Reflections on Translation

Susan Bassnett is a leading international expert in translation studies, and author of best-selling books in the field that have been translated into some 20 languages. A bilingual who has practical experience of translation and interpreting. Bassnett’s accessible, jargon-free writing has made her work popular with students around the world. The forthright essays collected in this volume reflect ten years of writing regularly for professional translators and general readers.

• Introduction1. Language and Identity2. Original Sin3. Theory and Practice: The Old Dilemma4. Dangerous Translations5. How Modern should Translations be?6. Status Anxiety7. Under the Influence8. Reference Point9. Translation or Adaptation10. Translating Style11. Telling Tales12. Pride and Prejudices13. Turning the Page14. Poetry in Motion15. When Translation goes Horribly Wrong16. Living Languages17. All in the Mind18. More than Words19. Just What did you Call Me?20. Lost in Translation21. Good Rhyme and Reason22. Women’s Work23. Plays for Today24. Between the Lines25. Playing on Words26. Pleasures of Rereading27. On the Case28. Gained in Translation29. Layers of Meaning30. The Value of Comparing Translations31. Where the Fun Comes In32. Translators Making the News33 What Exactly did Saddam Say?34. Native Strengths35. What’s in a Name?36. Food for Thought37. Family Matters38. Rethinking Theory and Practice39. The Power of Poetry

Written for a general reader with an interest in language, the essays also nourish the scholarly mind.  Those familiar with translation will be stimulated by the fresh approaches to well-known questions from a personable guide.  To identify the subjects and themes of the essays is to capture only part of their richness.  The wealth of reflection lies in the examples that emerge, effortlessly it would seem, from Bassnett’s experience and learning.  It is her ability to engage with the casual and the serendipitous, to draw together moments across time and continents, that create a marvellous unity of tone, and drive home many important points about the exchange of cultures and languages.