Latvian national identity (language-centred), the literary polysystem and even the written language itself are the result of translation. Translations have always constituted the majority of literary and other texts. Translation played an exceptionally important, even pivotal, role in the beginnings of written Latvian in the 16th-18th centuries. Translators (native German speakers) formed, codified and modified written Latvian. Religious translations applied a rigorous fidelity approach. Secular translations were localizations of easy reading, sentimental German stories. Parallel to the rise of native literature in the 19th century, there occurred a gradual transition from adaptation /domestication to foreignization and fidelity as the main approach. More ambitious translations of Western classics started, usually done by distinguished Latvian writers. Next to the traditional faithfulness, some translations were freely shortened and otherwise modified. After acquiring independence at the beginning of the 20th century the volume of translation grew and included also literature from more exotic sources. The Soviet period brought a re-orientation: most translations were done from Russian, fiction was translated from the original languages or via Russian as well. Regaining of independence brought about an enormous growth in the translated information amount; within 5 years English became the dominant source language. Translation again (like in the early stage of Latvian) became the main vehicle of language development. In a somewhat paradoxical way translators have formed, altered and inspired a strong language-bound national identity. Their voice, though not always heard and recognized, has been central in the Latvian narrative polyphony.
Cross-cultural communication affects not only the translations per se, but also target culture and thinking in general. Globalization, migration, tourism, student exchanges, international trade and business, and first of all the openness of media brings numerous new concepts and terms into languages. Yet, the direct lexical impact is only part of the process; there is also a broad effect on target language composition/corpus, conventions, norms and even deep structures. Most ‘original’ texts today carry many of the same traits as translations. Interference has long ceased to be characteristic of translated texts only. Translations in many languages constitute more than half of the texts that an average citizen ‘consumes’. We cannot speak anymore of a clear dichotomy of ‘translation language’ versus the real language – there is no isolation in the modern world. One can view this asymmetrical phenomenon as a deplorable interference, as linguistic and cultural imperialism or as a general standardization of languages with a consequent potential loss of cultural uniqueness. Yet it can hardly be affected, as language change is inevitable, and in the modern world translation functions as a major vehicle of change. It also calls for a review of some of the traditional approaches to translation theory issues within the framework of the new globalized, international and multilingual communication.
[full article, abstract in English; abstract in Lithuanian] In this paper the author continues to explore the translation scene in 20th century Latvia (Veisbergs 2016a). The period under discussion covers 1945–1953, the years of Stalin’s rule after WWII until his death in 1953. The translation situation is described by discussing nationalisation and centralisation of publishers, book liquidation, censorship, ideologisation and politicisation, russification, Latvian émigré translations and other aspects of importance in an attempt to present the translation scene of the period from different angles. At the end of the article an extensive list of references is provided that can serve as an initial bibliography for more extensive research of translation practices in Latvia and beyond.
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