Quality assessment and literary translation in France

Vanderschelden, Isabelle (2000) Quality assessment and literary translation in France. The Translator, 6 (2). pp. 271-293. ISSN 1757-0409

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Abstract

This article examines the current place of literary translation in the French literary polysystem. By considering the perspectives of various parties, such as publishers, literary translators and book reviewers, its objective is to survey the impact of translated literature in France and to explore the visibility of the literary translator and of translated literature. More specifically, the article raises the issue of quality assessment of translations published in France and analyzes some of the criteria applied both explicitly and implicitly when literary texts in translation are evaluated. The arguments developed here are based mainly on information collected about French publishers and literary translators from interviews or other accounts, and also on recent reviews of translated literature published in the French press.