From Dostoevsky to Yeltsin: Failed Translations and Russian Literary Landings in the Irish Language

This article proposes the metaphor of prizemlenie (landing) as a new investigative approach to Translation Studies. Prizemlenie refers to literary texts which ‘land’ in the target language’s literary field without acquiring wide readership or becoming integrated in the target culture. Focussing on l...

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Main Author: Muireann Maguire
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2020-12-01
Series:RUS (São Paulo)
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.revistas.usp.br/rus/article/view/178520
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author Muireann Maguire
author_facet Muireann Maguire
author_sort Muireann Maguire
collection DOAJ
description This article proposes the metaphor of prizemlenie (landing) as a new investigative approach to Translation Studies. Prizemlenie refers to literary texts which ‘land’ in the target language’s literary field without acquiring wide readership or becoming integrated in the target culture. Focussing on literary translation from Russian to Irish, I survey the record of An Gúm, the Irish Free State’s official publishing organization, with regard to literary translation; undertake a close reading and case study of the first Irish-language translation of Dostoevsky in 1938; and examine the habitus of three of the most significant Russian-to-Irish literary translators. In conclusion, I argue that even the minimal cultural interaction sustained by prizemlenie plays an important role in preserving the target language.
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spelling doaj.art-80b1c20182e74ecd8de208f9dfe6857a2022-12-22T04:11:19ZengUniversidade de São Paulo (USP)RUS (São Paulo)2317-47652020-12-011117From Dostoevsky to Yeltsin: Failed Translations and Russian Literary Landings in the Irish LanguageMuireann Maguire0University of ExeterThis article proposes the metaphor of prizemlenie (landing) as a new investigative approach to Translation Studies. Prizemlenie refers to literary texts which ‘land’ in the target language’s literary field without acquiring wide readership or becoming integrated in the target culture. Focussing on literary translation from Russian to Irish, I survey the record of An Gúm, the Irish Free State’s official publishing organization, with regard to literary translation; undertake a close reading and case study of the first Irish-language translation of Dostoevsky in 1938; and examine the habitus of three of the most significant Russian-to-Irish literary translators. In conclusion, I argue that even the minimal cultural interaction sustained by prizemlenie plays an important role in preserving the target language.https://www.revistas.usp.br/rus/article/view/178520Russian literaturetranslationIrish languageprizemlenieDostoevsky
spellingShingle Muireann Maguire
From Dostoevsky to Yeltsin: Failed Translations and Russian Literary Landings in the Irish Language
RUS (São Paulo)
Russian literature
translation
Irish language
prizemlenie
Dostoevsky
title From Dostoevsky to Yeltsin: Failed Translations and Russian Literary Landings in the Irish Language
title_full From Dostoevsky to Yeltsin: Failed Translations and Russian Literary Landings in the Irish Language
title_fullStr From Dostoevsky to Yeltsin: Failed Translations and Russian Literary Landings in the Irish Language
title_full_unstemmed From Dostoevsky to Yeltsin: Failed Translations and Russian Literary Landings in the Irish Language
title_short From Dostoevsky to Yeltsin: Failed Translations and Russian Literary Landings in the Irish Language
title_sort from dostoevsky to yeltsin failed translations and russian literary landings in the irish language
topic Russian literature
translation
Irish language
prizemlenie
Dostoevsky
url https://www.revistas.usp.br/rus/article/view/178520
work_keys_str_mv AT muireannmaguire fromdostoevskytoyeltsinfailedtranslationsandrussianliterarylandingsintheirishlanguage