Translating in Town: Local Translation Policies During the European 19th Century

Description

Translating in Town uncovers administrative and cultural multilingualism and translation practices in multilingual European communities during the long 19th century. Challenging the traditional narrative of nationalist, monolingual language ideologies, this book focuses instead upon translation policies which aimed to accommodate complex language situations with new democratic principles at local levels. Covering a time-frame from 1785 to 1914, chapters investigate towns and cities in the heartland of Europe, such as Barcelona, Milan and Vienna, as well as those on its outer rim, including Nicosia, Cork and Tampere. Highlighting the conflicts and negotiations that took place between official language(s), local language(s) and translation, the book explores the impact on both represented and non-represented monolingual and multilingual citizens. In so doing, Translating in Town highlights the subtle compromises obtained between official monolingualism, multilingualism and translation, and between competing views on official and private translation and transfer techniques, during this fascinating era of European history.

Lieven D'hulst is Professor of Francophone Literatures and Translation Studies at KU Leuven, Belgium. Kaisa Koskinen is Professor of Translation Studies at Tampere University, Finland.

The research path adopted in this book has important methodological implications for the interdisciplinary study of translation. * Target: International Journal of Translation Studies * There is much to be learned by making the city a focus of translation research. This exciting and pioneering volume shows the potential of nineteenth century cities to reveal the complexities of multilingual conversations in courtrooms, offices, streets and harbours. These practices confound an easy reliance on nationalist models of historiography, exposing rather an array of resistant local realities. * Sherry Simon, Professor of French Studies, Concordia University, Canada * Translating in Town is a relevant contribution to Translation Studies that brings together the two subfields of Translation History and Translation Policy. Methodologically, the individual authors' reliance on archival work is to be commended, and substantively, their insights will no doubt prove worthwhile to future researchers. * Gabriel Gonzalez Nunez, Assistant Professor of Translation & Interpreting, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA *