• LANGUNE, the language industry
• Langintza xeheki
• Catalog of Literary Translation
• Analysis of recent literary translation. Seminar
• Criteria for evaluating literary translation. Seminar
  • Summary of the seminar
  • The outcome of the seminar (in Basque)
  • A report on Basque literary translation reviews, by M. Lopez Gaseni (in Basque)
• The blog 2tzuL (in Basque)
• Translation in everyday life. Roundtable and comedy
• There's a translator involved. Notebook
• There's a translator involved. Articles from the press

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Summary of the seminar

Criteria for Evaluating Literary Translation

The following is a brief summary of the conclusions reached in the seminar:

Modes of criticism

• The critical commentary on literary works translated into Basque consists almost entirely of plot summary for the purpose of guiding potential readers and promoting awareness of works in translation. Specialized criticism of translation is rarely seen.
• The works selected for commentary are primarily new releases, but the critic is generally free to choose the works he or she wishes to review. With respect to content, the critic generally presents his or her impression of the work, supporting his or her view with literary arguments. The commentary is shaped to a large extent by the views of its intended audience. Furthermore, the critic takes his or her personal reading of the work as a point of departure. It has often been noted that the translator brings a special reading to the work; thus, translators could make an interesting contribution to the criticism of literary works.

Visibility of translation

• There is little agreement on whether or not it should be mentioned in a commentary or review that the work in question is a translation nor, if it is mentioned, on how that information should be handled. In summary reviews, it is not absolutely necessary to compare the translation with the original work, though it would be helpful. This possibility is limited, however, by constraints of time, resources and ability.
• The seminar participants consider there to be an urgent need to fill the void in specialized criticism. However, tools and resources, both material and conceptual, are lacking to accomplish this; also needed are greater collaboration among the many fields related to literary production in Basque, and appropriate forums in which to develop the needed tools and resources and to foster the needed collaboration. Panels of judges, for example, feel these lacks in trying to carry out their mandate. As a result, they base their judgments primarily on intuition.

Criteria

• The seminar discussion failed to identify the specific criteria that are used in literary commentary and the evaluation of literary translation in general. In the opinion of the participants, rather than a set list of criteria, it would be more useful to have a list of categories to take into consideration in evaluating a literary translation.
• Finally, the participants believe it would be beneficial to establish a forum in which to develop the relationship between writers and translators, given that the contributions from both sides are likely to be highly enriching.