This volume invites us to revisit ideology, censorship and translation by adopting a variety of perspectives. It presents case studies and theoretical analyses from different chronological periods and focuses on a variety of genres, themes and audiences. Focusing on issues that have thus far not been addressed in a sufficiently connected way and from a variety of disciplines, they analyse authentic translation work, procedures and strategies. The book considers the ethical and ideological implications for the translator, re-examines the role of the ideologist or the censor—as a stand-alone individual, as representative of a group, or as part of a larger apparatus—and establishes the translator’s scope of action. The chapters presented here contribute new ideas that help to elucidate both the role of the translator throughout history, as well as current practices. Collectively, in demonstrating the role that ideology and censorship play in the act of translation, the authors help to establish a connection between the past and the present across different genres, cultural traditions and audiences. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice.

"Who are the censors of foreign literature? What motives influence them as they patrol the boundaries between cultures? Can cuts and changes sometimes save a book? What difference does it make when the text is for children, or designed for schools? These and other questions are explored in this wide-ranging international collection, with copious examples: from Catullus to Quixote, Petrarch to Shakespeare, Wollstonecraft to Waugh, Apuleius to Mansfield, how have migrating writers fared? We see many genres, from Celtic hero-tales to histories, autobiographies, polemics and even popular songs, transformed on their travels by the censor's hand."--BOOK JACKET.

Since the “cultural turn” in the 1990s, increasing attention has been paid to ideological concerns and gender issues in relation to translation studies. This volume is a further illustration of this trend and focuses on the intersection of translation theory and practice with ideological constraints and gender issues in a variety of cross-cultural, geographical and historical contexts. The book is divided into three parts, with the first devoted to the health sciences, examining gender bias in medical textbooks, and the language and sociocultural barriers involved in obtaining health services in Morocco. The second part addresses the interaction of the three themes on the representation of gender and the construction of the female image both in diverse narrative texts and the presence of women in the translation of poetic works in Franco’s Spain. Finally, Part Three explores editorial policies and translator ethics in relation to feminist writing or translation in the context of Europe with special reference to Italy, and in the world of magazines aimed at a female readership.

This volume is a selection of papers presented at the international conference on Translation and Censorship. From the 18th Century to the Present Day, held in Lisbon in November 2006. Although censorship in Spain under Franco dictatorship has already been thoroughly studied, the Portuguese situation under Salazar and Caetano has been, so far, almost ignored by the academic research. This is then an attempt to start filling this gap. At the same time, new case studies about the Spanish context are presented, thus contributing to a critical view of two Iberian dictatorial regimes. However other geographical and time contexts are also included: former dictatorships such as Brazil and Communist Czechoslovakia; present day countries with very strict censoring apparatus such as China, or more subtle censorial mechanisms as Turkey and Ukraine. Specific situations of past centuries are given some attention: the reception of Ovid in Portugal, the translation of English narrative fiction into Spanish in the 18th century, the translation of children literature in Victorian England and the emergence of the picaresque novel in Portugal in the 19th century. Other forms of censorship, namely self-censorship, are studied in this volume as well. "The book fits in one of the most innovative fields of research in translation studies, i.e. the study of social and political constraints on translation processes and translation functions. More specifically, the concept of censorship is crucial to the understanding of these constraints, especially in spatio-temporal settings where translation exhibits conflicts between what is acceptable for and what is prohibited by a given culture. For that reason, detailed descriptive research is needed in as many situations as possible. It gives an excellent view on the complex mechanisms of censorship with regard to translation within a large number of modern European and non European cultures. In addition to articles devoted to cases dealing with China, Brazil, Great-Britain, Turkey, Ukraine or Czechoslovakia, Spain and Portugal occupy a prominent role. As a whole, the volume marks an important step forward in our growing understanding of the role of socio-political factors for the development and changes of translation policies. I highly recommend the publication." Prof. dr. Lieven D’hulst, Professor of Translation Studies at K.U.Leuven (Belgium).

Modes of Censorship and Translation articulates a variety of scholarly and disciplinary perspectives and offers the reader access to the widening cultural debate on translation and censorship, including cross-national forms of cultural fertilization. It is a study of censorship and its patterns of operation across a range of disciplinary settings, from media to cultural and literary studies, engaging with often neglected genres and media such as radio, cinema and theatre. Adopting an interdisciplinary and transnational approach and bringing together contributions based on primary research which often draws on unpublished archival material, the volume analyzes the multi-faceted relationship between censorship and translation in different national contexts, including Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Greece, Nazi Germany and the GDR, focusing on the political, ideological and aesthetic implications of censorship, as well as the hermeneutic play fostered by any translational act. By offering innovative methodological interpretations and stimulating case studies, it proposes new readings of the operational modes of both censorship and translation. The essays gathered here challenge current notions of the accessibility of culture, whether in overtly ideological and politically repressive contexts, or in seemingly 'neutral' cultural scenarios.

This book studies the influence of censorship on the selection and translation of English language fiction in the People’s Republic of Poland, 1944-1989. It analyses the differences between originals and their translations, taking into account the available archival evidence from the files of Poland’s Censorship Office, as well as the wider social and historical context. The book examines institutional censorship, self-censorship and such issues as national quotas of foreign literature, the varying severity of the regime, and criticism as a means to control literature. However, the emphasis remains firmly on how censorship affected the practice of translation. Translators shaped Polish perceptions of foreign literature from Charlie Chan books to Ulysses and from The Wizard of Oz to Moby-Dick. But whether translators conformed or rebelled, they were joined in this enterprise by censors and pulled into post-war Poland’s cultural power structures.

In this book, Gaby Thomson-Wohlgemuth explores the effects of ideology on the English-to-German translation of children’s literature under the socialist regime of the former German Democratic Republic. Giving prominence to extra-textual factors, the study undertakes a close investigation of the East German censorship machinery, showing that there was a close correlation between the socialist ideology propagated by the regime and the book selection process itself. Through an analysis of the contents of the print permit (censorship) files and the afterwords found in many books, Thomson-Wohlgemuth demonstrates that literature was re-written not only to placate the censor but also to directly guide the reader down the correct ideological path, both in the selection and interpretation of each translated text. Thomson-Wohlgemuth begins this engaging study with a concise but thorough historical background of East German children's literature, setting the context for an examination of how the state and party operated to control the development of the genre. She highlights the fact that there was multi-level censorship at work, with the Unity Party propagating certain ideological literary policies, and the publishers self-censoring when selecting suitable texts for translation and publication. This book serves as an exemplary study of how publishers collaborated with the state in all Eastern European countries, and should be of interest to historians and children’s literature scholars alike.