University of Warwick

Graduate Student, English and Comparative Literary Studies

Thesis Title: “Arising from the depths” (Kupala): A Study of Belarusian Literature in English Translation

About

Using Belarusian as a case study of a ‘minority’ European literature, this thesis explores the role of literary translation in the negotiation and promotion of a national identity as accomplished through translation from a lesser-known European tongue into the current global hegemonic language. In so doing, the research provides a wide historical panorama of all known literary translations from Belarusian to English, focusing on those published in the 20th and 21st centuries. While outlining the major tendencies of the translation process, the study considers the issues of both reception (focusing on the TL literary system) and representation (focusing on negotiation of Belarusian identity), recognising complex ideological, historical and political processes which accompany and, in many cases, predetermine translations and translation strategies.

After examining the available terminology for the description of ‘minority’ in literary theory and translation studies, this research considers Belarus’ position as an Eastern European, post-Soviet country and discusses the case for the adoption of a postcolonial approach to the interpretation of ‘Belarusianness’. Another innovative aspect of the study lies in the contribution of a non-Western perspective to the current discussion of European minority languages in translation studies (Baer 2011; Branchadell and West 2005; Cronin 1995, 2003; Tymoczko 1995, 1999).

A pioneering work on the history of Belarusian-English literary translation, this research defines several periods of translation activities: the ‘early’ translations of the 1890s – 1940s which mark the discovery of Belarusian folklore; the translations of the ‘Cold War’ period (1950s – 1980s) with two opposing ‘camps’ producing works provoked by nationalist (Western-based translations) or socialist (Soviet Union) ideologies; and, finally, the current post-independence period of Belarusian-English translation (1991-2011), with an analysis of the reasons for a relative inactivity. The evidence is based on a wide range of translations published as individual books and anthologies of poetry and prose, as well as those found in periodicals. It also includes previously unpublished findings from materials located in personal and national archives in Russia, Belarus, and the UK.