A Sociocritique of Translation: Theatre and Alterity in Quebec, 1968-1988 (THEORY/CULTURE) - hardcover

In this ground-breaking study, Annie Brisset attempts to extend the parameters of translation theory to encompass a consideration of ideology and history. Newly translated into English, the study was awarded the "Ann Saddlemyer Prize in 1991 by the Association for Canadian Theatre History. It focuses on the translation of theatrical texts in Quebec during 1968-1988, a period marked by the search for a national identity - in which foreign works were not just translated but rather 'traduit en quTbTcois,' in an effort to counteract the influence of the dominant English culture in Canada and of the colonial legacy of European French. As Brisset shows, such translation was especially apparent in the developing QuTbTcois theatre, for drama affords a uniquely immediate link with the collective consciousness, a link that was strengthened during this period by the rise of social realist theatre in Quebec.

Brisset works from the premise that translations, like original works, are subject to the discursive underpinnings - the perceived and hidden ideological and social norms - that govern what is admissible or 'sayable' within the target society. A society's discursive constraints affect both the choice of foreign texts for translation and the changes brought about by translation, the conditions by which the foreign text is assimilated. As Brisset illustrates, the translation process in particular illuminates a society's implicit social codes because it allows for comparison of the original and the translation, which can reveal the adjustments required by the target milieu.

Applying this comparative approach to the entire body of theatrical translations in Quebec during this period, Brisset is able to identify the era's prevailing discursive norms. In doing so, she broadens the traditionally ahistorical domain of translation theory, linking instances of translation to such key political events as the October Crisis, the rise of the Parti QuTbTcois, and the first referendum on sovereignty. Wide-ranging and original, this book is essential reading in the fields of translation theory, Quebec theatre, and studies in cultural identity and alterity.