This volume represents the first large-scale effort to address topics of translation in Russian contexts across the disciplinary boundaries of Slavic Studies and Translation Studies, thus opening up new perspectives for both fields. Leading scholars from Eastern and Western Europe offer a comprehensive overview of Russian translation history examining a variety of domains, including literature, philosophy and religion. Divided into three parts, this book highlights Russian contributions to translation theory and demonstrates how theoretical perspectives developed within the field help conceptualize relevant problems in cultural context in pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet Russia. This transdisciplinary volume is a valuable addition to an under-researched area of translation studies and will appeal to a broad audience of scholars and students across the fields of Translation Studies, Slavic Studies, and Russian and Soviet history. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315305356.

This volume presents Eastern Europe and Russia as a distinctive translation zone, despite significant internal differences in language, religion and history. The persistence of large multilingual empires, which produced bilingual and even polyglot readers, the shared experience of "belated modernity and the longstanding practice of repressive censorship produced an incredibly vibrant, profoundly politicized, and highly visible culture of translation throughout the region as a whole. The individual contributors to this volume examine diverse manifestations of this shared translation culture from the Romantic Age to the present day, revealing literary translation to be at times an embarrassing reminder of the region s cultural marginalization and reliance on the West and at other times a mode of resistance and a metaphor for cultural supercession. This volume demonstrates the relevance of this region to the current scholarship on alternative translation traditions and exposes some of the Western assumptions that have left the region underrepresented in the field of Translation Studies."

Contexts in Translating is designed to help translators understand the varieties of contexts and their importance for understanding a text and reproducing the meaning in another language. The contexts include the historical setting of writing a text, the cultural components that make a text unique, the types of audiences for which the translation is intended, and the most efficient and effective ways of producing a satisfactory representation of the source-language text. The structural levels of language are described, and the principal features of text organization are also explained. In addition, the main features of various books on translation are outlined, and a chapter on basic theories of translation is followed by a selective bibliography.

Launched in 1950, Penguin’s Russian Classics quickly progressed to include translations of many great works of Russian literature and the series came to be regarded by readers, both academic and general, as the de facto provider of classic Russian literature in English translation, the legacy of which reputation resonates right up to the present day. Through an analysis of the individuals involved, their agendas, and their socio-cultural context, this book, based on extensive original research, examines how Penguin’s decisions and practices when translating and publishing the series played a significant role in deciding how Russian literature would be produced and marketed in English translation. As such the book represents a major contribution to Translation Studies, to the study of Russian literature, to book history and to the history of publishing.

Since the early eighteenth century, following Peter the Great’s policy of forced westernization, translation in Russia has been a very visible and much-discussed practice. Generally perceived as an important service to the state and the nation, translation was also viewed as a high art, leading many Russian poets and writers to engage in literary translation in a serious and sustained manner. As a result, translations were generally regarded as an integral part of an author’s oeuvre and of Russian literature as a whole. This volume brings together Russian writings on translation from the mid-18th century until today and presents them in chronological order, providing valuable insights into the theory and practice of translation in Russia. Authored by some of Russia’s leading writers, such as Aleksandr Pushkin, Fedor Dostoevskii, Lev Tolstoi, Maksim Gorkii, and Anna Akhmatova, many of these texts are translated into English for the first time. They are accompanied by extensive annotation and biographical sketches of the authors, and reveal Russian translation discourse to be a sophisticated and often politicized exploration of Russian national identity, as well as the nature of the modern subject. Russian Writers on Translation fills a persistent gap in the literature on alternative translation traditions, highlighting the vibrant and intense culture of translation on Europe’s ‘periphery’. Viewed in a broad cultural context, the selected texts reflect a nuanced understanding of the Russian response to world literature and highlight the attempts of Russian writers to promote Russia as an all-inclusive cultural model.

This text provides Russian-English translators with essential tools needed to improve their translation skills. This practical, hands-on book is suited for anyone involved in Russian-English translation, including professional translators, interpreters, and advanced students. Author Natalia Strelkova imparts over 35 years of experience as a translator and editor, with an emphasis on translating journalistic idiom. A focus on the conversational Russian of everyday life -- plus dozens of examples and practice exercises -- prepare the user for the day-to-day work of translating and editing. Russian is the most widely-spoken Slavic language, and its 280 million speakers make it the fifth most-spoken language in the world. Seven chapters cover topics such as: The Translation Process What is Accuracy? How Professionals Maneuver around Difficulties Achieving Readability Notes on Everyday Russian Culture

Russian Translation: Theory and Practice is a comprehensive practical course in translation for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of Russian. The course aims to provide intensive exposure with a view to mastering translation from Russian into English while carefully analyzing the specific problems that arise in the translation process. Offering over 75 practical translation exercises and texts analyzed in detail to illustrate the stage-by-stage presentation of the method, Russian Translation addresses translation issues such as cultural differences, genre and translation goals. The book features material taken from a wide range of sources, including: journalistic medical scholarly legal economic popular culture – literature (prose and poetry), media, internet, humour, music. Central grammatical and lexical topics that will be addressed across the volume through the source texts and target texts include: declensional and agreement gender; case usage; impersonal constructions; verbal aspect; verbal government; word order; Russian word formation, especially prefixation and suffixation; collocations and proverbs; and abbreviations. Russian Translation: Theory and Practice is essential reading for all students seriously interested in improving their translation skills. A Tutor’s Handbook for this course, giving guidance on teaching methods and assessment, as well as specimen answers, is available in PDF format from our website at http://www.routledge.com/books/Russian-Translation-isbn9780415473477. Edna Andrews is Professor of Linguistics and Cultural Anthropology, Director of the Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies at Duke University, USA. Elena Maksimova is Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies at Duke University, USA.