group 5

History of
Literary
Translation
Reporters

Nikko Claire
 Objectives
01 Give timeline to the Literary Translation

02 Discuss the purpose of literary translation

03 Importance of Past, Present and Future on Literary Translation

 Literary translation refers to the rendering of
originals in which translators are expected to
preserve or recreate “the aesthetic intentions or
effects that may be perceived in the source text”
(Delabastita 2011: 69).
LIterary translation is working with a text in its original
language to prepare a version in a new language. This
work promotes broader reading and distribution of the
work. In some cases—for instance, Gilgamesh, a work
composed in ancient languages of the Middle East—
translation is the only way the text is made available to
general readers.
Pa st
 Ancient Era
The Western World regards the
Bible translation from Hebrew to
Greek as the first translation work
of great importance. The translation
is called the Septuagint, getting its
name from the 70 individual
translators who separately worked
on the translation in the 3rd century
BC. They were received by King
Ptolemy II and given a feast before
they were sent to a house in Pharos.
Hebrews as an Important
Factor
At that time, the Jews were
dispersed in various places and
they have forgotten their mother
tongue, Hebrew. Because of this,
they needed a new version of the
Bible. The Septuagint version of
the Bible was used later as the
source material for translations
into Georgian, Armenian, Coptic,
Latin and several more
languages.
Sensible Translation
Support
The same thought was echoed by
Roman writer and philosopher,
Cicero. He said that translation should
not be ‘verbum pro verbo’ (word for
word) in his work, “De Oratore” or
“On the Orator.” For him, the
translated words should not be
counted in weight rather than in coins.
Cicero, who was a Greek-Latin
translator, said that the work of the
translator was like an artist’s work.
During the 5th century onwards, very
Medieval Age
few translations of works in the Latin
language were available in common
languages because Latin was the
popular language. Alfred the Great,
who was the king of England during
the 9th century, commissioned the
Latin to English translation of The
Consolation of Philosophy by
Boethius and Ecclesiastical History by
Bede. The translations contributed to
the development of English prose
during the time of King Alfred the
Great.
13th Century
Influences
During the 13th century, Roger Bacon, an
English linguist, determined that a translator
must be fully knowledgeable in the source and
target languages to be able to produce an
accurate translation. At the same time, he
already established that the translator should
also be a subject matter expert. That’s how old
the concept is.
 14th Century
Influences
In the 14th century, the first translation of the Bible from
Latin to English was done by John Wycliffe. It was also
during this century that Geoffrey Chaucer, an author, poet
and translator, translated the works of Boethius from Latin
into English and the French work, ‘Roman de la Rose’ into
English. He also did many translations of works by Italian
authors into English. In fact, he founded a tradition grounded
on adaptations and translations of Italian and Latin literary
works.
 The Rise of the West
The advancement in the printing process and the
growth of the middle class during the 16th century
further developed translation as the demand for new
literary materials increased. This is the period when an
English scholar named William Tyndale led a group to
work on the initial Tudor translation of the New
Testament in 1525. It was also the first time that the
portion of the Bible was directly translated from Greek
and Hebrew texts into English.
 s t t r a n s l a t e d b o o k
e B i b l e i s t h e m o
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Several oth e r t o o k
a k i n g th e H o l y B
e 1 6 th c e n t u r y , m
during th r e n c h a n d D u t ch .
o v e n e , S p a n i s h , F
available in S l o k s o f
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t he t i r o p e .
n l a n g u ag e s in E u
mode r
 T he
Prese n t
Translation Studies, which first started in the latter part
of the 20th century is already an academic course
today. It includes various subjects, such as
terminology, semiotics, philosophy, philology,
linguistics, history, computer science and comparative
literature. It requires students to choose their specialty.
When they specialize, translators receive proper
training either in literary, scientific, technical,
economic or legal translation.
 E V O LV I N G I N D U S T RY

Tr a n s l a t i o n S t u d i e s , w h i c h f i r s t s t a r t e d i n
the latter part of the 20th century is already
a n a c a d e m i c c o u r s e t o d a y. I t i n c l u d e s
v a r i o u s s u b j e c t s , s u c h a s t e r m i n o l o g y,
s e m i o t i c s , p h i l o s o p h y, p h i l o l o g y,
l i n g u i s t i c s , h i s t o r y, c o m p u t e r s c i e n c e a n d
comparative literature. It requires students
t o c h o o s e t h e i r s p e c i a l t y. W h e n t h e y
specialize, translators receive proper
t r a i n i n g e i t h e r i n l i t e r a r y, s c i e n t i f i c ,
t e c h n i c a l , e c o n o m i c o r l e g a l t r a n s l a t i o n.
 Niikko

T he
Fu t u r e
 THE FUTURE LOOKS VERY OPTIMISTIC FOR THE LANGUAGE SERVICES
INDUSTRY. PROJECTIONS ESTIMATE THAT IT’LL TURN OUT US$56.18 BY 2020.
EXPECT MORE CHANGES IN THE DELIVERY METHODS OF TRANSLATIONS.

• Wi t h m ost com panies serving global clients, the need for fast
and effective comm unication increases. Many translation
com panies will be offering a full suite of translation to meet
t he demands of the m arket. Localizati on wi ll be in higher
dem and. Why? To ensure that companies are able t o cater to
t he preferences of their global consumers.
• There will be more demand for non-English languages. At the
sam e time, m ore products and services from non-English
speaking countries will be available to foreign markets.
Nat urally, this will require translation services.
• Devel opm ents in CAT tools and other com puter-aided
productivity tools will l ower the cost of translation. Further,
t here will be m ore dem and for ot her minority languages from
sm all yet fast-growing econom ies alongside the niche
l anguages.
 sum up
Claire

Literary translation involves translating dramatic and

creative poetry and prose into other languages, and it is
a hugely important task. It helps to shape a reader's
understanding of the world, their history, philosophy,
politics, and more.
References
• https://www.google.com/search?
q=purpose+of+literary+translation&tbm=isch&
ved=2ahUKEwiq47CIwZaEAxXIVPUHHY43C
EwQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=purpose+of+literary+transla
tion&gs_lp=EgNpbWciH3B1cnBvc2Ugb2Ygb
Gl0ZXJhcnkgdHJhbnNsYXRpb25I9GxQwwhY
7WhwAXgAkAECmAHyAaAB9iCqAQY0MC
43LjG4AQPIAQD4AQGKAgtnd3Mtd2l6LWlt
Z6gCCsICBRAAGIAEwgIHEAAYgAQYGMI
CBBAjGCfCAgcQIxjqAhgnwgILEAAYgAQYs
QMYgwHCAggQABiABBixA8ICDhAAGIAE
GIoFGLEDGIMBwgIKEAAYgAQYigUYQ8IC
BhAAGAUYHogGAQ&sclient=img&ei=QgrC
Zaq6Gsip1e8Pju-g4AQ&bih=730&biw=1536
Thank
You!