Lawrence Venuti
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Venuti American
translation theorist, translation historian and translator from Italian
, French
, and Catalan
.
. He has long lived in New York City
. In 1980 he completed his PhD
in English at Columbia University
. That same year he got a Renato Poggioli Translation Award for this translation of Barbara Alberti's novel Delirium.
Venuti works as professor
of English at his alma mater
. He also delivers lectures in Creative Writing at the Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University
.
He is a member of the editorial boards of Reformation: The Journal of the Tyndale Society and The Translator: Studies in Intercultural Communication. In 1998, he edited a special issue of The Translator devoted to translation and minority. His translation projects have won awards and grants from the PEN American Center (1980), the Italian government (1983), the National Endowment for the Arts (1983, 1999), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (1989). In 1999, he held a Fulbright Senior Lectureship in translation studies at the University of Vic
(Spain).
In 2007 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
in Humanities for his translation of Giovanni Pascoli
's poetry and prose.
Since its publication, The Translator’s Invisibility has provoked debate and controversy within the field of translation; it has become a classic text as well. Providing an account of the history of translation from the 17th century to the present day, Venuti shows how fluency prevailed over other translation strategies to shape the canon of foreign literatures in English and investigates the cultural consequences of the receptor values which were simultaneously inscribed and masked in foreign texts during this period. The author locates alternative translation theories and practices in British, American and European cultures which aim to communicate linguistic and cultural differences instead of removing them.
The Translator’s Invisibility uses texts and translations from Britain, America and Europe, with which Venuti elaborates theoretical and critical means by which translation can be studied and practiced as a locus of difference, recovering and revising forgotten translations, in order to establish an alternative tradition.
Comparative literature
scholar Susan Bassnett
points out Venuti's emphasis on a translator-centered translation and his insistence that the translator should inscribe him/herself visibly into the text.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
translation theorist, translation historian and translator from Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
.
Career
Born in Philadelphia, he graduated from Temple UniversityTemple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
. He has long lived in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 1980 he completed his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in English at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. That same year he got a Renato Poggioli Translation Award for this translation of Barbara Alberti's novel Delirium.
Venuti works as professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of English at his alma mater
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
. He also delivers lectures in Creative Writing at the Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
He is a member of the editorial boards of Reformation: The Journal of the Tyndale Society and The Translator: Studies in Intercultural Communication. In 1998, he edited a special issue of The Translator devoted to translation and minority. His translation projects have won awards and grants from the PEN American Center (1980), the Italian government (1983), the National Endowment for the Arts (1983, 1999), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (1989). In 1999, he held a Fulbright Senior Lectureship in translation studies at the University of Vic
Vic
Vic is the capital of the comarca of Osona, in the Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain. Vic's location, only 69 km far from Barcelona and 60 km from Girona, has made it one of the most important towns in central Catalonia.-History:...
(Spain).
In 2007 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in Humanities for his translation of Giovanni Pascoli
Giovanni Pascoli
Giovanni Placido Agostino Pascoli was an Italian poet and classical scholar.- Biography :Giovanni Pascoli was born at San Mauro di Romagna , into a well-to-do family. He was the fourth of ten children of Ruggero Pascoli and Caterina Vincenzi Alloccatelli...
's poetry and prose.
Thought and influence
Venuti has concentrated on the theory and practice of translation. He is considered one of the most intense figures in modern translation theory, often with positions that substantially differ from those of mainstream theorists. He criticizes the fact that, too frequently, the translator is an invisible figure. He has been engaged in translation criticism ever since he started translating.Since its publication, The Translator’s Invisibility has provoked debate and controversy within the field of translation; it has become a classic text as well. Providing an account of the history of translation from the 17th century to the present day, Venuti shows how fluency prevailed over other translation strategies to shape the canon of foreign literatures in English and investigates the cultural consequences of the receptor values which were simultaneously inscribed and masked in foreign texts during this period. The author locates alternative translation theories and practices in British, American and European cultures which aim to communicate linguistic and cultural differences instead of removing them.
The Translator’s Invisibility uses texts and translations from Britain, America and Europe, with which Venuti elaborates theoretical and critical means by which translation can be studied and practiced as a locus of difference, recovering and revising forgotten translations, in order to establish an alternative tradition.
Comparative literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
scholar Susan Bassnett
Susan Bassnett
Susan Bassnett is a translation theorist and scholar of comparative literature. She served as pro-vice-chancellor at the University of Warwick for ten years and taught in its Centre for Translation and Comparative Cultural Studies, which closed in 2009...
points out Venuti's emphasis on a translator-centered translation and his insistence that the translator should inscribe him/herself visibly into the text.
Works
- Our Halcyon Dayes: English Prerevolutionary Texts and Postmodern Culture (1989)
- The Translator's Invisibility: A History of Translation (1995) (read the full version here)
- The Scandals of Translation: Towards an Ethics of Difference (1998) (read a review here).
- Rethinking Translation: Discourse, Subjectivity, Ideology (anthology of essays, editor) (1992)
- The Translation Studies Reader (2nd ed. 2004) (a survey of translation theory from antiquity to the present; editor)
- Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (1998) (contributor)
- Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation (2000) (contributor)
- The Translation Studies Reader (2000) (read the full version here)
Translations
- Restless Nights: Selected Stories of Dino BuzzatiDino BuzzatiDino Buzzati-Traverso was an Italian novelist, short story writer, painter and poet, as well as a journalist for Corriere della Sera. His worldwide fame is mostly due to his novel Il deserto dei Tartari, translated into English as The Tartar Steppe.-Life:Buzzati was born at San Pellegrino,...
(1983) - Iginio Ugo TarchettiIginio Ugo TarchettiUgo Iginio Tarchetti was an Italian author, poet, and journalist.Born in San Salvatore Monferrato, his military career was cut short by ill health, and in 1865 he settled in Milan. Here he entered literary study, becoming part of the Scapigliatura, a literary movement animated by a spirit of...
's Fantastic Tales (1992) - Juan Rodolfo WilcockJuan Rodolfo WilcockJuan Rodolfo Wilcock was an Argentinian author, poet, critic and translator. He was the son of Charles Leonard Wilcock and Ida Romegialli.- Early life :Wilcock was born at Buenos Aires....
’s collection of real and imaginary biographies, The Temple of Iconoclasts (2000) - Antonia Pozzi’s Breath: Poems and Letters (2002)
- Italy: A Traveler’s Literary Companion (2003)
- Melissa P.’s fictionalized memoir, 100 Strokes of the Brush before Bed (2004)
- Massimo Carlotto's The Goodbye Kiss (2006)
- Ernest Farrés’s Edward Hopper: Poems (2009)
External links
- picture of Venuti
- http://www.ias.umn.edu/media/BatofMinerva/LawrenceVenuti.phpInterview with Venuti at Institute for Advanced Study at University of MinnesotaInstitute for Advanced Study at University of MinnesotaThe Institute for Advanced Study, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is one of six University-wide centers at the University of Minnesota. The Institute for Advanced Study supports and encourages interdisciplinary and collaborative research and creative work across the University and fosters...
]
