Jiří Levý's The Art of Translation: from the Genesis of the Original to its Reception in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking World
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
In this paper, we try to describe the genesis of Jiři Levý's groundbreaking work The Art of Translation (1963) from the early 1950s, as well as the vicissitudes of its international reception until the present day. The first Czech edition of the work was preceded by a whole series of interdisciplinary investigations recorded in articles, manuals, lectures and handwritten notes. This process was prolonged in the German and Russian translations of the work (1969 and 1974), in which Levý collaborated closely with his translators making adaptations and modifications of various kinds to bring the work closer to its recipients in the target cultures. In particular, the German translation was important because it served to spread Levý's ideas abroad and also because it acted, together with the Czech original, as a pattern in the second Czech edition of the work, prepared by Karel Hausenblas in 1983, which all subsequent editions have taken as model. For a long time, Levý's work remained unknown to international audiences for linguistic and political reasons, among others. However, in the last decade we have witnessed a revival of interest in his theoretical conception —evidenced in the appearance of new translations— which is considered now as a precursor of contemporary theoretical vistas.
Key words: Jiři Levý, The Art of Translation, Czech Structuralism, Translation Studies, History of Translation.
Downloads
Article Details
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).