Francesc Borrull · 2017 · Translation Studies · Catalan Studies

Abstract

Paper presented at the First California Symposium on Catalan Studies, UCLA — April 24, 2017

This conference paper examines the structural and ideological challenges faced by Catalan literature in gaining visibility beyond its own linguistic domain, with particular attention to translation into English. While translation is a necessary condition for the international existence of Catalan literature, the paper argues that this necessity collides with the structural impermeability of the Anglo-American literary system, where translated works account for only a small fraction of annual publications.

Drawing on cultural and polysystem theory, the paper analyzes the asymmetrical power relations between dominant and minoritized literatures and explores how linguistic prestige, market dynamics, and ideological hierarchies shape what gets translated—and what does not. Through concrete case studies of Catalan authors translated into English over the past forty years (including Jacint Verdaguer, Baltasar Porcel, Mercè Rodoreda, and Quim Monzó), the paper illuminates both the limitations and the possibilities of cultural circulation through translation.

Presented at UCLA during the inaugural California Symposium on Catalan Studies, this work contributes to ongoing debates in Translation Studies, Comparative Literature, and Catalan Studies regarding global visibility, cultural mediation, and the politics of literary exchange.

Keywords: Baltasar Porcel; Catalan literature; literary translation; translation studies; polysystem theory; minoritized literatures; cultural circulation; linguistic prestige; Anglo-American literary system; Catalan Studies

Suggested Citation

Borrull, Francesc. “La necessitat i la dificultat de ser traduït a l’anglès.” Paper presented at the First California Symposium on Catalan Studies, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), April 24, 2017.

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