The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation, and: Encyclopedia of Literary Translation into English (review)

REVIEWS PETER FRANCE, ed. The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation . Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. xxii + 656 pp. + OLIVE CLASSE, Encyclopedia ofLiterary Translation into English. London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000. 2 vol. xxxvii + 1714 pp. Concerned about ever smaller numbers ofNorth Americans proficient in a second language and a relative dearth oftranslations published in the U. S., André Schiffrin has stressed the irony of our inability "in an era of globalization" to "make more serious thought from abroad available to more readers" ("Missing Out on a World ofScholarship," Chronicle ofHigher Education, 6 Oct. 2001 : B 13). Not only are many major works not translated into English, translated titles often fail to receive critical reviews, attract wide readerships, or see reasonable print mns. Most titles doubtless find their way into libraries, but the invisibility ofboth translators and many translations, along with a lack ofadequate reference works, inevitably has serious consequences for comparatists and others interested in the emerging field of translation studies. Fortunately, however, the two titles reviewed here make the task ofinforming oneselfless daunting. With the Routledge Encyclopedia ofTranslation Studies (1998), edited by Mona Baker, they represent a major step toward filling a definite need among students and scholars alike. (For a thorough review ofBaker 's volume, see Leon Burnett, Translation and Literature 8.1 [1998]: 120-30.) Peter France's Guide is the more compact of the two books, but is no less ambitious than Classe's work. On the contrary, as David Constantine has indicated, "It will be a pity ifthis book is only used for reference and as a guide" ("Shock of the Foreign," TLS, 1 June 2001 : 10). Indeed, France has clearly aimed for a tightlyedited , comprehensive work that gives both a detailed historical overview oftranslation and translations worldwide and a thought-provoking introduction to the issues involved in translation, particularly in translation criticism. His second objective is realized largely in Part I. This part accounts for about a fifth of the Guide, comprising essays by leading translation scholars and translators who address theoretical issues, the historical development oftranslation, and text-types. France's first objective is met in Part II, with entries ofvarying lengths by numerous contributors . Although France did not envision "a complete account of translation into English" (xxi), the Guide covers ancient as well as medieval and modem literature from all over the world. Emphasis falls on works with "the greatest impact on English -speaking culture since the Middle Ages" (xxi), but there are also entries about literatures from many languages less familiar to most English-speaking readers. Because there are so many contributors, the quality and scope ofthe essays and entries vary, considerably in some cases. (For instance, not all translation scholars would have focused the theoretical issues from the perspectives chosen by France, and some translators will no doubt feel excluded, misrepresented, or unfairly judged.) At the same time, however, there is an admirable consistency with respect to the five basic areas he outlines in the introduction: (1) the literature that has and has not been translated into English; (2) the influence oftranslation on the English "canon" of world literature; (3) the social context of translators' work; (4) the "guise" under which world literature has entered English; and (5) the "nature and quality" ofmaterial available in English translation (xx). Also consistent throughout the volume is an insistence on the inevitably contextual nature of all translation evaluation and the ultimate impossibility ofneutral description. France's opening essay presents the goals ofthe volume succinctly, making clear his hope that the Guide will contribute to a fuller understanding ofall that translation involves. Vol. 26 (2002): 148 THE COMPAKATIST The Encyclopedia ofLiterary Translation into English resulted from a similar initiative. Editor Olive Classe calls it an "instrument ofrecord" whose purpose is to map and report on the progress oftranslation as a relatively new field ofstudy in the English-speaking world (vii, ix). Admitting that the scope ofher "enterprise is bold" (vii), she explains that it was planned as a single volume but gradually became two, because both the large quantity ofmaterial and the enthusiasm ofher contributors called for more entries than originally envisioned. The volumes contain more than 600 entries ofthree types: general and historical...