Translation among Manila's Book Publishers

Ubaldo Stecconi
American University, Washington, DC

Abstract

A survey conducted among Manila's publishers reveals an interesting translation scene. The bulk of translations available in Philippine bookstores is imported ready-made from the U.S. and Britain, and it seems that, with these, local publishers import an Anglo-Saxon indifference towards translation from foreign languages. Local projects are very few and nearly all of them are translations into Filipino from Philippine originals written in Spanish, English and other vernacular languages. Fortunately, some projects point the way towards a use of translation as a catalyst that can pull together the country's diverse genealogies and may help develop Filipino as a national language. Finally, difficulties in siting these domestic translations reveal an intriguing aspect of Manila's post-colonial condition.

Table of contents

Translating does not occur at a uniform rate throughout the world: some cultures translate a lot, others very little. Indeed, a pattern seems to exist whereby translations slide down the gradient of economic and symbolic [ p. 84 ]power: from rich markets to poorer ones, from hegemonic to marginal cultures. As Susan Bassnett remarked:

Full-text access is restricted to subscribers. Log in to obtain additional credentials. For subscription information see Subscription & Price. Direct PDF access to this article can be purchased through our e-platform.

Works Cited

Abad, Geminoand Edna Manlapaz
eds. 1989Man of Earth. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila U.P.Google Scholar
Apostol, Gina
1998Personal communication. 6 April 1998.Google Scholar
Bassnett, Susan
1991 “Translation and Ideology”. Koinè 1:2. 7–32.Google Scholar
Bolasco, Karina A.
1996 “Publishing and Philippine Literature”. Paper delivered at Conference on the Assessment of the State of Philippine Literature. Theme: Contemporary Philippine Literature: Themes and Directions . Baguio City, Philippines. 8-10 November 1996. [Mimeo.]Google Scholar
Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur
1981 (1 1892). The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Lotman, Jurij
1985La semiosfera. Venice: Marsilio.Google Scholar
Lumbera, Bienvenido
1997Personal communication. 10 March 1997.Google Scholar
Lumbera, Bienvenido and Cynthia Nograles Lumbera
1997Philippine Literature: A History and Anthology. Pasig City: Anvil.Google Scholar
[ p. 98 ]
McFarland, Curtis D.
1996 “Subgrouping and Number of the Philippines Languages or How Many Philippine Languages Are There?”. Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista, ed. Readings in Philippine Sociolinguistics. Manila: De La Salle University Press 2 1996 3–12.Google Scholar
Minowa, Shigeo
1995A Qualitative Assessment of the Book Market in the Philippines, and an Analysis of Its Findings. Book Garden Inc, Japan. [= International Research Institute of Publishing Studies: IRIPS Publication no. 2].Google Scholar
Mohanti, Satya P.
1997Literary Theory and the Claims of History. Ithaca and London: Cornell U.P.. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rafael, Vicente
1988Contracting Colonialism. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila U.P.. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stecconi, Ubaldo
1996 “Introduction”. VV.AA. 1996 : ix–xii.Google Scholar
1997 “Tracce e sentieri nel caos postcoloniale” and “Quella ferita aperta nel cuore dell’arcipelago”. Il Manifesto. 14 January 1997.Google Scholar
Súnico, Ramon C.
1997Personal communication. 28 April 1997. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tangherlini, Arne
1997 “Carlos Bulosan Is in the Heart but not in the Bookstores”. Pen&Ink Book 1. 154–155.Google Scholar
Toury, Gideon
1985 “A Rationale for Descriptive Translation Studies”. Theo Hermans, ed. The Manipulation of Literature: Studies in Literary Translation. London and Sydney: Croom Helm 1985 16–41.Google Scholar
1995Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond. Amsterdam-Philadelphia: John Benjamins.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Venuti, Lawrence
1995The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation. London and New York: Routledge.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
VV. AA.
1996Daydreams & Nightmares: A Fearless Anthology of Italian Short Stories, tr. Carmina Bautista, Ubaldo Stecconi and Lawrence Venuti, ed. Ubaldo Stecconi. Pasig City: Anvil.Google Scholar

References

Altbach, Philip G.
ed. 1992Publishing and Development in the Third World. London: Hans Zell.Google Scholar
Altbach Philip G. and Edith S. Hoshimo
eds. 1995International Book Publishing: An Encyclopedia. New York and London: Garland Publishing.Google Scholar
Bolasco, Karina A.
1992 “Publishing Trends in the Philippines”. Paper delivered at the 24th International Publishers Association World Congress . New Delhi, 31 January 1992. [Mimeo.]
1995 “The Philippine Printing & Publishing Industry”. Paper delivered at Subic Bay: Alternative Centre for Printing and Publishing in Asia (A Feasibility Conference) . Subic, Philippines, 26-28 April 1995. [Mimeo.]
1996a “Strategic Alliances and Networking in Asean”. Paper delivered at Books for All: ASEAN Conference on Book Development . Kuala Lumpur, 13-15 August 1996. [Mimeo.]
Gonzales, Andrew B.
1980Language and Nationalism: The Philippine Experience Thus Far. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila U.P.Google Scholar
Lacson-Locsin, Ma. Soledad
1996 “Introduction”. Rizal 1996 : n.p.Google Scholar
Pacheco, Esther
1992 “The Challenge of University Press Publishing in the Third World: The Philippine Case”. Altbach 1992 : 264–286.Google Scholar
1995 “The Philippines”. Altbach and Hoshimo 1995 : 499–512.Google Scholar
[ p. 99 ]
1996 “Book Development in the Philippines: A Situationer”. Paper delivered at Books for All: ASEAN Conference on Book Development. Kuala Lumpur, 13-15 August 1996. [Mimeo.]
Osias, Camilo
1963Meeting the National Language Problem. Manila.Google Scholar
Osias, Camilo and Tito Clemente
1944The Propagation of the Filipino Language/Ang Pagpapalaganap ng Wikang Pilipino. Manila: Bureau of Printing.Google Scholar
Quezon, Manuel III
1997Personal communication. 29 April 1997.Google Scholar
Rizal, José
1996 1(1887). Noli me Tangere, tr. Soledad Lacson-Locsin. Makati City: Bookmark.Google Scholar
Snell-Hornby, Mary, Zuzana Jettmarova and Klaus Kaindl
eds. 1997Translation as Intercultural Communication: Selected Papers from the EST Congress—Prague 1995. Amsterdam-Philadelphia: John Benjamins.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stecconi, Ubaldo
1994 “Peirce's Semiotics for Translation”. Koine IV. 161–179.Google Scholar
1999 “Introduzione”. VV.AA. 1999 : 7–16.Google Scholar
forthcoming. “A Translation of the Darangen from Mindanao, Philippines”. Koinè VI.
Stecconi, Ubaldo and Maria Luisa Torres Reyes
1997 “Transgression and Circumvention through Translation in the Philippines”. Snell-Hornby et al. 1997 : 67–78. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
VV.AA.
1998Balikbayan: racconti filippini contemporanei, tr. and ed. Ubaldo Stecconi. Milan: Feltrinelli.Google Scholar