THE HEGEMONY OF ENGLISH AND WORLD LITERATURE: A STUDY OF TRANSLATION FLOW AND LITERARY CIRCULATION

Abstract

The hegemony of English has been explored in several studies since the wake of the twentieth century. Drawing on works of leading linguists, we have drawn our attention to the status of English as a dominating world language that exerts its influence on peripheral literatures of the world. This paper seeks to examine the hegemony of the English language in literary studies, more significantly, in the circulation of world literary pieces. The article discusses how English, at the centre of literary production and circulation, distorts the real essence and concept of ‘borderless world literature.’ The author begins with a brief discussion about the Gramscian concept of hegemony and its implications and consequences on the world circulation of literary pieces. It proceeds to interrogate the existing model of translation flow in the international book market and proposes an alternative approach to resist English hegemony, followed by the conclusion.