Translation and Political Engagement

Activism, Social Change and the Role of Translation in Geopolitical Shifts

MARIA TYMOCZKO
University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
Abstract. The possibility of using translation for geopolitical agenda and
political engagement has stimulated substantial interest in the last decade
within translation studies and in other disciplines. Defining engagement in
translation studies as translation with an activist component, this article reviews
the discourse pertaining to translation and engagement. The case study of the
translation of rish literature into !nglish over the last century, from the epoch
of rish cultural nationalism through rish political independence to the present,
is used as an e"emplar of a translation movement that has been effective in
achieving significant geopolitical results. Desiderata for a theory of translation
and engagement are discussed, in the conte"t of which a criticism is offered of
#enuti $s contribution to the discourse of translation and engagement. The
article concludes with the identification of characteristics shared by translation
movements that have effectively contributed to political engagement and
geopolitical change.
In Culture and Imerialism !d"ard Said has ar#ued that narratives create $%structures of
feelin#& that suort, ela'orate and consolidate the ractice of emire( )*++,-*./0 at the
same time his "or1 documents the resistance and alternate structures of feelin# created
"ithin dominated cultures to counter the ractices of emire, resistance that eruted in
the 23th century in nationalist movements all over the "orld4 Such resistance #radually
"on indeendence for the coloni5ed, 'rin#in# to an end the ractices of direct colonial
rule4 6ust as dominant cultures have created ima#es of the ast to 'olster their ractices
of o"er in the resent )cf4 Said *++,- *7ff4/, so have coloni5ed cultures created visions
of the ast to further ideolo#ical resistance and olitical ro#rammes )cf4 8anon
*+9*:*+9,/4 Althou#h such ima#es of the ast ; li1e those of the coloni5ers ; are
maniulations of the ast, often simlified or essentiali5ed or even fetishi5ed structures,
they are o"erful means of dra"in# to#ether oressed eoles and #ivin# them a
consciousness of their o"n otential for self;determination4
Translation is a rime "ay of creatin# such ima#es, a factor that is nota'le in
translations of narratives "hich involve the creation and recreation of structures of
feelin#4 Translation lays this role "ithin a colonial or neocolonial settin# "henever it
articiates in the formation of cultural constructions, ne#otiatin# vie"s of a eole<s
ast or resent as it 'rid#es #as caused 'y lin#uistic chan#e or a multilin#uistic olity4
It is, therefore, not simly the translation of narratives that is at issue here, 'ut the
translation of any central cultural documents, includin# la"s, annals or other historical
materials4
Translations are inevita'ly artial0 meanin# in a te=t is overdetermined, and the
information in and meanin# of a source te=t is therefore al"ays more e=tensive than a
translation can convey4 Conversely, the recetor lan#ua#e and culture entail o'li#atory
features that limit the ossi'ilities of the translation, as "ell as e=tendin# the meanin#s
of the translation in directions other than those inherent in the source te=t )cf4 Tymoc51o
*+++-ch4 * and sources cited/4 As a result, translators must ma1e choices, selectin#
asects or arts of a te=t to transose and emhasi5e4 Such choices in turn serve to
create reresentations of their source te=ts, reresentations that are also artial4 This
artiality is not merely a defect, a lac1, or an a'sence in a translation ; it is also an
asect that ma1es the act of translation artisan- en#a#ed and committed, either
imlicitly or e=licitly4 Indeed artiality is "hat differentiates translations of the same or
similar "or1s, ma1in# them fle=i'le and diverse, ena'lin# them to articiate in the
dialectic of o"er, the on#oin# rocess of olitical discourse, and strate#ies for social
chan#e4 Such reresentations and commitments are aarent from analyses of
translators< choices "ord;'y"ord, a#e;'y;a#e, and te=t;'y;te=t, and they are also
often demonstra'le in the arate=tual materials that surround translations, includin#
introductions, footnotes, revie"s, literary criticism and so forth4 The very "ords
associated "ith olitics and ideolo#y emhasi5ed here su##est the ne=us of metonymy
and en#a#ement in the activity of translation, indicatin# that the artial nature of
translations is "hat ma1es them also olitical4
1. A brief survey of the theme of engagement in recent writing on translation
Considerations such as the fore#oin# have fed the e=citement in recent years a'out
translation as a ossi'le vehicle of olitical en#a#ement, en#a#ement that is not
restricted to ostcolonial conte=ts, and this interest is to a lar#e e=tent identified "ith
the "or1 of >a"rence ?enuti )*++2, *++7, *++@a, *++@'/4 ?enuti<s "or1 in turn loo1s
'ac1 to that of Ahili >e"is )*+@7/, 6acBues Cerrida )*+@7/ and Dalter EenFamin
)*+2,/, to name 'ut three imortant fi#ures standin# 'ehind ?enuti<s ar#uments4 Dithin
translation studies others have also ta1en u this line of thou#ht ; Susan Eassnett )*++2,
*++,/, Sherry Simon )*++., *++9/ and the "riters in the collection #athered 'y
Anuradha Cin#"aney and Carol Maier )*++7/, for e=amle4 Mean"hile, "or1in#
outside translation studies, similar voicin#s are heard from TeFas"ini GiranFana )*++2/,
!ric Cheyfit5 )*++*/, ?icente Rafael )*++,/, Hayatri Sivac1 )*++2/, Iomi Eha'ha
)*++./ and 6ames Clifford )*++J/, amon# others4
The harnassin# of translation for olitical and ideolo#ical uroses is not ori#inal to
these critics and theoreticians of translation, nor is it ori#inal to the resent a#e4 De see
the imulse earlier amon# our o"n contemoraries in the "or1 of actual translators,
includin# Era5ilian translators, "ith their theories of canni'alism in the service of
autonomous cultural develoment and e=tension )see ?ieira *++./4 Kue'ecois
translators can also 'e seen in this li#ht and are often discussed as such, articularly
feminist Canadian translators li1e Ear'ard Hodard )*++3/ and Su5anne de >ot'iniLre;
Iar"ood )*++*/, as "ell as the earlier Kue'ecois lay"ri#hts, "hose translations and
"or1 have 'een so "ell analy5ed 'y Annie Erisset )*++3/4 Indeed a lon# history of
translation in the service of ideolo#ical a#endas, antedatin# the resent, has 'een
demonstrated and analy5ed 'y ?enuti, nota'ly in The Translator<s Invisi'ility )*++7/4
Other tyes of translation 'esides literary translation must also 'e seen in this conte=t,
and ?enuti<s accounts should 'e sulemented in this re#ard4 Ei'le translations, for
e=amle, articularly in the medieval and early Renaissance eriod, have this character
of ideolo#ical en#a#ement, for literacy, access to the 'i'lical te=t and lay movements of
iety "ere direct challen#es to the o"er structures of medieval and early modern
society4 Thus, Ei'le translation at the eriod is arado=ically a rime illustration of the
relationshi 'et"een translation and resistance to oressive cultural conditions,
indicatin# the relationshi 'et"een translation and social chan#e, and Ei'lical
translation "as for several centuries theori5ed as such in "ritin#s contemorary "ith the
early vernacular translations of the Ei'le4 It "as for these reasons, as much as for
doctrinal ones, that many of the early movements sonsorin# Ei'le translation "ere
ersecuted in their day and that Ei'le translators themselves "ere even on occasion
'urnt at the sta1e4 In these diverse cases ta1en from the history of translation in the Dest
durin# the last millenium, "hich could 'e multilied in any thorou#h survey of
translation "orld"ide throu#h history, translation intersects in demonstra'le "ays "ith
efforts to chan#e o"er structures4
2. Engagement defined
Eefore roceedin#, I<d li1e to clarify "hat I mean 'y translation and en#a#ement4 I<m
not simly discussin# the ethos or ideolo#ical orientation of a translation and a
translator ; the salutoriness or correctness of a translator<s olitics, or a Buality in a
translation that romotes #ood attitudes and #ood olitics in its readers4 Clearly the
theory of translation is not the locus to determine a theory of valuation or to de'ate
ideolo#y4 In fact it can 'e ar#ued that most translators underta1e the "or1 they do
'ecause they 'elieve the te=ts they roduce "ill 'enefit humanity or imact ositively
uon the recetor culture in "ays that are 'roadly ideolo#ical4 This is true eBually of
literary translators "ho select te=ts to translate, translators of technical manuals, and
Ei'le translators4
I am even interested here in somethin# a little more active than the stance of "riters
"ho romoted literature en#a#ee in the ost;Dar eriod4 I<m rimarily concerned "ith
translation as a sort of seech act- translation that rouses, insires, "itnesses, mo'ili5es,
incites to re'ellion, and so forth4 Such translations act in the "orld and have an activist
asect4 The su'Fect, then, is translation that has illocutionary and erlocutionary
dimensions, that actually articiates in social movements, that is effective in the "orld
at achievin# demonstra'le social and olitical chan#e4 Clearly in ursuin# such
Buestions, the conte=t of and audience for such translation are central issues, and I
"ould a#ree "ith Cou#las Ro'inson )*++J- **2/ "ho ar#ues that an imortant test of a
translation<s olitical effectiveness is its a'ility to reach mass audiences4
In art I ta1e this toic as my su'Fect matter 'ecause the effectiveness of literature that
simly aims at attitudinal shifts is much more difficult to assess4 Attitudinal shifts are
notoriously ro'lematic to correlate "ith social chan#e, and they are also consicuously
volatile and su'Fect to reversals or ironic finales4 It is a articularly Buestiona'le
'usiness to ar#ue for the transformative value of chan#in# the attitudes of a small avant;
#arde after a century filled "ith the reression, suression and even e=termination of
cultural elites4 8rom the annihilation of intellectuals in the Ga5i death cams to China<s
Cultural Revolution, from the neutrali5ation of leftists durin# the McCarthy eriod in
the United States to the massacres of the educated classes in African countries emer#in#
from colonialism, "e have learned that such hoes are often sadly mislaced- o#roms
and ur#es of the left occurred on virtually every continent in the last century, "iin#
a"ay ro#ress associated "ith attitudinal shifts4
*

The aroach to en#a#ement resuosed in this aer is in fact consistent "ith 'asic
definitions of en#a#ement as Mthe state of 'ein# en#a#edM4 In turn, en#a#ed is defined as
Mcontracted for, led#edM, M'etrothedM and, more to the oint for our uroses here,
Minvolved in conflict or 'attleM )American Ierita#e Cictionary/4 It mi#ht 'e ar#ued that
it is sufficient for literature )and translation, 'y e=tension/ to 'e involved in ideolo#ical
conflict or 'attle, 'ut such a vie" of en#a#ement almost inevita'ly restricts the imact
of such en#a#ement to cultural elites, the difficulties of "hich have already 'een
touched uon4
As should already 'e o'vious, I am also concerned in this aer not only "ith
translations that demonstrate en#a#ement on the o'Fect level, 'ut also "ith discourses
a'out translational en#a#ement that oerate on a meta;level4 In translation studies it is
articularly hard to searate these levels- translators theori5e their o"n "or1,
theori5ations roduce translation strate#ies and even actual translations4 Thus, any
discussion of translation and en#a#ement must of necessity loo1 at 'oth4
3. An Irish case study: a touchstone for ostcolonial translation theories and
!uestions of engagement in translation
Aostcolonial aroaches to translation are clearly central to the concerns and interests
"e are tracin#4 8ollo"in# from descritive aroaches to translation, develoed 'y
Iamar !ven;Zohar )*+J@, *++3/, Hideon Toury )*+@3, *+@2, *++*, *++7/, Andre
>efevere )*+@2a, *+@2', *++2/ and others, ostcolonial translation studies ta1e u
Buestions a'out the interrelation of translation, o"er, ideolo#y and olitics4 The
develoment of these aroaches to translation has 'een atly summari5ed 'y Ro'inson
)*++J/, "here he attemts to delineate the 'road field of ostcolonial translation studies
and to situate "ithin it the "or1 of GiranFana, Cheyfit5 and Rafael, relatin# this
movement to the "or1 of ?enuti and others as "ell4 Ro'inson )*++J -9/ identifies "hat
he has called the Mnarrative or utoian myth of ostcolonial translation studiesM, a
traFectory derivin# from 8rant5 8anon )*+9*:*+9,- *J@J+/, amon# others, in "hich
coloni5ed cultures are seen as movin# from a coloni5ed sta#e in "hich colonial values
are introFected, to a sta#e in "hich an indeendent identity 'e#ins to emer#e 'ut is
constrained 'y oosition to the coloni5ers< values, to a third sta#e of decoloni5ation in
"hich truly autonomous ersectives can develo4
Cesite the e=citement #enerated amon# scholars 'y ostcolonial aroaches to
translation, ho"ever, in the conte=t of his critiBue of GiranFana, Ro'inson )i'id-es4
*3+;**3, cf4 @@;+,, *3.;**,/ notes the slim achievements in either translation theory or
ractice amon# those usin# ostcolonial aroaches to the field4 Moreover, he o'serves
)i'id-J@/ that the issues raised 'y ostcolonial translation theory are Mso #ar#antuan 444 ,
so enormous and comlicated and thorou#hly steeed in the social and olitical histories
of cultures and civili5ations sannin# vast tracts of time and saceM, that it is difficult to
move 'eyond #ross #enerali5ations in ostcolonial aroaches to translation studies4
In Translation in a Aostcolonial Conte=t )*+++/ I have su##ested that localism ; the
study of articular translation movements located in the conte=t of secific nations "ith
their secific olitical conte=ts and secific histories ; offers a means of movin# 'eyond
#enerali5ations and of achievin# sufficient secificity so that 'oth translation studies
and ostcolonial studies can rofit from the study of translation in ostcolonial conte=ts4
In the 'oo1 I then roceed to analy5e one of the most interestin# case studies of olitical
translation havin# to do "ith a coloni5ed nation, namely the case of translatin# early
Irish literature into !n#lish in the conte=t of an emer#ent Irish cultural nationalism,
throu#h the formation of the Irish state, and on into the later 23th century as "ell4 I have
focused on the translation of medieval Irish heroic narratives, narratives "hich "ere
harnassed in constructin# and redirectin# oular structures of feelin#, movin# Ireland
a"ay from a coloni5ed consciousness to resistance and then to decoloni5ation4 Transla;
tion of early Irish te=ts, includin# translation of early Irish la"s, annals and other
cultural documents, "as central to the emer#ence of Irish cultural nationalism ; essential
to the a'ility of the Irish to claim a history and culture for themselves, for e=amle, and
the attemt to construct an identity for themselves that "ould free them from the
!n#lish definitions of Irishness, definitions that at this distance are as mali#n as the
most vicious colonial roFections )see Tymoc51o *+++-ch4 2/4 Translation of Irish
literature er se "as a cornerstone of the Irish literary revival, "hich "as the seed'ed of
a #reat deal of Irish cultural nationalism in the eriod *@+3;*+*94 Irish cultural
nationalism in turn facilitated Irish olitical or#ani5ation and, ultimately, Irish armed
re'ellion a#ainst Eritain, a ivotal factor in the emer#ence of the Irish state and the end
of colonial rule in most of Ireland4
Ireland is a small country, 'ut its stru##le for indeendence sent shoc1 "aves throu#h
the "hole Eritish !mire, roc1in# the foundations of imerium, esta'lishin# aradi#ms
of te=tuality and action that insired the rest of the coloni5ed "orld4 In *+*. >enin had
redicted that a 'lo" a#ainst the Eritish !mire in Ireland "ould 'e of Ma hundred times
more si#nificance than a 'lo" of eBual "ei#ht in Asia or in AfricaM )Buoted in Ki'erd
*++7- *+J/, and so it came to ass4 The Irish drive for indeendence "as "atched and
emulated 'y nationalist movements in India, !#yt and else"here, "ith to1ens of
solidarity 'ein# e=chan#ed and advice sou#ht of the Irish 'y other coloni5ed countries4
The Eritish authorities sa" the direction history "as ta1in# as early as *+*+, and ca'inet
minutes reveal the fears that Mif the Irish case "ere conceded, the flames of revolt "ould
'e fanned in India and else"hereM0 !n#land "ould lose the emire and deserve to lose
it4 Mar= had 'een accurate in foreseein# that Ireland "as imerial !n#land<s "ea1est
oint, that "ith Ireland lost the Eritish !mire "ould 'e #one4
2
The history of the trans;
lation of early Irish literature into !n#lish, therefore, is the history of a translation
ractice that fired u Ireland, an entire country, an imortant country, al'eit a small one4
The translation movement "as central to the Irish cultural revival, and from the Irish
revival #re" the olitical and military stru##le that "on freedom from !n#land4 Dhen
"e erceive resistance to colonialism encoded in translations of early Irish literature as
leadin# to en#a#ement 'et"een Ireland and Eritain, then the translation movement
investi#ated in my "or1 must 'e understood as havin# contri'uted nota'ly to shain#
the "orld all of us live in today4 It "as a translation ractice that chan#ed the "orld, a
form of en#a#ement as much as a form of "ritin#4
The role of translation in Irish olitical life can 'e seen in a #rahic "ay in the
transformation of the hero CN Chulainn4 In the early Irish te=ts, althou#h he is the son of
a mortal "oman and the #od >u#, CN Chulainn is also a louse;ridden youth, "hose
'attle;ra#es cause him to 'ecome distorted and #rotesBue, a dan#er to friend and foe
ali1e4 Ie #uards the 'order of his territory )Ulster/, 'ut leaves his ost for a tryst "ith a
"oman ; in ursuit of a "oman<s 'ac1side, as he uts it )cf4 Kinsella *+9+-*,,/ ; thus
allo"in# enemies to invade Ulster durin# the action narrated in the tale called TOin EP
CNailn#e )literally, <the drivin# off of the co"s of CNailn#e</4 CN Chulainn is ultimately
1illed 'y tric1ery and ma#ic, after he insists on fi#htin# "hen a strate#ic resonse
"ould have demanded caution and refusal of 'attle4
The atriotic translators at the end of the *+th century and the 'e#innin# of the 23th
eliminate almost all of this4 Hone are the lice, the #rotesBue distortion, the "oman<s
'ac1side, the dereliction of duty, the rodi#al death4 Thou#h CN Chulainn< s
suernatural 'irth is retained, the hero himself is decorous and no'le, fi#htin# a#ainst
odds, and he dies in a scenario that nationalists sa" as reminiscent of the Christian
crucifi=ion4 Eecause the Ulster Cycle in !n#lish translation and adatation "as
su'sumed "ithin the frame"or1 of a heroic 'io#rahy of CN Chulainn, the stories could
'e inte#rated into a coherent attern "hich "or1ed to counter the deersonali5ation that
coloni5ed eoles suffer under colonialism,
,
fosterin# instead self;confidence and
heroic models of resistance to oression4 CN Chulainn ; articularly as he "as ictured
in translations of TOin EP CNailn#e ; came to eitomi5e the ideal of militant Irish
heroism, "hich thus 'ecame a ersonali5ed concet, rather than an a'stract one4 The
aradi#m ermitted nationalist identification "ith a hero of the most militant and
uncomromisin# sort, and it #lorified 'oth individualism and action on 'ehalf of the
tri'e4 The traFectory these translations set to the !aster Risin# of *+*9 "as a literal one,
not merely fi#urative, for CN Chulainn "as a ersonal model for Aatric1 Aearse, one of
the leaders of the Risin#4
At the turn of the century, the story of CN Chulainn "as refracted in lays )includin#
those of D4 E4 Yeats/ and a#eants, oetry and children<s literature4 Ima#es of him "ere
roduced 'y artists for hi#h culture arenas and oular culture ali1e4 A mural of CN
Chulainn ta1in# arms stood in the entrance hall of St4 !nda<s, the 'oys< school "hich
Aatric1 Aearse directed for some years, and its motto, MI care not thou#h I "ere to live
'ut one day and one ni#ht rovided my fame and my deeds live after meM, rovided the
ethos for the children4 Aearse had as a stated #oal the desire to have the 'oys model
themselves on CN Chulainn )cf4 Tymoc51o *+++-@3/4 This heroic reresentation of CN
Chulainn continues to laya role in Irish cultural life, em'odied in Oliver Sheard<s
statue of CN Chulainn memoriali5in# the !aster Risin#, a statue that stands in the
Heneral Aost Office in Cu'lin4
8ifty years after the Irish state had "on indeendence from Eritain, these heroic
reresentations "ere demytholo#i5ed and deconstructed 'y Thomas Kinsella in The
TOin, a *+9+ translation of a num'er of the early Irish heroic tales4 Kinsella transosed
and even hei#htened the comic, earthy and se=ual asects of the te=ts, as "ell as CN
Chulainn<s anti;heroic and #rotesBue Bualities, challen#in# the nationalist tradition of
no'le Irish heroism4 Ie translated in art to contest and su'vert the ieties of Irish
nationalism "hich had hardened into a reressive cultural am'ience and a re#ressive
olitics4 This demytholo#i5ed and moderni5ed CN Chulainn is the ima#e ic1ed u and
oulari5ed 'y the Irish roc1 #rou Iorselis in their record The TOin )*+J,/4
After the 'e#innin# of the trou'les in Gorthern Ireland in *+9@, the story of CN
Chulainn "as enlisted once a#ain for ideolo#ical uroses, fi#urin# in Gorthern Ireland
in murals ainted 'y 'oth Catholic and Arotestant artisans en#a#ed in a olitics of
violence and terror )cf4 Rolston *++7-*J, 2*, 2@/4 Most recently, a reresentation of CN
Chulainn has 'een included in the videos that lay at the visitors< centre at !main
Macha, a maFor archaeolo#ical site in Gorthern Ireland4 These videos inculcate a
atriotic consciousness a'out the Irish Haelic herita#e of Ulster, and themselves ta1e a
artisan osition in the dialo#ue a'out Irish identity in Gorthern Ireland4
In this seBuence, "hich has 'een treated here in summary fashion, "e find 'oth
interlin#uistic translation and intersemiotic translation intert"inin#, shain# in various
comle= "ays the evolution of Irish olitical life4 I<ve focused on the maniulations of
the contents of the early manuscrits in their !n#lish translations, 'ut in my e=tended
treatment of this toic )Tymoc51o *+++/, I discuss in detail the translational
reresentations of Irish literary form, Irish #enres, Irish names, Irish cultural concets
and "orld vie"s, and so forth, illustratin# the ideolo#ical imlications of all these facets
of the translations in multile versions sannin# more than a century4 The translation
history of early Irish literature into !n#lish arallels the decoloni5ation of Ireland, and it
stands as a rototye of translation as an activist enterrise "ith tan#i'le #eoolitical
results4 In a variety of "ays the Irish case also confirms the utoian narrative of
ostcolonial studies ; the movement from coloni5ation, throu#h a dialectical oosition
to the coloni5er, to"ard decoloni5ation and cultural autonomy4 There is an increasin#
assertion of native Irish culture in many resects in the translations, from the content of
traditional Irish myths to material culture to literary form4
This case study rovides actual e=amles of translation correlated "ith olitical action,
social chan#e and en#a#ement that are Buite different from the effects that ?enuti and
others only theori5e a'out or enFoin4 It contrasts nota'ly "ith the translation activity of
such literary fi#ures as !5ra Aound, "hose "ritin#s are not correlated "ith tan#i'le
olitical movements or results4 Ironically, moreover, ho"ever radical Aound<s oetics,
his olitical vie"s led him do"n the ath of fascism, "hich ma1es him a some"hat
ro'lematic model to hold out in any discussion of translation and en#a#ement4 The
Irish materials offer an actual ra=is that GiranFana hyothesi5es as ossi'le, 'ut cannot
herself reali5e4 The Irish translations 'oth nuance ostcolonial translation theory as it is
emer#in# and also sho" "hy GiranFana has so little to offer ractically ; 'ecause the
cultural interface of translatin# in a ostcolonial conte=t is so enormously comlicated,
so inherently difficult and so conte=t secific, that results cannot 'e simly delivered
"hole cloth 'y a sin#le translator at a sin#le moment or indeed 'y any sin#le aroach
to translation4 The Irish translation movement can 'e considered traduction en#a#Qe,
that is, it has ideolo#ical orientation, 'ut it is also en#a#ed in the sense of Minvolved in
conflict or 'attleM, often in all too literal and #rahic "ays, as "e see in the numerous
cases of armed Irish artisans "ho have invo1ed CN Chulainn on the "ay to com'at4
". #esiderata for a theoretical ersective on translation and engagement
In order to understand the otential of translation for activism and olitical en#a#ement,
"e need at least three thin#s4 8irst "e need to have a theoretical aroach to o"er4
There has 'een a discourse a'out o"er and translation for some decades no", 'ut until
recently that discourse has 'een fairly muted4 Many of the oints a'out o"er and
translation made 'y recent theorists "ere anticiated 'y !ven;Zohar in 'oth his *+J@
and his *++3 u'lications formulatin# a olysystems aroach to translation, 'ut !ven;
Zohar<s frame"or1 is difficult to use if one is interested in o"er and olitical
en#a#ement, 'ecause he mas1s issues related to 'oth "ith his rather saniti5ed
voca'ulary4 It is difficult to tease out the #eoolitical imlications of centre and erih;
ery, cultural resti#e and so forth in his resentation of the issues )cf4 >am'ert *++7,
Ro'inson *++J'-,*, ,+/4 Althou#h !ven;Zohar ac1no"led#es that there are o"er
differentials 'et"een cultures, the cases he considers are of a different order of
ma#nitude from the o"er differentials that coloniali5ed countries stru##le "ith or that
e=ist in contemorary #eoolitical conte=ts4 Moreover, some of his theoretical lan#ua#e
; Mhi#hM vs4 Mlo"M, for e=amle ; is today distasteful, offensive and unacceta'le4 It is
erhas for reasons such as these that GiranFana is dismissive of >efevere and the other
olysystems translation theorists4
Aroaches ertainin# to o"er and translation 'e#an to 'e more sharly focused "hen
translation studies too1 Mthe cultural turnM, aro=imately a decade a#o, and translation
scholars 'e#an to rivile#e Buestions of cultural conte=t and cultural function, as "ell as
ideolo#y and urose, in descritive studies of translations4 These issues "ere also
fore#rounded "hen translation 'e#an to 'e theori5ed "ith oststructuralist aroaches,
sho"in# ho" translation is a site of cultural roduction, a roduct of cultural discourses,
'ut also a means of shiftin# discourses, a means availa'le for the uroses of identity
formation4
.

Dith ostcolonial theories of translation, ho"ever, the discourse a'out translation and
o"er reached a Bualitatively ne" level4 In art ostcolonial theory has 'een attractive
to literary studies as a "hole 'ecause it is one of the fe" via'le contemorary
theoretical or critical aroaches that actually deals overtly and concretely "ith
oression and cultural coercion, issues that command so much intellectual attention at
resent4 In a climate "here literary studies has 'een dominated 'y oststructuralist
voices, such an aroach is "elcome to many, rovidin# as it does an e=it from the
te=tuali5ed "orld of 8rench criticism and a return to ractical e=erience, articularly
"hen that ractical e=erience can ma1e comellin# aeals for en#a#ement and action,
as can the situation of eoles stru##lin# "ith disadvanta#ed ositions, the residue of
colonialism and neocolonial conte=ts "orld"ide4 Aostcolonial aroaches unac1 !ven;
Zohar< s ideas a'out centre and erihery in 'oth concrete and theoretical terms
ertainin# to o"er4 Moreover, they su##est strate#ies that have "or1ed in cultural
domains other than translation for contestin# o"er structures0 such strate#ies and
techniBues offer the romise of 'ein# a'le to 'e learned and adated 'y translators4 The
need for such an analytic frame"or1 has 'een esecially acute in the last decade, since
the erosion of Mar=ism after the disinte#ration of the Soviet Union4 Circumstances that
could formerly 'e referred to or e=lained in terms of economic considerations and
Mar=ist theory are not so easily resolved in scholarly circles at resent4
8or reasons such as these, many diverse "riters have fastened on ostcolonial theory, at
times e=tendin# its insi#hts in rather fu55y "ays4 They have develoed dilute
alications of ostcolonial theory for various #rous that have not actually 'een
coloni5ed0 such aroaches resuose that coloni5ation can 'e seen as a sort of
ontolo#ical condition, rather than reflectin# secific historical, economic and cultural
confi#urations4 This haens in art 'ecause, as I su##ested a'ove, ostcolonial theory
is currently one of the fe" via'le theoretical aroaches that addresses directly the
#eoolitical shifts and ro'lems of o"er that dominated the 23th century4 It is, in addi;
tion, one of the fe" discourses ertainin# to o"er that has sustained itself since
Mar=ism has fallen out of favour and 'een "idely a'andoned in academic circles0
indeed ostcolonial theory has recuerated many Mar=ist ersectives4 As a result
ostcolonial theory has aealed to and 'een ta1en u 'y many diverse #rous, #rous
that D4 !4 E4 Cu Eois mi#ht have referred to collectively as MimrisonedM eoles
)*+3,:*+@+-,./, from feminists to those su'Fect to neocolonial economic maniulations4
It should 'e o'vious from my comments that I do not see ostcoloniality as an
ontolo#ical cate#ory, 'ut rather as a comle= set of circumstances resondin# to secific
historical conditions associated "ith the !uroean a#e of discovery, e=ansion and
imerialism4 I 'elieve that the field of translation studies ; and literary studies in
#eneral; is 'est served 'y settin# issues of o"er in their secific satio;temoral
conte=ts, ayin# attention to differences as "ell as similarities4 In fact attention to the
secifics of history and conte=t has 'ecome increasin#ly the norm in literary studies,
and translation studies "ould do "ell to follo" suit4 Thus, it is imortant to distin#uish
stru##les ertainin# to o"er relevant to those "ho have 'een coloni5ed er se from
stru##les ertinent to others sufferin# oression for other reasons, Fust as "ithin
ostcolonial studies it is imortant to differentiate the secific manifestations of
colonialism e=erienced 'y the several eoles "ho have 'een coloni5ed4 In order to do
so, ho"ever, it "ill 'e helful to have a more articulated theori5ation of o"er as it
ertains to translation4
A second reBuirement for understandin# the relation 'et"een translation and olitical
en#a#ement is an adeBuate ran#e of case studies to serve as data for investi#ation,
comarison and contrast4 Iere the rosect is 'ri#hter, for the "or1 is "ell under"ay
and has achieved e=cellent results "ith resect to many situations, rovidin# the 'asis
for conclusions a'out translation and en#a#ement4 Thus, for e=amle, "ith resect to
ostcolonial conte=ts there are imortant contri'utions a'out !#yt and Gorth Africa in
?enuti )*++2/, secifically the contri'utions of Richard 6acBuemond and Samia Mehre54
Rafael )*++,/ has "ritten a'out translation in relation to the coloni5ation of the
Ahiliines, and Cheyfit5 )*++*/ has considered the role of translation in the
coloni5ation of the Americas4 Studies of translation and coloni5ation related to India
include the "or1 of GiranFana )*++2/ and Sivac1 )*++2/, of course, 'ut also studies 'y
Sen#uta )*++3, *++7/ and Mu1herFee )*++./4 An early study 'y Simms )*+@,/ deals
"ith cases in Aacific cultures4 My o"n studies, as "ell as those of >loyd )*+@2, *+@J/
and Cronin )*++9/, illuminate asects of translation and olitical en#a#ement in Ireland4
8inally, Ro'inson )*++J-ch4 ,/ has loo1ed at the historical relations of emire and
translation4 There are collections of such studies, includin# the recent one edited 'y
Eassnett and Trivedi )*++@/, and more such aear virtually every year4
There are, in addition, cases studies "hich deal "ith olitical and ideolo#ical
en#a#ement in a 'roader sense- "ith o"er in its diverse manifestations throu#hout
history and the nature of oression and dominance more #enerally4 Cesite the muted
terminolo#y, a num'er of olysystems studies fall in this cate#ory )Iermans *+@70
>efevere and 6ac1son *+@2/4 The same is true of many of ?enuti<s contri'utions in The
Translator<s Invisi'ility and The Scandals ofTranslation, as "ell as ?enuti<s secial issue
of The Translator )*++@'/ entitled Translation and Minority4 Many of the studies on
translation in Era5il can also 'e read in this li#ht )cf4 ?ieira *++./4 Similarly, an
imressive literature has develoed a'out Kue'ec, includin# contri'utions 'y de
>ot'iniLre;Iar"ood )*++*/, Simon )*++./ and Erisset )*++3/, amon# others4 There is,
as "ell, a #ro"in# 'ody of studies on the role of lan#ua#e, literature and translation
amon# the Sanish;sea1in# oulation of the United States4 Eroad issues related to
translation and o"er are also addressed directly in the volume "hich I am currently
editin# "ith !d"in Hent5ler, entitled Translation and Ao"er, as "ell as in the aers
resented at a conference 'y the same title held at the University of Dar"ic1 in *++J4
The result of all this "or1 is that there is already availa'le a lar#e num'er of case
studies that can serve as the evidentiary 'asis for 'oth theoretical studies and emirical
conclusions ali1e re#ardin# translation and olitical en#a#ement4
Third, in order to relate translation to olitical en#a#ement, "e need theoretical
concets and ractical methods that can 'e used to descri'e "hat ma1es secific
e=amles of en#a#ed translation effective, as "ell as to analyse the translation
techniBues that lead to olitical en#a#ement4 To date, the maFor tools of analysis
roosed for these uroses are the cluster of related concets and terms offered 'y
?enuti4 In his various "or1s he sea1s of a'usive fidelity, forei#ni5in# vs4
domesticatin# translation, fluent vs4 resistant translation )orfluency and resistancy/, and
most recently minoriti5in# translation4 It is "orth e=aminin# these concets, as "ell as
their usefulness, in some detail4
$. %enuti&s contribution to the discourse on translation and engagement
Althou#h ?enuti has develoed an imressive num'er of terms ostensi'ly useful for
analysin# asects of translation related to en#a#ement, o"er and olitics, he does not
carefully define any of them4 This is in art 'ecause the concets he develos and the
terms he uses are not strictly sea1in# his o"n invention4 De can trace the edi#ree of
a'usive fidelity, for e=amle, to Ahili >e"is<s concet of traduction a'usive )>e"is
*+@7/4 The distinction 'et"een forei#ni5in# and domesticatin# translations is 'ased on
earlier concetuali5ations of domestication that have 'een formulated outside
translation theory and used 'roadly in literary criticism4 And resistance, "hich is at the
root of ?enuti<s concet of resistant translation or resistancy, is a "ord "ith very "ide
olitical and ideolo#ical associations, evo1in#, for e=amle, la Resistance, the 8rench
name for the oosition movement to the Ga5is durin# Dorld Dar II4 8inally, ?enuti<s
most recent term, minoriti5in# translation, #oes 'ac1 to the concet of a minor literature
develoed 'y Hilles Celeu5e and 8eli= Huattari, "hile his discussion of the remainder
in translation is 'ased uon the "or1 of 6ean;6acBues >ecercle )?enuti *++7-2*9;233,
*++@a/4
It is tellin# that ?enuti uses a num'er of terms rather than emloyin# a unified
terminolo#y- it allo"s him to shift #round and alter the 'asis of his ar#ument as it suits
him, "ithout committin# himself to the articularities, difficulties and imlications of
anyone term, anyone concet, or anyone distinction that he is "or1in# "ith4 Moreover,
his shiftin# terminolo#y is deloyed in art to avoid definin# his terms "ith any
articularity or secificity of meanin#, and it ermits him to sideste defendin# or
Fustifyin# his terms as needed4 ?enuti is a'le, conseBuently, to evade accounta'ility for
lo#ical difficulties and lo#ical conseBuences associated "ith his terminolo#y4 I thin1 it is
no accident that in his most recent "or1, The Scandals of Translation, ?enuti has
essentially a'andoned his former terms, tacitly ac1no"led#in# the "ea1nesses of the
earlier terminolo#y and his ina'ility to defend it or even to deloy it in useful theoretical
"ays4
A further ro'lem "e can oint to in ?enuti<s "or1 is that his style of ar#ument is very
informal, indeed even at times la= )cf4 Aym *++9/4 Ie tends to assert thin#s rather than
ar#ue for them or resent evidence for them4 Thus, for e=amle, he claims that fluency
is the dominant standard for translations in the United States at resent, 'ut offers little
evidence of that claim, e=cet for his o"n e=erience, e=erience "hich is 'ased
rimarily on the translation of nineteenth; and t"entieth;century literary "or1s 'et"een
!uroean lan#ua#es4 Ey contrast, in translation domains "ith "hich I am most familiar
; namely the translation of lan#ua#es that are not #lo'ali5ed and the translation of
lan#ua#es from former times, fluency is most decidedly not the norm4 Indeed it #oes
very much a#ainst the #rain to offer literary or even readerfriendly translations in such
fields, 'ecause hilolo#ical standards have #enerally remained dominant in most
lan#ua#e transfer involvin# minority lan#ua#es and the lan#ua#es of non;Desterni5ed
cultures as "ell4 My contention here is not to disute one of ?enuti<s maFor oints ; that
dominant !n#lish;sea1in# culture tends to coloni5e the cultural roducts of other cul;
tures4 In fact, hilolo#ical translations coloni5e te=ts 'y ta1in# literary te=ts, for
e=amle, and turnin# them into non;literary te=ts, all in the name of accuracy, as I have
ar#ued in detail else"here )Tymoc51o *+++-ch4 +/4 Dhat should 'e o'served, ho"ever,
is that cultural dominance results in translations "ith deformed te=tual and cultural
reresentation that serves the interests of the dominant recetor culture4 Such
deformation is not necessarily to 'e associated "ith a sin#le tye of translation method,
such as fluency4 Rather, any translation rocedure can 'ecome a tool of cultural
coloni5ation, even forei#ni5in# translation4
7

I "ould su##est that ?enuti<s shiftin# terminolo#y in conFunction "ith his loose style of
ar#ument ma1es it difficult to use his concets or to e=tend his ar#uments4 This is in
stri1in# contrast to the concets and ar#uments of, say, !u#ene Gida )*+9./, !ven;
Zohar )*+J@, *++3/ or Toury )*+@3, *++7/, "hose theories of translation are in many
"ays seriously fla"ed, yet "hose concets are almost immediately useful to and
caa'le of e=tension 'y any ne" reader4
These ro'lems "ith ?enuti<s "or1 are aarent, for e=amle, in his concet of
resistance )*++7/, "hich, as he uses it, does not form a coherent cate#ory that allo"s us
to relicate his conclusions or e=tend his ercetions4 Sometimes in ?enuti<s "or1 a
resistant translation is a translation "hich involves "hat he calls Mdiscursive strate#iesM
that deend heavily on translatin# into a form of the tar#et lan#ua#e that dearts
radically from standard norms, a form of the tar#et lan#ua#e that is deformed to reflect
the source lan#ua#e4 Such a translation ?enuti calls Mforei#ni5in#M )*++7-chs4 ,,7/4
!lse"here, ho"ever, ?enuti indicates that resistant translation may 'e found in te=ts
even thou#h the discursive strate#ies are MfluentM ; that is conformin# to tar#et lan#ua#e
norms, not forei#ni5in# ; 'ecause resistance can lie in the choice of the te=t itself
)*++7-ch4 ./4 In fact he "rites )*++7-*@9, cf4 *.@/, Mthe choice of a forei#n te=t for
translation can 'e Fust as forei#ni5in# in its imact on the tar#et lan#ua#e culture as the
invention of a discursive strate#yM4
Aerhas one reason ?enuti shifts terminolo#y, movin# 'et"eenforei#ni5in# and resistant
and most recently minoriti5in#, is 'ecause he shifts his 'asic #round of ar#ument as
"ell, "ithout e=licitly ac1no"led#in# the fact and "ithout ac1no"led#in# the
ro'lems such shifts cause in the lo#ic of his ar#ument4 ?enuti has a hard time
maintainin# consistent distinctions 'et"een the olar oosites he "or1s "ith, a
difficulty that is actually no surrise4 A num'er of translation theorists, includin#
myself, have ar#ued that such 'inaries do not "or1 very "ell in translation studies and
that the 'est of 'inaries tend to 'rea1 do"n0 see Eassnett )*++2/, Tymoc51o )*+@7,
*+++-ch4 */, and sources cited4 Got surrisin#, similar o'Fections can 'e raised "ith
resect to the 'inaries that ?enuti rooses ; "hether it is the 'inary of fluent:resistant
or forei#ni5in#:domesticatin#4
In and of itself, it is not ro'lematic that ?enuti offers no ti#ht definition of his
concets, namely, necessary and sufficient conditions for a translation to 'e resistant or
forei#ni5in#4 Got all concets or cate#ories can 'e defined 'y criteria that identify all
mem'ers of the set, e=cludin# none4 Tyically cluster concets, for e=amle, cannot 'e
so defined ; such concets are very common and include the concet of #ame, a concet
investi#ated 'y >ud"i# Ditt#enstein )*+7,/, one of the eole "ho have thou#ht most
deely a'out such cate#ories4 Dhat is ro'lematic "ith ?enuti<s "or1, ho"ever, is that
it is hard to see ho" his cate#ory of resistant translations is lin1ed even 'y the tyes of
lin1a#es that hold to#ether cluster cate#ories ; lin1a#es that Ditt#enstein called Mfamily
resem'lancesM )*+7,-sections 97;9J/4 Dhat Ditt#enstein meant 'y Mfamily
resem'lancesM is a series of artially overlain# characteristics "hich 'ind to#ether a
#rou, no sin#le su'set of "hich is characteristic of all mem'ers4 8or ?enuti, ho"ever, a
resistant translation can 'e characteri5ed either 'y choice of te=t )rather than discursive
strate#y/ or discursive strate#y )rather than choice of te=t/ ; that is, instead of
articulatin# a cluster of family resem'lances, he seems to attemt to define a cate#ory
characteri5ed 'y disFuncts of various roerties rather than artial overlas4
One could resond that ?enuti is definin# a functional cate#ory, a cate#ory formed 'y
its urose or function rather than 'y any ostensive surface characteristics4 The trou'le
"ith this line of ar#ument is that the functions ic1ed out 'y ?enuti<s aroaches to
translation are not coherent either4 In fact, the functions of minoriti5in# or resistant or
forei#ni5in# translations are Buite varia'le, assumin# for the moment that "e can ic1
out translations corresondin# to these terms4 De must as1, for e=amle, "hether ?enuti
is attemtin# to define a cate#ory associated "ith functional resistance to all cultural
oression4 If so, ho" are "e to distin#uish situations "here resistance to internal
cultural oression should 'e referred over resistance to e=ternal cultural oressionR
8or e=amle, should translators in the United States e=ert themselves to resist e=ternal
monied influences, say 6aanese or Herman investment interestsR Should "riters in
ostcolonial countries resist ro'lems internal to their #overnments or cultures in
ic1in# translation strate#ies or should they focus on resistance to neocolonialismR If
lan#ua#e is comlicit "ith o"er and he#emony and if functional resistance to such lin;
#uistic structures is to 'e desired in all situations, are all forms of ostranie or
defamiliari5ation to 'e valued in translationR If so, ho" do "e distin#uish resistant
translations from translations that are unreada'leR Dhere in lan#ua#e does ideolo#ical
tyranny end and #rammar 'e#inR As Clifford )*++J- *3, ch4 9/ imlicitly as1s, is all
su'version #oodR There is nothin# in ?enuti<s definitions of his concets or articulation
of them that hels us to ans"er such Buestions4
Dhat Buestions such as these su##est is that ultimately the reco#nition of ?enuti<s
concet of resistance is less deendent on identifia'le criteria or secific functions
ertainin# to translation than on some"hat ar'itrary ersonal Fud#ments ; a matter of
taste, let us say ; on the art of ?enuti and others "ho use his aroaches4 Indeed, if
?enuti<s concet of resistance is neither a formal nor a functional cate#ory, one must as1
"hether it is a cate#ory at all ; a cate#ory that scholars can learn to reco#ni5e and aly
consistently4 Clearly, if these concets of resistance and resistant translation ; or
forei#ni5in#, or minoriti5in# ; are to 'ecome tools that can 'e "idely used in translation
research, they must 'e identifia'le and alica'le, and their resence must at the least
'e a'le to 'e detected and a#reed uon 'y diverse researchers4 They cannot deend
ultimately on ersonal taste4 If I am ri#ht in discernin# a ro'lem here, "e are faced
"ith a real difficulty in usin# ?enuti<s concets, for a sine Bua non of the usefulness in
research of a critical tool or of critical terms is relica'ility and transfer, 'oth of "hich
seem ro'lematic in the case of e=tendin# ?enuti<s ar#uments4
De mi#ht summari5e the revious o'Fection to ?enuti<s terminolo#y 'y statin# that he
does not ma1e it clear "hat recisely is to 'e understood 'y, say, resistant translation or
"hat Bualities are to 'e counted as resistant4 >et us assume for the moment, ho"ever,
that "e could identify "hat constitutes resistance, there is still another ro'lem "ith the
concets and terms roosed 'y ?enuti4 Of the articular Bualities or functions he is
interested in, ?enuti does not ma1e it clear ho" much "ould 'e sufficient to
characteri5e a translation overall as 'ein# resistant or forei#ni5in#4 That is, ho" much
resistance must there 'e in a translation for it to count as a resistant translationR Io"
many instances of a'usive fidelity or forei#ni5in# or minoriti5in# lan#ua#e are
necessary for a translation as a "hole to 'e counted as forei#ni5in#, and so forthR A#ain,
?enuti #ives us no #uidance and no criteria to ma1e such a Fud#ment, leavin# it to the
individual researcher to set the 'ar4 This may sound li1e nitic1in#, 'ut I su##est that
the ro'lem here is susiciously li1e a variant of the a#e;old Buestion of "hether
somethin# is really radical4 Io" radical is radicalR Dho #ets to decide, to ma1e the
Fud#ement, and on "hat 'asisR And if the determination of standards is oen to anyone,
can this 'e the 'asis of sound theory and researchR
!Bually ro'lematic in this re#ard is the related Buestion of ho" to aly these concets
to translations of revious a#es and ho" to Fud#e such translations of the ast4 Thus, for
e=amle, ho" does the assa#e of time affect the Buality of resistanceR Once resistant,
al"ays resistantR Or is resistance related to the secific historic and cultural moment of
a translationR And if the latter is true, "hat criteria of interface "ith the cultural conte=t
determine resistanceR Can "e fault translations of the ast for not 'ein# sufficiently
resistantR Most eole, of course, "ould a#ree that in such a case the determination of
resistance must 'e culturally secific4 Eut if so, then "e must as1 "hat theoretical
advance ?enuti has made over the "or1 of the systems theorists such as !ven;Zohar,
Toury or >efevere in identifyin# translations and translation methods that are effective
means of en#a#ementR
?enuti aears to 'e offerin# criteria that can 'e used to Fud#e and sort translations, to
identify tyes of translations that lead to su'stantial social chan#e, 'ut those criteria
erode into relativist uncertainty as "e loo1 at his "or1 more closely and attemt to
determine ho" to e=tend his thou#ht4 Ie su##ests that he is offerin# a concetual tool
for analy5in# translations, a 1ind of a'solute or universal standard of valuation, "ith a
sort of on:off Buality rather than a slidin# scale, 'ut "here and ho" the lines are to 'e
dra"n in alyin# his concets are no"here articulated for the scholarly community4
Gote that this o'Fection does not o'tain "ith resect to many other criteria used to
Fud#e, sort and distin#uish translations, even 'inary distinctions that I "ould ta1e to 'e
ultimately ro'lematic4 Thus, the criteria for determinin# "hether a translation is
formal;eBuivalence or dynamic;eBuivalence, adeBuate or acceta'le, are "ell enou#h
articulated and sta'le enou#h across cultures so that one could loo1 at 'oth resent and
ast translations and 1no" rou#hly ho" to la'el them, if one "ere reBuired to use those
criteria )leavin# aside for the moment the Buestion of "hether these la'els are as useful
as those "ho have roounded them could "ish/4 Dith ?enuti<s terminolo#y, there are
more acute ro'lems4
One 'e#ins to susect that ?enuti does indeed offer an a'solute scale, 'ut that it is only
a'solute in virtue of 'ein# uniBue, ersonal or even solisistic "ith resect to ?enuti
himself )or "hoever else mi#ht use the term/ as the final sole Fud#e and ar'iter of the
situation4 There is an imlicit su##estion in ?enuti<s "ritin# that all ri#ht;minded
thin1ers "ill understand and a#ree, 'ut this actually constitutes an imlicit aeal to
e=i#uous ersonal and olitical standards of Fud#ment rather than standards of Fud#ment
ertainin# to translation rocesses or roducts themselves4 ?enuti oenly ac1no"led#es
his olitical a#enda in his "ritin#, and I am not critici5in# him for his olitical ositions
er se, most of "hich I am symathetic to and in fact share, nor for havin# a olitical
a#enda4 The issue is the follo"in#- if "e are to 'uild u a theory and ractice of
translation in relation to olitical en#a#ement, "e must have concetual and analytic
tools for doin# so, and my concern here is "ith evaluatin# and critici5in# the tools
?enuti has offered4 Iis concets are a version of leftist rhetoric, an alication of
standards of olitical correctness that turn ultimately to individuals or to a arty for
ar'itration of olitical aroriateness4 They are not finally very secific or #ermane to
the articular su'Fect matter or content of translation as a cultural henomenon4
Ironically, "hat I am su##estin# is that ?enuti uses the methods of descritive studies of
translation, 'ut ultimately his aroach is a normative one, and a hi#hly ri#id and
autocratic aroach to norms at that, ma1in# ultimate aeal to his o"n vie" of olitics
rather than to the methods or conte=ts of translation4 This is actually somethin# that
?enuti comes close to ac1no"led#in# in his most recent "or14
9
If it is true, ho"ever,
then ultimately ?enuti<s methods and concets lead us 'ac1"ard rather than for"ard in
the develoment of translation studies, for the develoment of descritive aroaches as
an alternative to normative aroaches has 'een a maFor "atershed in the e=ansion of
the contemorary academic discilines related to translation4
These difficulties "ith ?enuti<s terms underlie additional ro'lems o'served 'y others
'efore me )see, for e=amle, Eennett *+++, Aym *++9, Ro'inson *++Ja-*3@ff4,
*++J'-+J;**2/4 ?enuti<s normative stance a'out forei#ni5in# and resistant translation is
hi#hly secific in its cultural alication0 it ertains to translation in o"erful countries
in the Dest in #eneral and to translation in the United States in articular4 ?enuti has
'een critici5ed for not offerin# a theory that is transitive, that can 'e alied to
translation in smaller countries, in countries that are at a disadvanta#e in hierarchies of
economic and cultural resti#e and o"er4 In this sense his aroach is not alica'le to
translation in ostcolonial countries4 Indeed the methods he rooses for achievin#
resistance "ould in those circumstances lead to the further erosion of cultural autonomy
and o"er4 It is ro'a'ly in art to rectify this theoretical and ractical ro'lem that
?enuti has recently shifted his discussion to Mminoriti5in#M translation, 'ut most of the
o'Fections that I have already ut for"ard ertain to this ne" critical formulation and,
indeed, others have oened u4
J
Moreover, ?enuti<s roFect, "hatever the terms he uses,
seems to 'e an elitist one, and Ro'inson )*++J/, amon# others, has ri#htly Buestioned
ho" useful such elitism can 'e in olitical a#endas4
Cesite all ?enuti<s Far#on and seemin#ly recise technical terminolo#y, in fact his
osition is rather amorhous and dilute4 Iis 'rief is rou#hly to su##est that the
translator "ith a social conscience should attemt to 'enefit humanity and further social
Fustice 'y ic1in# a te=t and a translation method that challen#e dominant cultural
standards, articularly those dominant standards associated "ith imerialism or neo;
imerialism4 Eut many translators have 'elieved and acted uon those rinciles lon#
'efore ?enuti ever 'e#an to "rite4 As for analysis of ho" those effects are achieved, the
ideolo#ical elements of translations and #rous of translations can 'e descri'ed and
theori5ed Fust as recisely "ith ordinary lan#ua#e as "ith the terms that ?enuti roffers4
If ?enuti<s "ritin# offers us less than "e need in the "ay of theoretical concets and
ractical methods to descri'e and analy5e the relationshi 'et"een translation and
en#a#ement, "here does that leave usR 8or terminolo#y, in addition to ordinary
lan#ua#e, "e can al"ays return to various tyes of historicist analyses, includin#
olysystems aroaches4 The ro'lem here, as noted earlier, is that the saniti5ed
terminolo#y does not lend itself easily to discussions of ideolo#y, o"er and
en#a#ement4 De can also, of course, ursue the alication of ostcolonial theory to
translation studies4 In fact there are a num'er of concets and terms develoed 'y
ostcolonial theory that have the otential to 'e of #reat use "ithin translation studies,
includin# hy'ridity, transculturation, radical 'ilin#ualism, dou'le "ritin#, and so forth,
'ut this is an aroach that is still in its infancy, needin# to 'e nuanced and more fully
articulated4 A third ossi'ility for a theory and ra=is of translation as a form of
en#a#ement is to develo aroaches to translation 'ased on deconstruction, "hich may
offer tools as the aroach is develoed over the ne=t years4 Dhat 'ecomes clear from
the analysis I have underta1en here, ho"ever, is the need in translation studies for 'oth
terminolo#y and methods of analysis aroriate to this toic, focused on and relevant
to the lar#est #eoolitical issues ertainin# to translation, not Fust ertinent to coloni5ed
eoles or to dominant cultures, 'ut adata'le to all olitical conte=ts and historical
secificities4
'. (onclusion
There is a time;honoured tradition of usin# te=ts for revolutionary uroses4 The
American Revolution is a rime e=amle of a olitical movement that used te=tual
means for achievin# its ends, and it served as a model for many other revolutions,
includin# the Irish re'ellion a#ainst Eritain4 Eoth in turn loo1 'ac1 to the amhlets of
6onathan S"ift and other "riters of the *@th century, includin# the "riters of the 8rench
!nli#htenment4 Dhere such te=tuali5ed means of en#a#ement have 'een successful,
ho"ever, they "ere almost invaria'ly associated "ith a lar#er olitical roFect, as for
e=amle Thomas Aaine<s amhlets or the Ceclaration of Indeendence "ere "ith
resect to the American Revolution4
As Ro'inson has ar#ued )*++J-*3@ff4/, moreover, to 'e effective for olitical
en#a#ement, a te=t and a #rou that uses the te=t must have "idesread and #eneral
aeal4 One reason te=tuali5ed means, includin# translation, "ere effective in Ireland as
it stru##led for freedom is that te=ts incitin# cultural nationalism had oular aeal
throu#h the Irish literary movement, the Irish dramatic movement and the Irish
movement to edit and translate early Irish te=ts, all of "hich "ere inclusive movements,
consciously aealin# to all se#ments of the Irish olity4 Indeed the Irish cultural
nationalists "or1ed very hard at 'uildin# such mass aeal, develoin# hundreds of
local chaters of the Haelic >ea#ue, sta#in# oular dramatic roductions, ta1in# their
roductions on the road to villa#es and to"ns in the countryside, and ma1in# availa'le
ine=ensive editions and translations of te=ts for the common reader4 Eut such thin#s
are difficult and involve a concerted effort of literati and olitical leaders, sometimes
even an identity of the t"o, as the case of the Irish atriots !oin MacGeill, Aatric1
Aearse and Cou#las Iyde illustrates4
Hro"in# out of my o"n e=erience as someone committed to en#a#ement in 'oth
radical and electoral olitics durin# the last .3 years, as "ell as my e=erience "ith
te=tual roduction, I ersonally "ould recommend that if a erson "ere interested in
'ein# en#a#ed, he or she should underta1e direct action rather than su'limated
te=tuali5ed olitical involvement4 Cirect action is #enerally more efficient and more
effective, for te=tuali5ed means so often have a tendency to 'ecome hermetic and
dislaced, not to mention uncertain in their results4 And after recent history, "hich has
demonstrated reeatedly ho" easily elites can 'e ur#ed, "ied out, eliminated and
s"et aside, it is difficult to have confidence in the effectiveness of movements oriented
to a literary elite4
If one "ere nonetheless intent on usin# translation as a means of olitical en#a#ement,
the follo"in# can 'e su##ested, 'ased on the effectiveness of the Irish translation
movement4
S 8or a translation movement to 'e effectively en#a#ed, it needs a clear set of shared
#oals and values4
S Aolitical effectiveness is most li1ely if there is a #rou of translators actin# in concert
and if the translators as a #rou oerate "ithin the conte=t of a lar#er cultural and
olitical movement, "hich mi#ht include the roduction of other te=tual forms
)theatre, literature of various tyes, amhlets, seeches, manifestoes, and so on/,
as "ell as diverse forms of activism and direct community or#ani5ation4
S There should 'e a defined audience lar#e enou#h to initiate and suort cultural shifts,
such as the inte#rated, oular audience in Ireland at the turn of the century4
S Te=ts must 'e chosen for translation "ith olitical #oals in vie", and, if need 'e, there
must 'e a "illin#ness to maniulate the te=ts in translation, so as to adat and
su'ordinate the te=ts to olitical aims and a#endas4 The intent to transmit the te=ts
closely, in and for themselves, must in many cases ; erhas even most ; 'e
a'andoned4 It is imortant to fla# this oint for this tye of radical maniulation of
te=ts is usually inimical to most eole "hose rimary orientation is to the inte#rity
of te=ts er se4
S Translators should 'e in#enious and varied in their aroach to translation4 Go sin#le
translation aroach or strate#y is li1ely to suffice ; "hether it is literal or free,
Mdomesticatin#M or Mforei#ni5in#M4 Instead, as the Irish translations sho", multile
strate#ies should 'e deloyed and ma=imum tactical fle=i'ility maintained, so as to
resond to the immediate cultural conte=t most effectively4 It may even 'e
desira'le, as in the Irish case, to have multile and comlementary reresentations
of the same set of te=ts4 Tryin# to rescri'e a sin#le translation strate#y is li1e
tryin# to rescri'e a sin#le strate#y for effective #uerrilla "arfare4 Dhat is reBuired
instead is a certain oortunistic vitality that sei5es uon immediate short term
#ains as the lon#;term #oal remains in vie"4
In revie"in# this list it is interestin# to o'serve that these characteristics ic1 out other
translation movements 'esides that of Ireland- they characteri5e the searatist and
feminist translation movements in Kue'ec and the canni'alists of Era5il, for e=amle4
One final thou#ht4 !ven "hen translation is effective as a means of olitical
en#a#ement, as in the case of Ireland at the turn of the century, it does not necessarily
follo" that one "ill fully arove of the conseBuences4 Iistory has a "ay of layin#
tric1s on its rincials4 The study of translation in Ireland offers a cautionary lesson to
those revisionists in translation studies "ho have made calls for translation to assume a
#eoolitical role fosterin# resistance to oression of various 1inds4 The Irish translation
movement is in fact, as "e have seen, a rare e=amle of e=actly "hat is called for- a
hi#hly successful, oular translation movement that contri'uted in a material "ay to
the end of imerial domination in Ireland4 Yet in retrosect it is clear that there are also
'itter ironies to its #eoolitical success4
Resondin# to the dual ressures of colonialism and nationalism, the ima#e of Irish
culture constructed 'y the translations of early Irish literature ortrayed the Irish as
tra#ic, heroic, militant, no'le and chaste4 After indeendence the ima#es or
reresentations of the Irish 'uilt u durin# the eriod of cultural nationalism "ere
institutionali5ed 'y the Irish state and ultimately "ritten into the constitution4 This
develoment too1 the form, amon# other thin#s, of #rantin# the Catholic Church a
secial lace in the state aaratus, of e=licitly definin# "omen<s role as home'ound
and associated "ith traditional female values, and of esta'lishin# an active state
aaratus of censorshi4 The translations "ere instrumental in relacin# colonial
stereotyes of the Irish "ith ne" valori5ed ima#es, 'ut it is also clear in retrosect that
those ima#es heled to construct the stiflin# social mores of ost;indeendence Ireland4
The translation movement also contri'uted to a continuin# ethos of violence, al'eit
violence held in chec1 for some decades4 Thus the ima#e of the Irish constructed in
lar#e measure 'y translations of early Irish literature "as the foundation of many of the
reactionary features of Irish culture from the *+23s ri#ht to the *+J3s4
The ima#e of Irish culture formulated in translations of early Irish literature also 'ecame
a sort of cultural rison, restrictin# cultural chan#e and the emer#ence of a fully
decoloni5ed ercetion of Ireland<s cultural herita#e4 Aarado=ically the ima#es created
'y the translation movement came to constrain the rocess of translation itself, resultin#
in the suression of further translations of Irish literature for almost 73 years4
@
Another
"ay of uttin# this oint is to say that translations of early Irish literature facilitated
cultural nationalism and the indeendence movement, 'ut they also resulted in a ri#id,
etrified, and even fetishi5ed ima#e of Irish culture and Irish tradition that ersisted for
decades after indeendence4 The emhasis on heroism and violence in the early
translations, moreover, contri'uted to the violent conflicts in Gorthern Ireland, "ith CN
Chulainn 'ein# aroriated as an ideal ima#e 'y 'oth sides in the hostilities4 Thus, the
Irish translation movement led not simly to Irish olitical indeendence, 'ut also to a
re#ressive, reressive state, to civil "ar and to violence in the Gorth, an an#ry harvest
that could not have 'een foreseen 'y the Unionist Standish O<Hrady, the scholar !leanor
Iull, the Haelic >ea#uer Mary Iutton, or the sometime revolutionary >ady Au#usta
Hre#ory as they reared their translations of the early stories4 The moral is, 'e careful
"hat you "ish for4
The #ood ne"s a'out translation and olitical en#a#ement is that it is rotean, "ith the
otential to chan#e and chan#e a#ain the reresentations it creates4 Eecause there can 'e
no final translation, translation itself may offer solutions to the ro'lems it creates and
reair the dama#es it causes4
+
This is the motivation 'ehind GiranFana<s call for
retranslation and her o'servation that retranslation and the re"ritin# of history are one4
De can add that the re"ritin# of the ast throu#h and in association "ith translation is
also a rescritin# of the resent and the future4 Eecause of the necessity of rene"in#
translations, translation is a cultural function that ultimately resists the fetishi5in# of
cultural o'Fects and cultural constructs ; includin# the fetishi5in# of a national tradition4
Translation acts to counter the etrification of ima#es of the ast, of readin#s of culture
and tradition4 Thus, translation is also otentially a eretuallocus of olitical
en#a#ement4
MARIA TYMOCZKO
Department of Comparative %iterature, &niversity of 'assachusetts Amherst, ()*
South College, Amherst, 'A )+))(, &SA. tymoc,-o.complit.umass.edu
)otes
*4 8or other criticisms of the Mfilter;do"n theoryM of cultural ractices, see Aym
)*++9-*99;9J/4
24 On these oints see Ki'erd )*++7-277, 2J7;J9/4
,4 The deersonali5ation under colonialism is discussed 'y 8anon )*+9*:*+9,, *+72:
T*+9@/0 cf4 Mills )*++J-* *,ff4/4
.4 These issues are discussed at #reater len#th in the introduction to Tymoc51o and
Hent5ler, Translation and Ao"er, in rearation4
74 6acBuemond )*++2/ illustrates the "ay that e=otici5ation can reinforce cultural
oression0 cf4 e=amles in Eennett )*+++/ as "ell4
94 See ?enuti )*++@-ch4 */4 ?enuti rather disin#enuously su##ests that descritive
aroaches to translation rimarily restrict their urvie" to norms, avoidin#
Buestions of ideolo#y4
J4 8or e=amle, most of the lan#ua#e used in a translation "ill inevita'ly 'e shaed 'y
maFority seech ; thus, even in a Mminoriti5in#M translation, "on<t the o"er of the
maFority continue to "or1 most o"erfullyR And more si#nificantly- can one
roduce a minoriti5in# translation if one is not art of a minorityR
To set the ro'lems of ?enuti<s concet of resistance in relief, "e can comare it to
Coris Summer<s )*++2/ concet of resistance in literary "ritin#4 Sommer #ives a
definition that allo"s the reader to understand her concet clearly, to aly her
concet and to relicate and e=tend her findin#s4 Moreover, the criteria she uts
forth are te=tual ones rather than criteria that refer to e=tra;te=tual asects of
ideolo#ical affiliation, even thou#h her criteria define an ideolo#ical osition for a
te=t4 8inally, her concet is transitive, a'le to refer to the functionin# of te=ts "ith
resect to 'oth dominant and su'altern cultures, useful no matter "hat the olitical
conte=t4 In these various resects, then, Sommer<s concet is much more dura'le
and useful as an intellectual tool than the concets develoed 'y ?enuti4
@4 There is a star1 record of 5ero translation of many of the early te=ts for decades after
indeendence4 This is aarent in the fifty;year #a 'et"een the *+*. translation
of TOin EP CNailn#e 'y 6oseh Cunn, for e=amle, and the ne=t translations, those
of Kinsella and Cecile O<Rahilly in the late *+93s )see Tymoc51o *+++- ch4 2/4
Only in the Irish lan#ua#e itself "as another ima#e of the Irish availa'le4
+4 In Ireland the translations of Kinsella are a concrete e=amle of this henomenon4
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