Translation Review
ISSN: 0737-4836 (Print) 2164-0564 (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/utrv20
Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies
Edited by Mona Baker. London and New York. 1998. 654 pages ($165.00)
Rainer Schulte
To cite this article: Rainer Schulte (1999) Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies,
Translation Review, 57:1, 52-53, DOI: 10.1080/07374836.1999.10524085
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ROUTLEDGEENCYCLOPEDIA OF as Equivalence; Drama translation; Imitation; Literal
TRANSLATIONSTUDIES Approaches; and Poetry translation, to name just a few.
I welcome the inclusion of two articles, one on
Edited by Mona Baker. London and New York. "Drama translation" and the other on "Dubbing," two
1998.654 pages ($165.00) areas that have received very little attention in the field
of translation studies. At the end ofthe article on dub-
bing we read: "The transmission of cultural values in
screen translation has received very little attention in
the literature and remains one ofthe most pressing ar-
T he need for reference works in the area ofTransla-
tion Studies with particular focus on literary trans-
lation has been growing over the past few years. It is
eas of research in translation studies" (p. 76). The ar-
ticle on dubbing introduces the scholarly work that has
been done in this field, a healthy beginning for research
probably a coincidence that three reference works dedi- that needs to be pursued in the future. The opening
cated to translation studies are being published within entry on "Drama translation" reiterates the little atten-
the span of one year. One of these reference works, tion that has been given to this topic: "Only limited
namely the Rout/edge Encyclopedia, is now available. scholarly attention has hitherto been devoted to the
The other two are scheduled to appear later in 1999: translation of drama, probably owing to the special
The OxfordGuide to Eng/ish Literature in Hans/ation problems confronting the translator for the stage" (p.
(edited by Peter France) and Encyclopedia ofLiterary 71). The article proceeds to investigate such matters
Hans/ation to be published by Fitzroy Dearborn (edi- as dialect, style, adaptation, and sociocultural differ-
tor Olive Classe) ences. One addition that might be made to drama trans-
The Rout/edge Encyclopedia is divided into two lation and dubbing would be the translation of opera.
major sections: Part I: "General" and Part II: "History Particularly helpful for the expansion of transla-
and Traditions." In the first part, the reader will find tion studies are the articles on the history and tradi-
articles written by different contributors and organized tions of translation in individual countries. That sec-
by subject matters. The list starts with "Action," in- tion attracts attention because of its comprehensive-
cludes such topics as Adaptation, Anthologies ofTrans- ness. Next to the better-known languages are entries
lation, Equivalence, Quality ofTranslation, and Trans- on the developments of translation in Bulgaria, Den-
lation Studies, and ends with Universals of Transla- mark, Finland, Iceland, Turkey, and Hungary. The
tion. There are all together eighty-two entries in this article on "African tradition" traces the various influ-
rubric. The section on the history and traditions of ences that have been responsible for the expansion of
translation is organized by countries from "African tra- translation on the African continent. Early on, the Por-
dition" to "Turkish tradition." The reference work tuguese made their presence felt in Africa and estab-
concludes with a fifty-three page bibliography and a lished contacts between Europe and Africa. The ne-
subject and author index. At the end of each entry, the cessity to maintain communication among the Africans,
authors provide references to other scholars who have Arabs, and Europeans led to an unprecedented need
worked in the respective areas of specialization. for translation: the oral African works into African;
A wide range of subject matters is featured in the African into Arabic; African into European. The rich-
encyclopedia: the history and function ofvarious trans- ness and multiplicity of African languages from the
lation associations in different countries, including a pre-colonial era to the present have been the driving
description of the Federation Internationale des forces to make the activity of translation an absolute
Traducteurs (FIT); Conference and simultaneous in- prerequisite for daily survival.
terpreting; Machine translation; Linguistic and semiotic Another intriguing development of how interpre-
approaches to translation; Translator-training institu- tive perspectives are developed by translators in dif-
tions; and Bible, Koran, and Torah translations. Then ferent countries can be found in the article on "Latin
there are articles that address the act oftranslation, such tradition." The Roman translators did not feel that they
52 Hans/ation Review
had to adhere very closely to the original Greek texts Shakespeare is being discussed in terms of his works
and therefore adapted them freely for a Roman audi- being translated into other languages. What happened
ence ofcoarser tastes than the original Greek audiences. to all the other well-known writers whose works were
With the Romans we thus witness the beginning of a translated into many languages? Perhaps the
discussion that has been reinvigorated throughout the Shakespeare entry shows the need for another refer-
following centuries, namely, the validity ofliteral and ence work that would be dedicated totally to established
free translation. It is not so much what each genera- writers and the translations of their works.
tion of translators considered the best way of translat- In general, one could say that the alphabetically
ing, but rather the reasons they gave for translating the arranged subject categories cover the conceptual as well
way they did. as the practical side oftranslation activities. A multi-
All ofthe entries dealing with the traditions oftrans- plicity ofquestions are formulated and discussed: what
lation in the various countries present a history of the is literary translation? how does a translation get pub-
translators who have shaped that tradition and how lished? how much does a translator get paid for his
they have modified their interpretive approaches from efforts? what is the status oftranslation criticism? etc.
the time ofthe Romans to the present. A comparative The reader finds many helpful answers to these ques-
view of these treatments underlines the great variety tions. However, some entries that deal with concepts
of translational attitudes that emerge in the transferal of translation are not too sound as to their scholarly
oftexts from one language into another. Furthermore, foundation. An analysis ofthe "Hermeneutic motion"
the geographic, economic, and cultural situations of a makes no mention of the key figure of hermeneutics,
country often prescribe the nature of translation to namely Hans-Georg Gadamer. It was Gadamer who
maintain communication among nations. There can actually set the hermeneutic tradition into motion, by
be no doubt that the need for translations is always establishing that "Reading is already translation, and
greater in the technical and business realm than in the translation is a second translation.... The process of
world of literature. Here again, the financial factor translating comprises in its essence the whole secret of
plays an important role. Technical translators can more human understanding of the world and of social com-
easily support themselves by translating than can those munication."
in literature and the humanities. The reader as well as the translator who wants to
The surveys of the developments of translation in get a sense of all the activities that lead to an under-
each country are well-researched, sound in the presen- standing of translation studies might begin with the
tation of the major trends that have formed the prac- entry on the "History of translation," move to the ar-
tice and theory of translation in the respective coun- ticle on "Translation studies," look into some of the
tries and languages. Translators and readers alike can historical developments oftranslation in specific coun-
draw valuable and often interesting information from tries, and then study the analyses of specific concep-
these studies. While the overall structuring principle tual topics that deal with the actual practice ofthe craft
of the section dedicated to "History and Traditions" of translation. In addition to being a reference work,
of translation builds a clearly defined concept, the most ofthe articles included in the encyclopedia make
structure of the first section entitled, "General," pre- interesting reading for the scholar of translation, the
sents a somewhat eclectic arrangement. The listing of translator, and the general reader.
the topics in alphabetical order by concepts is convinc- On the whole, Mona Baker should be congratu-
ing, and all the major subject matters, such as Adapta- lated for having brought together in this reference work
tion, Equivalence, Imitation, Quality ofTranslation, and a great number ofscholars and translators who work at
Translatability, are covered. I am slightly baffled why, the forefront of translation studies. Her encyclopedia
in the context of theme-oriented articles, an entry on is the first comprehensive reference in that field to
"Shakespeare translations" is included. The overall outline all the problems that translation scholarship and
conceptual direction of the reference work is focused research have to address.
on the translation of foreign texts into English.
Iransiano» Review 53
