1.

Translation, Globalization,
and English
Esther Allen
1
The previous chapter covers the situation
regarding literary translation in English-speaking
countries, with particular reference to the United
tates. !y contrast, this chapter gives an overview
of the "ain trends in literary translation
internationally, although it takes into
consideration the proble" discussed in the first
chapter, na"ely the decline in translations fro"
other languages into English.
The argu"ent to be developed here is based on
#uestionnaire replies received by $E%
&nternational fro" $E% centers around the world.
The replies received fro" the U', (ustralia, %ew
)ealand, and to so"e e*tent the $hilippines
furnish co"ple"entary infor"ation on the
co"ple* situation in the English language
publishing field. +ith regard to the thriving free
"arket for books in (sia, apart fro" the report on
,hina, the only other data received are fro"
-apan and these are of a general nature. The #ues-
tionnaire replies enable a co"parison to be "ade
between the reports on .rance, The %etherlands,
and ,atalonia with the data furnished by the
.landers $E% center and opinions fro" countries
in ,entral and Eastern Europe /0ithuania,
1ungary, lovenia, !osnia-1erzegovina, and
2acedonia3. &n addition, so"e of the co""ents
by the an 2iguel de (llende $E% ,enter
/2e*ico3 shed light on the situation in outh
("erica/contained in the report on (rgentina3.
(ll replies fro" $E% centers to the #uestionnaire
on translation "ay be read in their entirety on the
website 4iversity /www.di-versity.org."k3.
2.1 Projection abroad
The lack of statistics
5ne of the "ain differences in the replies received
fro" the centers concerns the
2
3
availability of statistical data. &t is surprising that several centers state they do not have reliable data on which works
have been translated into foreign languages. &t is worth considering this issue since the lack of infor"ation is not
attributable to negligence by the #uestionnaire respondents.
The "ain reason for this dearth of infor"ation is the lack of appropriate bodies for gathering and publishing such
data. 1owever, one can also understand why certain bodies in other countries do not en6oy the i"portance they do in
"ost European tates. The countries lacking data are 2e*ico, The $hilippines, and %ew )ealand. 2e*ican literature is
written in panish, while %ew )ealand literature is written in English. That is why pro"oting the literatures of these
two countries abroad is not solely undertaken by local govern"ents, given that the languages in which they are written
"akes it easy for the" to reach wide audiences without having to resort to translation. .urther"ore, the authors do not
necessarily have to seek publishing houses in their own countries. This "eans that agree"ents to translate their works
"ay be reached abroad, thus greatly co"plicating data-gathering on translations for these countries.
This raises a thorny issue. ,an one say that 2e*ico and %ew )ealand have their own literary cultures7 There are
"any literary cultures throughout the world that share languages, however it is often difficult to establish their bounds.
The sub6ect tends to be highly politicised, raising issues of cultural identity. &t also poses practical proble"s8for
e*a"ple, can an author long 9e*iled9 in Europe and who has published "ost of his works abroad be said to for" part of
the literary tradition of his native country7 &t is not surprising that "any govern"ents si"ply duck the issue when
drawing up statistics.
&n the following section, the clear-cut responses "ade by the U' and (ustralian $E% ,enters regarding the
do"estic "arket for books in English will help clarify so"e of the issues in this i""ense "onolingual "arket.
&n the $hilippines, the issue is "ore co"ple* given that the country has various local languages and a big literary
output in both English and panish. $roducing statistics in such a co"ple* linguistic conte*t would be a night"are for
govern"ent. 5n the other hand, the lack of reliable data in 2e*ico, %ew )ealand and The $hilippines can also be
e*plained by the fact that these countries tend to take less part in literary e*changes than is the case in Europe.
European literary promotion abroad
&n Europe, the attitude towards literary pro"otion abroad is co"pletely different. The !elgian govern"ent provides
highly detailed statistics on literary output in .le"ish and the pro"otion of .le"ish works abroad. lovenia takes a
si"ilar stance, providing a detailed catalogue on the &nternet of all the country:s works published abroad.
The responses by $E% centers allow one to produce a "ap showing the fre#uency of literary e*changes, which is
confir"ed in the si* cases studied in the second part of this chapter. Europe, with al"ost thirty languages, is the area
with the strongest links when it co"es to world literature. These e*changes are co"ple"ented with fre#uent
translations into ,hinese and -apanese /(sia:s "ain languages3 and into those in &ndo-,hina /e.g. ;ietna"ese, 2alay,
and 'orean3 and so"e &ndian languages. There are no translations into (frican languages and8surprisingly8none of
the $E% centers "entioned a work translated into (rab.
English as a "useful intermediary"
This situation is very different for English-speaking authors, who do not need to translate their works to reach a "ass
"arket. 5ne should also bear in "ind that in "any countries where English is not an official language, a rising nu"ber
of readers spurn translations and buy books in the original English. This is particularly true in The %etherlands. &t is
also so to a lesser e*tent in candinavian countries. Even so, a best-selling novel in English has reasonable prospects of
being translated into thirty languages and8if it is a runaway hit8into non-European languages too.
0ithuania:s $E% ,enter highlighted an occurrence that while co""on, is seldo" so clearly illustrated as in this
country:s case. 2ost of the nation:s literary translations into English are "ade in 0ithuania. (ll the #uestionnaire
respondents stated that they considered translation of works into English as key to their country:s pro6ection abroad but
that access to the English-language book "arket appeared practically i"possible. The e*pression 9useful inter"ediary9
4
used by 0ithuania:s 0ai"an-tas -onusys thus see"s particularly appropriate. !ooks are translated into English despite
their slender chances of ever reaching English-speaking readers. <ather, the ai" is get the attention of inter"ediaries
who "ight foster their translation into languages /such as .rench and Ger"an3 that are "uch "ore open to foreign
writers.
The lack of English translators
(n even "ore i"portant factor deter"ining the poor showing of the literature fro" s"aller nations on the international
scene is the dearth of people capable of co"petently translating fro" the foreign language into English. This is
illustrated by the lack of #uestionnaire responses covering the great languages of European literature /.rench, Ger"an
and &talian3. $ut baldly, there is a clash between "inority languages on the one hand and the all-pervading presence of
English on the other. &t is s"all wonder then that the 2acedonian $E% ,enter co"plaint of the lack of translators was
"irrored by the English $E% ,enter:s co""ents regarding the urgent need to train translators in "inority languages.
The presence of "odern languages in the U' is so sparse that ("anda 1opkin-son,
Europe: interest in the literary setting
The other e*tre"e of the foreign literature spectru" can be found in s"all and "ediu"-sized European nations. &n !os-
nia-1erzegovina, .landers, 1ungary and 2acedonia, al"ost half of the new books published each year have been
translated. The "ain feature here is that "ost of the translated works were published by s"all fir"s with fewer than
1=> new titles a year and in which the nu"ber of copies sold is always fairly "odest.
&n 0ithuania, with a population of a little over ? "illion, the average print run is @,>>>8although so"e bestsellers
reach ?>,>>>. &n lovenia, with 6ust @ "illion inhabitants, print runs of translated books "ay lie anywhere between @>
/poetry collections3 to @=,>>> /The Da Vinci Code). 2ost fiction titles sell between 1,>>> and 1,=>> copies, and A>>-
B>> copies for #uality fiction. 1owever, short print runs are not confined to s"all countries. 0ucina 'ath"ann,
ecretary of 2e*ico:s an 2iguel de (llende $E% ,enter noted that very few books are sold in general and that
editions seldo" e*ceed ?,>>> copies.
'ata 'ulavkova, $resident of $E% &nternational:s Translation and 0anguage <ights ,o""ittee in 2acedonia noted
a positive feature of these tiny literary "arkets. Translations of universal literature follow a strategic plan ai"ed at
filling libraries. This approach is of key i"portance for publishers since de"and fro" libraries helps offset the i"pact
of short print runs on book prices.
'ulavkova:s analysis is also applicable to other s"all and "ediu"-sized European countries in which policies
fostering translations are of key i"portance in advancing and enriching the national language. Translations also open a
window on the world, spreading knowledge of foreign literatures, cultures and traditions. The educational function
perfor"ed by literary translations e*plains the practice of publishing frag"ents by conte"porary foreign writers in
"agazines, the press, and other "edia.
-anos !enyhe, ecretary-General of the 1ungarian $E% ,enter and a renowned literary translator, noted that his
country had a long tradition of high-#uality translations. 1ungary in particular epito"ises a funda"ental trait of all
translations. The fact that 2agyar does not belong to the &ndo-European fa"ily of languages has "eant translation into
and out of the language re#uires a considerable a"ount of literary re-creation. The challenge for translators is thus
"uch greater than for, say, a translation fro" English to Ger"an or fro" .rench to &talian. The best 1ungarian writers
have spent a great deal of effort in translating the world:s greatest works of literature. 1appily, there is cur rently
so"ething of a boo" in literary translation in 1ungary.
The position of literary translators
5
(lthough translated works are not always bestsellers, an e*cellent network of libr aries in 2acedonia and si"ilar
countries ensures that such works will be available to readers for decades. &t also "eans that translations are of a very
high #uality and that translators en6oy social prestige, even though their work is often poorly paid.
1ere, one should note that the position of translators is not so very different in the U'. ("anda 1opkinson in
0ondon co""entedC 92ost of us do not change and continue translating well despite being badly treated9. Even so,
translators in !ritain are in an enviable position if we co"pare the" with their counterparts in (ustralia. The
#uestionnaire response fro" that country notedC 9Translation is generally considered necessary for providing services
to i""igrants. (ccordingly, over the last half century it has gained a social services slant.9
&n her case study of the situation in .rance, (nne-ophie i"enel states that translators can e*pect to earn @,D@=-
?,?E= Euros for a
1=>-page work, as an advance against an average royalty of @F. &n !ritain, A,A@? would be paid for the sa"e work and
in (ustralia ?,E>>. Translators working in 1olland could, according to the figures supplied by !as $auw in his case
study, e*pect up to B,E1@ Euros for that sa"e 1=> pages, between the standard fee fro" the publisher and a translation
grant available to the". .igures for other countries are @,1>> Euros /lovenia3G 1,?>> Euros /2acedonia3G 1,>>> Euros
/1ungary3 and DA= Euros /0ithuania3. Thus rates vary widely.
Present challenges
(ll the $E% ,enters replying to the #uestionnaire agreed that the international cli"ate is now "ore receptive towards
their literary works. o"e of the centers noted that bodies pro"oting the nation:s literature abroad had decisively con-
tributed to e*tending the country:s sphere of influence. The 0ithuanian $E% ,enter stressed that this broadening of
horizons played an i"portant role in changing the political cli"ate in Europe ending The ,old +arG facilitating the EU
entry of for"er ,o""unist countriesG and changing perceptions of Eastern Europe.
4espite so"e serious concerns, the $E% center replies are generally opti"istic. Even so, the globalisation of book
"arkets bodes ill for literary works. (ll too often, the interest in the literary output of other countries is little "ore than
a taste for the e*otic. 2e"bers of the (ustralian $E% ,enter dryly noted that 9The U' and U cast a long shadow over
(ustralia:s pastures9 and that this was why (ustralians were only interested in works with 9a big dose of (ustralian
landscape9.
( si"ilar pheno"enon applies to works fro" Eastern Europe. 2ost of the books published in the United tates
speak of the victi"s of ,o""unis", censorship and repression, and the econo"ic slu"p in Eastern Europe that
followed oviet withdrawal. 9There:s no point in i"porting love stories or other frivolous fare fro" far-off lands no
"atter how well they are written because we:ve got plenty of that stuff here9, ironically noted (ndre6 !latnik, ecretary
of the lovenian $E% ,enter.
inancial support for translation
The financial support for translating 4utch literature is provided by the above "entioned .oundation for the $roduction
and Translation of 4utch 0iterature, based in ("sterda" and funded by the 2inistry of ,ulture and Education.
The .oundation actively pro"otes 4utch literature abroad and provides financial support for foreign publishers
wishing to publish a work of 4utch literature. This involves fiction, #uality non-fiction, poetry and children:s literature.
$rovided a few conditions are "et, the .oundation can subsidise up to E>F of translation costs. These conditions have
to do with the #uality of the literary work at hand, the #uality of the translator and the #uality and stature of the
publisher. This translation policy is the body of our support progra"G there are a few other 9tools9 that we use and that
are strongly linked to thisC
- presence at all i"portant book fairs /.rankfurt, 0ondon, !ologna3, an e*cellent network with all publishers of
literature worldwide and a strong co""it"ent to "aintain and e*tend this networkG
- the +riters: $rogra", supporting 4utch authors appearing abroad /literary festivals, stages and pro"otion tours3G
6
- the ;isitors: $rogra", in which H to 1> publishers per year are invited to co"e to ("sterda" for a few days and
"eet 4utch literary publishersG
- organization of literary "anifestations abroad, to raise the international visibility and profile of 4utch authorsG
- English-language publications in which new 4utch literary titles are presentedC Books from Holland and
Flanders, Quality Non-fiction from Holland and Children's Books from Holland these are published twice a yearG
- a good, infor"ative and up-to-date website, where all kinds of infor"ation can be found on 4utch literature and
where a large database of all translations of 4utch literature can be accessedG
- the .oundation runs a Translators: 1ouse where five translators of 4utch literature at a ti"e can live and work for
a period of one or two "onths at the invitation of the .oundation. The Translators: 1ouse also organises regular
workshops for literary translators, devoted to a specific target language and led by an e*perienced translator, with
the ai" of sharing e*periences and pro"oting contact between translators.
2ore infor"ation on this policy and the activities of the .oundation can be found at www.nlpvf.nl.
(s for support for translation into 4utchC there is no support for 4utch publishers who wish to publish a conte"-
porary work of foreign literature /unless they turn to si"ilar institutions abroad, such as the Goethe &nstitutI&nter
%ationes, venska &nstitutet etc.3.
There is however support for translators who are translating a work of literature into 4utchC they can apply for
translation grants and travel grants. (n average translation grant a"ounts to @,=>> per ?>,>>> words, depending on the
#uality of the translation and the #uality of the original work. The grants co"ple"ent the fee the translator gets fro"
the publisher, which is a standard fee of >,>=D Euros per word. These translation subsidies are issued by the .oundation
for 4utch 0iterature, a different foundation that also provides grants for authors. .or "ore infor"ationC
www.fondsvoordeletteren.nl
!ack of state support
To this we "ight add the al"ost zero support given by the state to publishing activities so that there are very few sub-
sidies for writers and publishers in the country and none at all for translators. %either are there prizes or co"petitions of
any kind that "ight represent so"e sort of encourage"ent, if only 9psychological9. 5n certain occasions, this absence
has been e*plained away by the fact that translations involve long processes, while local public policies and "arketing
strategies are geared to seeking high i"pact in little ti"e. This e*planation obviously has nothing to do with any truly
cultural evaluation.
This lack of support is also confir"ed in efforts to "ake (rgentine writers known outside the country. .or a start,
there are no statistics about books by our writers translated into other languages. There are only inco"plete lists
produced by people or institutions concerned and they are always li"ited to "ore or less direct contacts. +hat appears
to be the case is that, of the few (rgentine works that have been translated, the "a6ority have appeared in .rench and
$ortuguese /in !razil3 and then, perhaps, in Ger"an or &talian. The general perception is that it is very diffi cult to break
into the (nglophone "arket although of course everyone agrees that this is the ulti"ate goal because, after this,
possibilities for all the other languages are opened up.
.or any writer, translation of his or her work is very i"portant. &t "akes the" known outside the country, brings in
so"e e*tra inco"e, confers prestige and confidence to keep on writing and publishing, and "akes travelling possible
along with contacts outside the country, a"ong other benefits. &f these results are essential for anyone, they are even
"ore so for artists who work in peripheral countries like (rgentina.
$erhaps the difficulties in achieving these translations can be su""arised in the fact that 0atin-("erican publishers
do not have foreign rights depart"ents. &n other words, nobody is syste"atically occupied with international pro"otion
in the publishing houses. %either are there any high-powered literary agents working in the region. The "ost i"portant
agents are in pain. &n general, this is due to the fact that the overheads of this work are very high and the results
"ini"al. &t is possible that a 9cultural #uestion9 is also at work here since it is not custo"ary to pro"ote our own
7
products seriously and for any sustained period of ti"e. %eedless to say there is no organic, state-organised activity of
international pro"otion that "ight co"pare with what is being done in !razil and 2e*ico /translation subsidies and
travel grants for authors, etc.3.
"e# initiati$es
& should like to "ention two e*ceptions, in the for" of new initiatives that have appeared in recent years, which offer
reasons for "ini"al opti"is"
,urrently, publishers and translators are engaged in an ongoing debate over the i"balances regarding the re#uired
training for translators in Ger"any and the co"pensation they receive fro" publishing houses. The average literary
translator does not earn enough "oney to "ake a living. They hardly "ake "ore than 1= to @> Euros per page gross
with an average of 1>> pages translated per "onth.
@>
.or"er Ger"an $resident <o"an 1erzog confir"ed this in a
speech onceC 9That so"eone with one of the "ost i"portant 6obs in today:s cultural life cannot generally "ake a living
is funda"entally outrageous.9
@1
&n a recent atte"pt to i"prove the situation for literary translators, a lawsuit on behalf of translators was filed against
publishers. Translators involved in this ongoing lawsuit are clai"ing a share of the sales earnings fro" the books they
translated, a share they clai" they are entitled to regardless of the edition of the book. &n the past, publishers have
granted the translator a share of the sales profits only in cases where the book was a bestseller.
Translators achieved a s"all victory when the district court in 2unich decided that in addition to the initial
co"pensation for actually translating a book, translators were entitled to a certain percentage of sales earnings starting
with the first copy sold. This share ranges between >.=
and @ F.
@@
o"e publishers criticized this court decision, which in their eyes works to under"ine the variety of the Ger"an
book "arket. !y forcing publishers to pay the translators a percentage of the profits, Ger"an publishers argue that this
will decrease the resources they could have used to publish other books. (s a result, so"e deserving books "ight not
be published or translated. The fact that there is a public discussion, however, shows that translators are beco"ing
recognized. The overall situation for translators has i"proved, and so"e publishers have started providing translator
biographies in their catalogues and putting the translator:s na"e on the book cover.
%upporting Translations and Promoting &erman 'ooks
There are two different kinds of translation funding availableC grants for which publishers can apply and grants
especially for translators. .or translations into Ger"an, there are organizations and "inistries of culture located in the
countries in which the title originated, that offer funding. E*a"ples of such organizations include the &re,o"pany
0iterature E*change in &reland, the $olish !ook &nstitute, and the .innish 0iterature &nfor"ation ,entre /.&0&3 in
.inland. These grants are usually offered only to publishers for the translation of a specific title.
(ustria, Ger"any, and witzerland all have progra"s to fund the publication of Ger"an-language books in foreign
languages. The grants progra" of the Goethe-&nstitut ai"s to bring i"portant acade"ic writing, high-#uality fiction,
children:s and youth literature, and selected non-fiction works to a non-Ger"an-speaking readership. upport is given
by way of subsidizing the publisher:s translation costs. This progra" has been in place for nearly ?> years, during
which ti"e the Goethe-&nstitut has given financial support for the publication of about A,>>> books in A= languages.
@?
&n witzerland, $ro 1elvetia, the (rts ,ouncil of witzerland, was founded in 1D?D and subsidizes the printing or
translation of publications dealing with wiss culture or witzerland:s cultural relations with other countries.
@A
&n
(ustria, the (rts 4ivision of the (ustrian .ederal ,hancellery offers financial assistance for translations.
@=
There are also special progra"s available for publishers that subsidize literature fro" certain regions, such as the
Gesellschaft zur .orderung der 0iteratur aus (frika, (sien und 0ateina"erika e. ;. /ociety for the $ro"otion of
0iterature fro" (frica, (sia and 0atin ("erica3. This progra" pro"otes the translation into Ger"an of culturally
infor"ative literary te*ts fro" various Third +orld regions, and enhances cultural understanding of societies that often
8
receive little international attention. The titles that this progra" supports have appeared only on a li"ited basis or not at
all in Ger"an, and originate fro" countries that are underrepresented in the Ger"an "arket.
@B
%oteworthy because of its substantial influence in the field of translation is the 0iterarisches ,ollo#uiu" !erlin
/0,!3. The 0,! pro"otes Ger"an literature, ad"inisters both a writer- and a translator-in-resi-dence progra", and
serves as a center and facilitator for translators. 5ne of their progra"s offers a translation grant for publishers interested
in fiction fro" 2iddle and Eastern Europe. &t ai"s to diversify the selection of books available to Ger"an readers by
giving lesser-known books a better chance of being read. ince 1DD?, 0,! has subsidized "ore than @=> titles.
@E
&n addition to the progra"s available for publishers, there are organizations that help give translators a voice within
the literary sphere of Ger"any, witzerland, and (ustria. There are several "e"bership associations and non-profit
organizations that support those who translate fro" or into Ger"an, such as the ;erband deutschs-prachiger Ubersetzer
/;dU3 literarischer und wissenschaftlicher +erke e.;. The ;dU is an association of Ger"an-speaking translators that
was founded in 1D=A to support the interests of translators.
@H
The "ost i"portant support organization for literary translators in Ger"any is the 4eutscher Ubersetzerfonds /4U.3
/Ger"an translators fund3, a non-profit organization based at the 0,!, which offers fellowships and travel grants to
translators and organizes workshops and se"inars.
@D
FRANCE
Translators
The first point then is the #uality of the works chosen. The second, and by no "eans the least, is the #uality of the
translators and of their work.
&n .rance, that #uality is endorsed by the status of the translator, whether literary or technical, who is regarded as an
author, a professional whose rights and obligations are guaranteed by various associations and trade unions.
(s for the pay"ent, here are the stipulations of the Code des !sa"es de la #raduc-tion $itteraire %$iterary
#ranslation Code), signed in 2arch 1DD? by the (T0., the G40 and the .T for the first party, and the %E
/%ational $ublishing Union3 for the otherC pay"ent for literary translations "ust be the ob6ect of an 9advance pay"ent
on proportional authors: rights whose a"ount J...K depends "ainly on the length and difficulty of the translation, and the
co"petence and fa"e of the translator9. The unit of calculation is the page of @= lines of B> characters, paid on average
between 1D.=> Euros and @1.=> Euros for translations fro" English, between @1.=> Euros and @@.=> Euros for
translations fro" Ger"an, &talian and panish, and between @1.=> Euros and @?.=> Euros for other languages.
=H
That
advance pay"ent is set off against future author:s rights fro" which the translator benefits.
The purpose of that fra"ework, which recognises the work of the translator as a specific, autono"ous profession, is
to i"prove his "aterial and social situation and to pro"ote the #uality of the translation of the foreign works published
in .rance, thus supporting the develop"ent of foreign literature on the .rench publishing scene.
,%0 financial aids
The ,entre %ational du 0ivre /,%03, or %ational !ook ,entre aid progra""e for translation, has been available to
.rench publishers wishing to publish translated works for "any years. The subsidy finances between =>F and B>F of
the total price of the translation.
To be eligible, the publisher has to sub"it a dossier including a sa"ple of the translation /about @>F of the work3,
and the dossier will be 6udged, a"ongst other things, on its #uality. &t is also indicated that the contract between the
translator and the publisher /which "ust be supplied3 "ust 9confor" to the Code des !sa"es& which we spoke about
earlier. &n other words, if the translator:s pay"ent is less than 1E Euros, no aid will be granted. &f it is between 1E Euros
and @> Euros, the publisher will receive =>F of the cost of the translation, and B>F above @> Euros.
This ,%0 subsidy progra""e thus provides twofold assistance for the develop"ent of the publication of foreign lit-
erature in .rance by supporting both the publisher and the translator.
9
.rench literature abroad
Financial aids
The .rench govern"ent also subsidises translation initiatives through different progra""es, designed for both pub-
lishers and foreign translators.
Aids for publishers
,%0
The %ational !ook ,entre provides support for .rench publishers for the sale of translation rights of their books to
their foreign colleagues and assu"es part of the cost of translation. &t pays particular attention to "arkets considered
9difficult9 and literary fields where pro"otion abroad is "ost necessary /hu"an and social sciences, theatre, young
adults: literature, etc.3. (bout =>> titles a year benefit fro" aid fro" the ,%0 to be translated into a foreign language.
To be eligible, the dossier "ust be sub"itted by the .rench publisher holding the sales rights. The dossiers are
scrutinised by a co""ittee "ade up of representatives of the ad"inistrations involved, publishing professionals and
highly #ualified persons. The dossiers are selected according to various criteria such as the #uality of the work, the
policy of the foreign publisher and its respect for its co""it"ents to the .rench publishers, the risk involved, the
translator:s fee and the a"ount of the advance pay"ent.
The aid, paid to the .rench publishers who have to pass the" on to the foreign publishers, are calculated fro" the
translator:s or translators: fee to the e*clusion of all other costs connected with the production or pro"otion of the work.
The su" agreed "ay be @>F to =>F of the cost of the translation sub"itted in the application dossier.
&nternational ,ooperation and 4evelop"ent 4epart"ent /.oreign 2inistry3
2oreover, for "any years the .oreign 2inistry has been offering an aid progra""e for foreign publishersC the
$ublishing (id $rogra""e /$($3, designed to support books of cultural i"portance. ( "ediu" or long ter" pro-
gra""e for publications by .rench authors is set up by local publishers in li aison with the cultural services of the
.rench e"bassies.
Aids for translators
&n addition to the aid granted to foreign publishers, the ,%0 and the .oreign 2inistry offer translators fro" .rench to
foreign languages several kinds of aid designed to support their work.
(ids for translation
The ,%0 awards aid for the translation of a work, on certain conditions. The aid is designed to support the translation
of .rench works into foreign languages, e*cept for books in the public do"ain, school books, practical guides and
"agazines. The a"ount of the aid, which is given directly to the translators, "ay vary fro" @>F to =>F of the cost of
the translation.
There are two kinds of aid. .irst, grants, which apply to all fields of translation and are designed for long-ter"
personal pro6ects. To be eligible, the translator "ust have three translated works published and take full or partial leave.
econd, translation credits, which are a lu"p su" for the translation of a difficult work for heritage purposes. The
application "ust be "ade by the translator, acco"panied by a letter setting out the proble"s /stylistic difficulties,
different levels of language, docu"entary research, etc.3 and the interest of the work. The co""ittee will decide
according to the #uality of the original te*t and a sa"ple of the translation, and will assess the degree of difficulty of
the translation. ( translation contract "ust be provided, and the aid will be added to the publisher:s pay"ent.
cholarships for foreign translators
10
The ,%0 also awards scholarships for foreign translators who want to live in .rance to carry out a translation pro6ect.
These scholarships "ay be obtained by sending a dossier to the ,%0 through the cultural services of the .rench
E"bassy in the candidate:s country of residence. The decisions are taken by the president of ,%0 after consultation
with a co""ittee "ade up of translators, publishers and representatives of the ad"inistrations involved. The co""it tee
"eets once a year and awards a hundred or so scholarships, the su" being 1,=@= Euros per "onth for a stay of one to
three "onths. Travelling e*penses are not paid.
The translators "ust 6ustify a pro6ect for the translation of a .rench work which is the ob6ect of a contract with a
foreign publisher. They "ust live abroad. (ll genres are included /literature, poetry, young adults, hu"an and social
sciences3 and all works, including those that co"e into the public do"ain.
0astly, since @>>=, through the !ook ervice of the .rench E"bassy in %ew Lork, the .oreign 2inistry has been
"anaging its own progra""e for stays by translators fro" .rench to English /United tates and United 'ingdo"3, in
partnership with ;illa Gillet, a cultural institution in 0yon.
The progra""e allows foreign translators working on a translation pro6ect of a conte"porary .rench work to spend
si* weeks in 0yon /the aid includes transport, acco""odation and an allowance3 and to beco"e involved in the
cultural life of the city. The translators selected always take part in workshops at ;illa Gillet. To be eli gible, the
translators need not necessarily 6ustify a contract with a foreign publisher, since the ai" of these stays is to bring new
pro6ects onto the ("erican and !ritish publishing scenes.
The actions of the ,ultural ,ooperation ervices in %ew Lork ,reated in @>>A, the !ook ervice of the .rench
E"bassy in %ew Lork is engaged in pro"oting .rench publications in the United tates. To carry out its task it has a
varied range of toolsC the 1e"ingway Grant ca"paign and translators: stays at ;illa Gillet as we have already seen, but
also a new progra""e of support for translation of .rench titles published since @>>> 9.rench ;oices9, a progra" of
visits by .rench-speaking authors to the United tates and invitations to ("erican authors and publishers to .rance, as
well as a +eb site for ("erican book professionals, which ai"s to be a filter for .rench publishing.
(.2 E)periences in four European *ountries
%etherlands, ,atalonia, Ger"any, and .rance
+e would like to highlight a nu"ber of interesting e*periences that have co"e fro" the four countries "entioned
above. These have been grouped into the three following categoriesC initiatives to foster foreign pro"otion, initiatives
to foster an interest in other cultures, and initiatives ai"ed at supporting translators.
a+ ,nitiati$es to support foreign promotion
European and -egional unding
&n addition to the initiatives developed by the govern"ents in each country, which will be listed further on, it should be
kept in "ind that there are European and <egional grants available for translation.
M European Union Grants The European Union has developed "ulti-annual progra"s to support translation that include
grants for translation of literary works as well as for 6oint pro6ects and specialized training. .ro" 1DD= to @>>>, these
efforts were included in the (riane progra", which was followed by ,ultura
@>>> until @>>B. This progra", in turn, was replaced by ,ultura @>>E. Thus far the European Union has given very
li"ited funding to these literary translation progra"s, na"ely the e#uivalent of the budget allocated yearly for
pro"oting books in a s"all country such as lovenia /1.= "illion euros3. To put it another way, 6ust AF of the grants
provided by ,ultura @>>> went to literary translation. These grants were awarded to anywhere fro" == /@>>?3 to E>
11
/@>>=3 translations. Thirty European countries are eligible, including all @E EU "e"bers as well as &celand,
0iechtenstein and %orway. The grants cover all costs involved in translation /which cannot be over B>F of the total
cost for publishing the book3. 0iterary works eligible for these translation grants "ust have been written by European
authors and published in or after 1D=>. &n awarding the grants, priority is given to works written or translated into
"inority languages. 4espite their financial li"itations, these progra"s are a"ong the few available sources of funding
for translations published outside of the countries of origin, and therefore they are of the ut"ost i"portance.
M <egional ,ooperation %etworks &t is also i"portant to note that so"e of the "a6or European regions have "anaged to
set up cultural cooperation networks in their areas of influence, which include literary pro"otion and translation grants.
,ooperation between candinavian countries and !altic countries is particularly strong. There are also several
initiatives in ,entral and Eastern Europe
/%e*t $age .oundation, ,entral and East European !ook $ro6ect3.
"ational &rants for Translation
2ost European countries have developed govern"ent progra"s providing grants for translations of their literature into
other languages, which often also include so"e aspects of foreign pro"otion, such as travel grants for authors. To
"ake these progra"s "ore effective, they have created independent agencies focusing on foreign pro"otion of the
country:s literature or culture. These agencies are "ore fle*ible than the govern"ent bodies /2inistries3 and act as
effective "ediators between govern"ents and the business environ"ent.
.olland and landers:
M httpCIIwww.nlpvf.nlI
The %ederlands 0iterair $roductie- en ;ertalingenfonds /.oundation for the $roduction and Translation of 4utch 0it -
erature3, based in ("sterda", is funded by the country:s 2inistry of Education and ,ulture. The foundation actively
pro"otes 4utch literature abroad and provides financial support to foreign publishers interested in publishing 4utch
literary works. This includes fiction, #uality non-fiction, poetry, and children:s literature. The .oundation can fund up
to E>F of translation costs.
M httpCIIwww.fondsvoordeletteren.beI detectieIflashI>>1.ht"
The ;la"s .onds voor de 0etteren /.le"ish 0iterary .und3 is an autono"ous govern"ent body that has been active in
!elgiu" since @>>>. The principal instru"ents of its foreign policy are infor"ation and docu"entation, translation
grants, travel grants and literary production grants.
*atalonia:
M httpCIIwww.llull.catIllullI
The &nstitut <a"on 0lull provides grants to publishers for translating literary, non-fiction and research works. .ro"
@>>? to @>>E "ore than @=> titles have been grant ed support through this sche"e. ( progra" of residences for literary
translators has recently been launched.
M httpCIIwww."cu.esI
Through 4ireccion General del 0ibro, (rchivo y !ibliotecas, the panish 2inistry of ,ulture offers 9Grants for the
pro"otion of translation and publication of literary and scientific works by panish authors in any foreign language,9
ai"ed at publishing co"panies and offered on a yearly basis. (side fro" panish-language authors, those writing in
,atalan, !as#ue or Galician are also eligible.
12
&ermany and other &erman/speaking countries:
M httpCIIwww.goethe.deIuunIangIuebIueaI eninde*.ht"
The Goethe-&nstitut Translation $rogra" has been running for ?> years. &t has given financial support for the translation
of about A,>>> Ger"an books into A= languages.
M httpCIIwww.prohelvetia.chIinde*.cf"7 rubN?>
$ro 1elvetia is a progra" that supports the pro"otion of wiss authors and books related to witzerland.
M httpCIIwww.bundeskanzlera"t.atI 4esktop4efault.asp*7Tab&4N?DBDO(lias-art The (ustrian .ederal ,hancellery has
a specific translation grant progra".
rance:
M The 4irectorate General for &nternational ,ooperation and 4evelop"ent, a division of the .rench 2inistry of
.oreign (ffairs, offers a grant ai"ed at foreign publishers, providing support to culturally i"portant books.
M httpCIIwww.centrenationaldulivre.frI The ,entre %ational du 0ivre allocates an annual budget of al"ost 1> "illion
Euros to funding .rench publishing e*ports and granting the rights for .rench titles to foreign publishers. (l"ost =>>
titles benefit fro" this funding each year.
Promotional Publications in English
5ne of the "ost widespread initiatives in all countries are progra"s for co"plete or partial translations of works into
English ai"ed at attracting foreign publishers. The international e*posure pursued through English also includes
printed "agazines to help convey the conte*t of a specific national literature, websites, and anthologies. 2ost often,
these progra"s are not solely ai"ed at the English-language "arket, but instead use English as a 9useful inter"ediary9
for introducing the"selves to cultures in Europe and a large part of the world without language barriers, at least not for
an educated public.
.olland and landers:
M !ooks fro" 1olland and .landers, Puality %onfiction fro" 1olland and ,hildren:s !ooks fro" 1olland
$roduced in English, these books introduce new 4utch literary titles twice a year, published by the .oundation for the
$roduction and Translation of 4utch 0iterature.
*atalonia:
M !ooklets that offer a choice of works written in ,atalan /five genresC fiction, poetry, dra"a, classics and non-fiction3.
$roduced in English, Ger"an and panish, these booklets introduce new or classic titles written originally in ,atalan
language. They are published by the &nstitut <a"on 0lull.
M Transfer. Journal of Contemporary Culture
-ournal produced in English once a year by the &nstitut <a"on 0lull. &t collects articles and essays that have appeared
previously in ,atalan cultural 6ournals. &ts ai" is to "ake visible the ideas of ,atalan acade"ics and essayists on the
"ain intellectual debates of today.
Catalan Writing
The &nstitucio de les 0letres ,atalanes /&nstitute for ,atalan 0etters3 published the English-language literary "agazine
Catalan 'ritin" fro" 1DD@ to @>>@. $ublication resu"ed in @>>B thanks to ,atalan $E%, with funding fro" the &nstitut
<a"on
0lull.
13
&ermany and other &erman/speaking countries:
M httpCIIwww.new-books-in-ger"an.co" New Books in German is a 0ondon-based "agazine offering a printed selection
of Ger"an books twice a year. Three thousand copies of the "agazine are distributed worldwide. &nfor"ation is also
available on their website.
M www.signandsight.co"
The English version of the online "agazine (erlentaucher. (side fro" a selection of cultural news ite"s fro"
newspapers and infor"ation about high-profile books, two or three English translations of particularly interesting
nonfiction pieces are published weekly.
rance:
M www.frenchbooknews.co"
The !ureau du 0ivre at the .rench E"bassy in 0ondon has a website where each "onth it publishes reviews of ten
works recently published in .rance. The site also includes a listing of both foreign-rights contacts at .rench publishing
co"panies and grants already awarded to publishers and translators by the ,%0 and the 2(E, along with a database
covering all works translated into English since 1DD>.
M !est .rench +ritingC @1st ,entury The !ook ervice at the .rench E"bassy in %ew Lork and $E% ("erican ,enter
created this pro6ect in @>>B. (bout => titles published after the year @>>> will be selected to be published as part of a
collection. The ("erican publisher who chooses to publish the translation will receive a QB,>>> grant. (ll titles will
have a logo and include a preface by a well-known ("erican author.
Promotional Efforts Abroad
5nly a few of Europe:s larger countries have specific progra"s with institutions operating centers or offices abroad,
which enable the" to develop a far "ore effective pro"otional strategy.
&ermany and other &erman/speaking countries:
M httpCIIwww.gbo.org
The Ger"an !ook 5ffice was founded in 1DDH by the .rankfurt !ook .air. &t has offices in %ew Lork, !ei6ing,
!ucharest, 2oscow and +arsaw. The "ain purpose of these offices is to facilitate business contact between Ger"an
publishers and those of the host country or region.
rance:
M ervices du 0ivre des ("bassades de .rance /!ook 5ffice at the .rench E"bassy3
The .rench E"bassies have a progra" that supports pro"otion of .rench books and includes assisting authors during
their visits and organizing events and cooperation with local institutions. The E"bassy in %ew Lork, for e*a"ple,
awards the 1e"ingway grants for translation of .rench works into English, "anages translators: residencies at ;illa
Gillet, in 0yons, and runs a series of pro"otional tours for .rench-language authors in the United tates. &t also invites
U.. authors and publishers to .rance.
0isiting Publisher
This progra" ai"ed at foreign publishers, who are invited for a brief visit to the host country to help establish personal
contact with publishers, cultural progra""ing organizers and authors, is typical of "ediu" or s"all countries that have
not fully developed other channels such as "a6or book fairs or "ultinational publishing co"panies.
14
.olland
and landers:
M httpCIIwww.nlpvf.nlI The %ederlands 0iterair $roductie- en ;ertalingenfonds /.oundation for the $roduction and
Translation of 4utch 0iterature3 invites ten publishers to spend a few days in ("sterda" so they can "eet with 4utch
publishers.
*atalonia:
&n light of the ,atalan culture being na"ed 9guest of honor9 for the @>>E .rankfurt !ook .air, the &nstitut <a"on 0lull
has helped set the stage by organizing a series of visits by foreign publishers to !arcelona. These publishers have "et
with local literary agents and publishers in order to beco"e ac#uainted with ,atalan fiction and nonfiction works. This
has never previously been done on a regular basis.
%tandardi1ed information2 databases2 and catalogs
5ne of the pri"ary ob6ectives of foreign pro"otion is to infor" audiences in other countries about national literature
and its conte*t. (side fro" producing pro"otional "aterial, such as for book fairs, it is also essential to cater to
professionals /i.e., publishers, authors, and translators3 by providing the" with infor"ation that covers a variety of
resources ranging fro" author databases to translation bibliographies and catalogs, as well as infor"ation about foreign
rights, translation grants, the current status of the publishing industry, etc. (ll these tasks are pri"arily carried out by
the govern"ent agencies responsible for foreign pro"otion. 5nly the largest countries have specific organizations with
offices abroad.
.olland and landers:
M httpCIIwww.speurwerk.nl
The tichting peurwerk betreffende het boek /!ook <esearch .oundation3 is based in ("sterda" and publishes a
variety of infor"ation on 4utch books. &ts pri"arily focus is the do"estic "arket, as "ade clear by the fact that its
website is available e*clusively in 4utch.
*atalonia:
M httpCIIwww.llull.catIllullIbibliotecaItrac.6sp T<(,, a catalog of all literary works translated fro" ,atalan into other
languages, was co"piled by the &nstitucio de les 0le-tres ,atalanes fro" 1DD? on, and has been available online since
@>>= through the &nstitut <a"on 0lull website.
M httpCIIwww."cu.esI
5verview of panish !ook $ublishing The "ain indicators for the panish publishing industry are available for
reference through the country:s 2inistry of ,ulture website, following this routeC tatistics, $ri"ary tatistics, tatistics
of $ublication of !ooks. ( "ore detailed study /including infor"ation on publications in ,atalan3 is available in the
annual printed version. The fact that it is published e*clusively in panish and not in other languages suggests that it is
ai"ed pri"arily at the do"estic "arket.
&ermany and other &erman/speaking countries:
M httpCIIwww.gbo.org
The Ger"an !ook 5ffice was founded in 1DDH by the .rankfurt !ook .air. &t has offices in %ew Lork, !ei6ing,
!ucharest, 2oscow and +arsaw. The purpose of these offices is to facilitate business contacts between Ger"an
publishers and those of the host country or region.
rance:
M httpCIIwww.culture.gouv.frIcultureIdllI
15
dllDH.ht"
0a 4irection du 0ivre et de la 0ecture, belonging to the .rench 2inistry of ,ul ture and ,o""unication, is in charge of
la !ibliothe#ue %ationale de .rance, !ibliothe#ue $ubli#ue d:&nfor"ation, and le ,entre %ational du 0ivre. +ithin the
book trade, it supervises the creation, publishing, distribution, and pro"otion of books in .rance and abroad. &t assists
in the founding of publishing co"panies and bookstores and develops strategies for reinforcing the e*port "arketG it
also perfor"s research studies about reading habits and book sales.
M httpCIIwww.bief.org
0e !ureau &nternational de l:Edition .rancaise /!&E.3 provides studies about foreign "arkets, rights and .rench book
e*ports. &t also publishes special reports and su""aries. The !ureau guarantees the collective presence of the works of
.rench publishers at book fairs and other events worldwide and at international congresses. &t also organizes book e*-
hibitions for the publishing sector in different cities in a given country. !&E. is an association co"prising @=> "e"bers
and receives support fro" the .rench "inistries of ,ulture and ,o""unication, and .oreign (ffairsG it has been active
for 1?> years. The organization also works in close collaboration with le yndicat %ational de l:Edition /%ational
$ublishing Union, %E3, ,E0., and la ,entrale de l:Edition /$ublishing ,enter3.
M httpCIIfrenchpubagency.co"I
The .rench $ublisher:s (gency is a %ew Lork delegation of !&E. that represents several .rench publishers in the
United tates.
3ebsites
&n recent years, "any foreign pro"otion progra"s are based on websites, which are capable of offering a broad range
of infor"ation in "any languages. There are online "agazines and catalogs of authors or specific works that include
translation e*cerpts, book reviews and relevant bibliographies. 2ost of the websites focus on national lit erature, but
so"e of the" are international in their scope, such as the pro6ect developed by $E% 2acedonia8Di)ersity
/httpCIIwww.di-versity.org."kI3, an atte"pt to put together a catalog of literary translations into a wide range of
languages8or 1ungarian-based Ba*elmatri+ /httpCIIwww.babel"atri*.orgI3. ("ong others, the network of European
cultural "agazines known as Eurozine /httpCIIwww.eurozine.co"I3 is also very i"portant for raising awareness about
literature and thought in general.
.olland and landers:
M www.nlpvf.nl
The %ederlands 0iterair $roductie- en ;ertalingenfonds /.oundation for the $roduction and Translation of 4utch 0it -
erature3 has an infor"ative, updated website offering a full range of infor"ation about 4utch literature. &t includes a
database of all translations of 4utch literature into other languages.
*atalonia:
M www.pencatala.catIctdl
$agines de traduccio literaria /0iterary Translation $ages3 is an initiative of the Translation and 0anguage <ights
,o""ittee of ,atalan $E% /active since @>>A3, and has been organized with support fro" 0:&nstitut <a"on 0lull and
0:&nstitucio de les 0letres ,atalanes. Their goal is to take advantage of the potential offered by the &nternet for
introducing ,atalan literature to a broad readership, both locally and abroad. $resentations of translated authors are
broken down into two areasC translations fro" ,atalan /e*ports3 and translations into ,atalan /i"ports3. 0iteratura
catalana en traduccio /,atalan 0iterature in Translation3 introduces ,atalan authors with a short introductory essay
translated into several languages, a bibliography of all their translations, and e*cerpts fro" both the
&o$ernment %upport for Translation
16
5ne of the points that the different reports have brought up in "ore detail, is the support given to literary translation by
public ad"inistrations. 1aving reviewed the "ain public policies for support, we can conclude that translation is #uite
well subsidized. $recisely because of that, however, it is a potentially weak activity. ( look at support given to
translation on a nation-to-nation basis within the larger international conte*t will #uickly show that the countries with
the fewest resources publish fewer works abroad. &s that a fair situation7
.urther"ore, the relative abundance of subsidies has created a cli"ate in which a publisher is generally not willing
to publish a translation if it is not financed by the country of origin of the work. +ays "ust be found to help correct
this i"balance. +e can find e*e"plary "odels in organizations e*isting, for e*a"ple, in
Ger"any, a country traditionally open to translations. The ociety for the $ro"otion of (frican, (sian and 0atin
("erican 0iterature %,esellschaft -ur Forderun" der $iteratur aus .frika, .sien und $ateinameri-ca) and the 0iterary
,ollo#uiu" of !erlin %$iterarisches Collo/uium Berlin) subsidize translations in order to give Ger"an readers the
opportunity to learn about literatures that are less able to find their way onto the international "arket.
Traditionally, translation took on i"portance pri"arily as a way to nurture a given language with infor"ation fro"
other cultures. Translating The !ible or Don Qui+ote in their entirety into a language not widely spoken, de"onstrated
the capacity of a culture, s"all as it "ight be, to "eet the highest literary standards. !ut this center of gravity is
changing and8forcing the issue a bit8we could say that today, the task of translation is e*actly the opposite.
Translations "ust de"onstrate the i"portance of a culture by being able to find entry into a foreign literary
environ"ent.
( given literature is considered to have achieved success when it produces and e*ports a great nu"ber of worksG in
contrast, however, the nu"ber of foreign works i"ported doesn:t see" to carry the sa"e weight. Translation has, over
the years, en6oyed a certain prestige because everyone was aware of the i"portance of e*panding their cultural horizons
by bringing in works fro" other cultures. !ut the attention that the literature of one particular culture receives abroad
should not be an e*cuse to ignore other literatures.
There are "any options available to find econo"ic support for translations within the respective countries of origin,
but what is lacking is the "eans to find support for translation and pro"otion of literary works fro" the country
receiving the translation. (s a result, it is difficult not to fall into the trap of only pro"oting those writers who are
9officially9 considered to be "ost i"portantC in those countries where freedo" of e*pression and de"ocracy are under
threat, official subsidies only go to those writers with close connections to the regi"e in power.
Translation and reedom of E)pression
The need to disconnect the translation of a literary work fro" the econo"ic support syste" of the country of origin of
that work is especially i"portant when the country in #uestion is i""ersed in a cli"ate of repression and ideological
control of all aspects of public life. The ,hinese literature which was translated to other languages during the 1D=>s had
the sole ai" of providing propaganda for the 2aoist regi"e and only those works approved by the govern"ent and the
,o""unist $arty were able to be translated. This syste" of control of econo"ic subsidies and pro"otion of works
abroad is still in place in ,hina todayG there are works which are censored for political reasons and can not be
published. The only chance that ,hinese dissidents have of publishing their works is through trans lations to other
languages in the international arena.
&n the case of ,hina as well as other countries, translation and international recognition of dissident authors has been
able to bring about revised perceptions of the regi"e, both within the country and fro" the outside. Translation has
great subversive power. !ut in order to assure its creative capacity and true subversive power, literature "ust "aintain
a certain independence fro" political powerG it "ust beco"e a space of freedo", untainted by official political entities
or dog"a.
4e"ocratic countries often forget the great lack of liberty of e*pression prevailing in certain countries. &f all works
that were translated re#uired govern"ent support, those "any voices that can:t even be heard in their own country
17
would be silenced. Those works which haven:t reached the public eye at ho"e but which receive attention in a foreign
country sensitive to the proble"s of others, are also indicators of the degree of freedo" of e*pression in a country.
The %ituation in Europe
etting political and social factors aside, it is clear that "ore and "ore activity is taking place to encourage literary
translation and interest in other culturesC international festivals, residencies for writers and translators, specialized
literary 6ournals, university courses for foreign students, etc. Especially worthy of "ention is the idea of providing
specialists in the original language of a translated work who can present all aspects of this work to a foreign audience.
.rance is a "odel in this regard, both in ter"s of outside literature which co"es into the country as well as of the
pro"otion of .rench writers abroad.
(lso, in the course of recent years, cultures e*isting within states that are not their own8as is the case of the
,atalan culture 8 are receiving greater international visibility. This change has co"e about as a result of the i"portant
political changes which have taken place in Europe since the early 1DH>s and which brought about the fall of the !erlin
+all. +hile in postwar Europe nobody #uestioned the division of Ger"any into two different states with,
conse#uently, two different 9national9 literatures, and the oviet Union and Lugoslavia considered the"selves single
states and, thus, single nations, those rules clearly changed after 1DHD.
( new perspective on the situation which takes into account the i"portance of each culture and respect for all lan-
guages, has "ade inroads, at least in Europe. ,urrently "any EU countries have policies defending this view and have
established an effective syste" to defend linguistic rights.
There is another i"portant factor influencing the i"prove"ent of the international cli"ate with regard to literary
e*change, and that is the ease of co""unication in a globalized world. 4uring the .ranco dictatorship a panish citizen
had difficulty getting a passport to visit any co""unist country, and people fro" Eastern European countries couldn:t
cross the &ron ,urtain, but these ad"inistrative blocks have disappeared in today:s European Union. (nd, as a result, a
new way of seeing the world has opened up. &f we take into consideration the historic destiny of the s"all countries of
Europe, or those which for"ed part of the oviet Union, the struggle to preserve cultural identity is no longer an
isolated anecdote, as it could have see"ed in the past when the "ost distant point on the horizon was the country ne*t
door.
tanding up for one:s own culture no longer carries with it the stig"a of provincialis", as it once "ay have. The
idea that in order to be considered i"portant a culture has to be big and fit within the confines of an internationally-
recognized state is no longer a generally-accepted concept in Europe.
5ne of the conse#uences of this change of attitude has been the regeneration of the capillary syste" of European
literatureC cultures and languages which, before, only knew of each other through translations fro" the "a6or languages
and are now able to connect directly with each other, without having to go through publishers in $aris. &n cultural and
literary ter"s, globalization has also had "any positive and revitalizing effects.
18