English as a Literature in Translation [Hardcover]

For many writers writing in English today, English is but one of a number of languages, and by extension cultures, to which they have access. The question arises of the impact of this sometimes latent, sometimes explicit, multilingualism on generic and other literary forms and conventions. To what extent is English literature today a literature in translation in the sense that it is formed at the confluence of different literary and cultural traditions and is mediated or brokered by multilingual individuals? And to what extent might literary creativity today be premised on access to more than one language and/or set of cultural and literary traditions?

English as a Literature in Translationexamines the complexities of writing in English and assesses the extent to which language practices in English have been localized and/or culturally inflected, even as English has become a global medium of communication.

Acknowledgements
Preface
1 Introductory Chapter
2 Lost in Translation
3 A Wandering Bigamist of Language
4 Lives in Translation
5 Migration and Mobility
6 Border-Crossing and Literary Creativity
7 Concluding Remarks
References
Index

This well-written book explores contemporary literature in English by multilingual authors who reflect linguistic and cultural diversity. Doloughan (Open Univ., UK) illustrates their translating and mediating role by analyzing such key texts as Polish-born Eva Hoffman'sLost in Translation(1989), Chilean Ariel Dorfman's playDeath and the Maiden(1991), and Texan Gloria Anzald?a'sBorderlands(1987). Including James Kelman'sTranslated Accounts(2001) here is amply justified, since his idiomatic expression, informed by working-class roots and a Scottish dialect, deviates enough from the norm to require some translation by the reader. The most interesting case study deals with, lP