Translation and society in Ireland, 1900-present

Abstract

Translation in Ireland from 1900 to the present day bears the strong imprint of social factors. While translations are often ignored and overlooked in favour of other larger and more pressing matters, they are nevertheless important indicators and vectors of social and cultural change. Translation movements and key translated texts can be mapped on to these moments of change, while conservative patterns can also be seen to endure. The two main languages under discussion are Irish and English (or Irish English), the direction of translation traffic between them being an indicator of their relative status. Irish is the language most frequently translated into English. However, translation to and from other languages, often involving the use of intermediary translations, also needs to be taken into consideration. Throughout the phases studied here the central and guiding question is: who are the translations for and why do the translators adopt the strategies that they do?.