in your own culture and attempt to describe the habitus of the individual. Is it one of ‘subservience’? What factors seem to have been central to the formation of this habitus?

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