Scholarly record
Literary Translation in Soviet Latvia: On Latvian Publications of J. Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”
Abstract
In the modern literary science, the issues connected with Soviet regime (censorship, interaction between ideology and literature, translation policy etc.) and its impact on public awareness and national culture are of great scientific importance. The present study examines and in the comparative perspective evaluates peculiarities of literary translation in oppressive socio-political circumstances experienced by Latvia during the Soviet occupation (1940-1941; 1944/45-1990/91). The focus is on John Steinbeck’s novel “The Grapes of Wrath” which was originally published in 1939 in the United States of America. The novel is well known for its realistic and tragic depiction of the horrors of the Great Depression. In Latvian “The Grapes of Wrath” was published twice: in 1941 in Herta Lindberga’s translation and in 1963 in Zelma Stana’s translation. Using the comparativist approach, the translations are juxtaposed with the text in the original language (English) and, due to the certain cultural, social and political realities Latvia was experiencing during the Soviet occupation, with the translation in Russian carried out by N. Volzhina in 1940; moreover, both of the Latvian translation variants of the novel are contrastively examined. The cultural-historical view and historical discourse analysis allow not only to examine literary translation in historical and cultural context, but also identify and explain textual shifts and misinterpretations dictated by ideology of the certain time period. The relevance of differences of translation strategies to ideological impact is analysed. Close sensitive reading of the text in source and target language reveals that translation strategies applied for the Latvian publications differ. Ideological manipulation is more pronounced in the publication of 1963. Several manipulative strategies were identified: deletion, omission, substitution, and antonymous translation.
Publication Impact Profile
- Captures
- Mendeley - Readers: 1
Publication details
References12
Briedis R., Teksta cenzЕ«ras Д«sais kurss: prozas teksts un cenzЕ«ra padomju gados LatvijДЃ, Book, Latvia, 2010.
Steinbeck J., The Grapes of Wrath, Book, the USA, 2002.
Е teinbeks D., Dusmu augДјi, Book, Latvia, 1941.
Nollendorfs V., Celle O., Michele G., Neiburgs U., StaЕЎko D., (Eds), The three occupations of Latvia 1940-1991: Soviet and Nazi take-overs and their consequences, Book, Latvia, p 19, 2005.
Blumberga S., TulkoЕЎanas teorija un prakse LatvijДЃ: 1944-1968, Book, Latvia, 2008.
DЕѕons Steinbeks: [Par amerik. rakstn.], LiteratЕ«ras AvД«ze, Periodical, Latvia, no. 8, p 3, April 23, 1941.
Steynbek D., Grozd'ya gneva, Book, Russia, 1987.
Steinbeks D., Dusmu augДјi, Book, Latvia, 1963.
Klimovich N.V., Manipulative Strategies in the Translations of Literary Texts Carried Out in the Soviet Union, Journal of Siberian Federal University, Humanities & Social Sciences, Russia, vol. 3 (9), pp 543-550, 2016.
Shockley M., Christian Symbolism in The Grapes of Wrath, College English, Journal, the USA, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 87-90, 1956.
Zauberga I., Theoretical Tools for Professional Translators, Book, Latvia, 2004.
Veisbergs A., Grāmatu tulkojumi varas maiņu gados (1939–1946), Academic Life, Scientific Journal, Latvia, vol. 53, pp 85-94, 2016-2017.
View or Download full articleAccess options
SWS access login
Login as SWS Scientific CommitteeLogin as SWS Scientific PartnerLogin as SWS AuthorAuthors and approved SWS contributors will read and export their own linked papers after identity matching by SWS profile, email and SGEM GlobalID.
For librarian assistance: [email protected]
Purchase Instant Access
- Article can be downloaded after successful payment.
- Article may be used according to SWS library access terms.
- Article cannot be redistributed.