TRANSLATION
and
POPULAR CULTURE
John Milton

Contents
Introduction to high and low culture
Kitsch and midcult
Factory translation

High and Low
Translation studies have traditionally been an integral part
of high culture
Many literary translations have been aimed at the learned
few, the aristocratic, gentlemanly or academic coterie.
The kind of translation that Schleiermacher recommends aims
to preserve the linguistic and cultural difference of the foreign
text, but only as it is perceived in the translation by a limited
readership, an educated elite“ (Venuti, 1991: 130)
Thus, a translation, which should or could make a work
available to all the literate members of a new language
group, may be directed to a specific clique or coterie,
thereby excluding the great majority of readers

Romantic Art
19th Century: the rise of democracy and the
enfranchisement of the masses.
Romantic art as a child of democracy since it is popular
in contrast with modernism which is anti-popular and
difficult to understand.
Modern art = dehumanization of art

Bourdieu’s Survey on cultural tastes
• Intellectual classes believe more in the form of
representation (painting, music, literary work). A
withdrawal from concrete.
• Popular taste believes in the things themselves.
More interest in what is said rather than the way in
which it is said.

The crowd has suddenly become visible: it has installed
itself in the preferred places of society. Previously, it did
exist but went unnoticed; it was part of the background of
society, now it has come to the forefront, it is the main
character. Now there are no protagonists, there in only a
choir. (Ortega y Gannet, 1984: 47)
The elite must take the "higher path" and distinguish itself
from the masses. Heraclitus says:
Why do you want to take me everywhere, o illiterate ones?
I didn't write for you but for those who could understand
me. One person is worth a hundred thousand for me, and
the mob's worth nothing. (in Kok 8)

The splendor and mystery of translation
Translation as a way of escaping from the crowd
It is a mysterious and impossible task in which one can
attempt to bring other languages and great authors to
affect one's own thought and language to rise above
cultural levelling of modern society
Conflict is between high and low culture and thus
forignization and domestication

Kitsch and Midcult
Kitsch by Umberto Eco: the imposition of the fixed effect,
to be enjoyed by the consumer, who does not have to
attempt to understand the more complex patterns of the
operations of the artistic work. And by enjoying this effect,
the reader or viewer supposes that he/she is experiencing
a privileged aesthetic experience. The emotional reaction
of the reader/viewer is all-important and any kind of
reflection on the causes of this reaction is missing
Midcult by Dwight Macdonald: trivializes works of art and
tries to produce certain effects.

The characteristics of the midcult
it borrows avant garde processes and adapts them to
make a message which can be enjoyed and understood by
all
it uses these processes when they have been known, used
and are worn out
it constructs a message as a provocation of effects
it sells them as art;
it tranquilizes the consumer, convincing him that he has
encountered culture, so that he won't feel other worries
Examples: Revised Standard Version of the Bible

Thus we can see the complexities of the work of art reduced:
mass culture makes the classics into products to be
consumed rather than to be contemplated (Arendt in Eco:
41).
According to Marcuse, the cheapness and ready availability
of the "great" canonised works of literature lead to a certain
blasé attitude to these “greats". They are taken down from
their pedestals to become the cheapest and most available
of book.

No sub-standard language/ homogenized language
Polyphonic elements were cut
Translations are squeamish
Scatological references are cut
Religious censorship
Adaptation Strategies (Milton)

Translation theory has worked with Faithful/unfaithful and
content/style framework. Now within other fields.
Translation has an afterlife but may take on a very different
form to the original
Invisible translation such as instructions
Factory Translation

Rather than being the work of an individual it’s the work of
a team, a mere part of an assembly line. Without the name
of the translator. A prestigious translator will not have his
name on it. Anonymous or Pseudonym.
Standardization or Fordism in production of factory novels
and translations.
• Theme: the work is tailored to suit the tastes of readers
• Language: sub-standard language and dialect is cut out
• Style: the work should not deviate from a strict narrative style
• Size: Reduced to fewer pages
• Weight: a low weight to cut postal costs
Characteristics of Factory Translation

Commercial production ignores the so-called sacredness
of the author as a result of the possibility for reproduction
of form of art. Such as movies and photographs. More
people are involved in movie production
Definite commercial strategies will be used. Translation will
be directed to a definite market, e.g. female readers and
male readers
Deadlines are important. Meeting deadline is more
important than perfectly accurate copy. Thus minimum
time for proofreading
Characteristics of Factory Translation

19th century novel tradition is reusable in different shapes
and guises, i.e. condensation, films, cartoons, etc. 20th
centuries novel does not so much go for adaptation
It is often cheaper to recycle an already existing translation
than to commission a new one. Thus a few change in an
existing translation suits it for different markets.
Packaging is enormously important
Commercialism is not beyond a few tricks. The reader may
not be so respected. The production of “special
translations”.
Characteristics of Factory Translation

A common marketing trick is Pseudotranslation, i.e.
introducing original as a translation. The reason for
pseudotranslation is mostly commercial.
Such translations are ephemeral, throwaway, not
catalogued by libraries and information networks.
Characteristics of Factory Translation

Thanks
For Your Patience