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culturetoculture,transfercanonlybeaccomplishedbyemployingthe
‘alienating’methodoftranslation:thetranslatortakeshisbearingsfromtheunity
offormandcontentofthesourcetext,andfromthesourcelanguage.
Schleiermacheradvocatedtheuseofaproperlanguagefortranslation,which
inevitablyentailedlanguagechange.Afterall,onlybydeviatingfromestablished
normscouldthealienorforeignincrementbevisualizedinthetargetlanguage.
Mostimportant,though,Schleiermacherwasconvincedoftheinnovative,but
alsooftheregenerativepowersoftranslation.
Practicallyeverymoderntranslationtheory–atleastintheGermanlanguage
area–responds,inonewayoranother,toSchleiermacher’shypotheses.There
appeartohavebeennofundamentallynewapproaches.Translatorsand
theorists,suchasUlrichvonWilamowitzMoellendorffinthenineteenthand
EmilStaigerinthetwentiethcentury,advocated,withdifferentemphasesand
fordifferentreasons,thenaturalizingmethodoftranslation.WalterBenjamin
favouredtheprincipleofalienation.Nevertheless,attemptshavebeenmadeto
transcendtheantimonyofnaturalizingandalienatingtranslation,tofinda
synthesisoracompromise(e.g.Schadewaldt1927).
InthecourseofthenineteenthcenturytranslationactivitiesintheGerman
speakingcountriesintensifiedandexpanded.Thisappliednotonlytobelles
lettresbutalsotothenaturalsciences,medicine,engineering,thelaw,
economicsandgeneralmatters.Whilethebulkoftranslationscontinuedtobe
basedontheRomancelanguages,especiallyonFrench,andincreasinglyon
Englishsources,otherlanguagesandcultures–includingnonEuropeanones–
begantomaketheirpresencefelt.Someofthesignificantdevelopments,
changesandcharacteristicshiftsarereflectedinanthologiesofliteraturein
translation,especiallyinsocalledanthologiesofworldliterature,whichhave
beenpublishedinlargenumberssincethemiddleofthenineteenthcentury.For
instance,untiltheendoftheeighteenthcentury,GermanreceptionofFrench
literaturehadfocusedonpolitical,scientificandgenerallylearnedorinformative
matter,onthedramaandthenovel.Itwasnotuntilwellintothenineteenth
centurythatFrenchpoetry,Romanticandcontemporary,wasbeingmade
availabletoGermanspeakingreaders,mainlythroughanthologies.Growing
economicandculturalcontactsbetweenGermanyandtheBritishIslesraised
theawarenessamongGermanreadersofBritishaffairs.Yet,authorssuchas
WilliamWordsworthandLordByronweremainlyreceivedasindividual
personalitiesratherthanasrepresentativesoftheircountryorofBritish
literature.Incontrast,foralongtimethetranslationalmediationofScandinavian
andHungarianliteratureswasprimarilygovernedbyimagologicalstereotypes
andpreconceptionsrelatingtothosecountries,ratherthanbynineteenthcentury
historicalrealities.Attimes,textswereselected,andsometimesspecifically
translated,inaccordancewiththeanthologists’personaltastes,orwiththeir
viewsandintentionsconcerningGermanliteratureand/orpoliticalaffairsina
widerinternationalcontext.Induecourse,RussiannovelsandScandinavian
dramatooktheirplacebesidetranslationsofFrenchandEnglishfictionalprose
anddrama,respectively.WhileScott,DickensandZolaweretranslated
promptly,HenryJameswasignoredformanydecades.TheBritishand
AmericanModernistpoets,too,hadtobidetheirtime.
DuringWorldWarsIandIItranslationactivitieswereinfluencedbynumerous
factors,unavailabilityofsourcetextsandpoliticallymotivatedcensorshipbeing
themostobviousones.Invaryingdegreesthisalsoappliestotheoccupied
zonesofGermanyintheimmediatepostwarperiod,anditcontinuedinthe
GermanDemocraticRepublicuntil1988.Nevertheless,theIndex
translationumfor1986showsthatnearlyasmanybooksweretranslatedand
publishedinEastGermany(794)asinGreatBritain(904).Bycomparison,
1,687translatedbooksappearedinFrance,and8,017intheFederalRepublic
ofGermany.IndividedGermany,theopposedideologies,politicaland
economicsystems,andmilitaryalliancesofthetwoGermanstateshadaneffect
onwhattextswerechosenfortranslationand,attimes,evenonthemannerof
translation.SystematiccomparisonsbetweentranslationactivitiesinEastand
WestGermanyremaintobemade.
From1956to1986thenumberoftranslatedbookspublishedintheFederal
RepublicofGermanyincreasedby400percent.BookshopsinGermanywere
wellstockedwithtranslationsinpracticallyallareas,aimingatchildrenaswell
asadults.However,inthoseareasof