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Translation Studies

Much of the material on this page has been published as "Libraries, Databases and Translation Support" in Beyond the Western Tradition (Translation Perspectives IX). Binghamton, NY: Center for Research in Translation, State University of New York, 2000.The first part of this guide lists printed resources, all owned by the Binghamton University Libraries. Call numbers and locations are indicated. The second part of the guide provides links to selected web resources.

Contents

Bibliographies on Translation | Has It Been Translated? | Printed Guides to Translations | Translating Tools | Internet Resources

Bibliographies on Translation

These resources list books and articles about translating as an art and profession. You can locate other such titles by doing a Sugject search using the heading: Translating and Interpreting.

There are a number of databases now that can also be used to locate articles about translation theory and other issues. The most important is the Translation studies abstracts/Bibliography of translation studies. (The original print version is located at REF P 306 A1 B53.)

Go to the listing of Library Databases for Translation Studies for other relevant resources.

Has it Been Translated?

Determining whether or not something has been translated is a complex process. There is, however, is a basic procedure, which, if followed in the suggested order, should prevent the translator from wasting precious time.

1. Determine the publication date for the earliest edition of the source text. Use tools, such as specialized author bibliographies, which provide listings of authors' works with their dates. (You can also try the electronic Literary Biography and Criticism sources available from the Libraries' homepage.)

2. For translations into English, begin with a search of the WorldCat cataloging database, since it covers the holdings of many major U.S. libraries, plus complete Library of Congress cataloging since circa 1976. You may also find other translation directions here since many libraries worldwide are now providing their cataloging records to the database. To get to WorldCat, click on "Other Libraries"from our home page and then on "WorldCat".

3. For other translation directions, and for older works in particular, use the appropriate national bibliography for the target language. Begin with the volume that covers the publication date of the earliest edition of the source language text, look up the author's name in that volume -- and in all subsequent volumes up to the present. National bibliographies can be found using the subject heading format: [name of country] -- Bibliography

NOTE 1: You may also try using the online catalogs of the national libraries. However, check each web site to see if it describes the coverage of the catalog. Many libraries are still converting printed records to online records, and so most catalogs are far from complete. The following are links to get you some of the world's major national libraries:

Library of Congress The US's largest repository of library materials.

The European Library This is actually a gateway site to all of the national libraries in Western Europe. You can search across all libraries. Or click on the Libraries tab to get to specific countries directly.

The University of Queensland (Australia) has an extensive listing of national library web sites worldwide.

NOTE 2: Translated titles often differ markedly from the original. Sometimes the original title is mentioned -- but not always. The translator may have to do some educated guessing.

4. For older works especially, the translator may wish to consult one of the specialized bibliographies of translations, such as those listed in the following section. The listing is highly selective and represents a very small sample of this type of publication.

NOTE: The publication date of a print resource will determine the scope of the information it contains. For example, for a work published in 1994, one would have to use a print resource published after that date, preferably by at least two years.

5. For short stories, poems, and other types of work that tend NOT to be published separately, the challenge of identifying translations is more complex. Consult sources listed below. However, these sources only work for translations into English. Also look for target language translations of the author's "complete works", "complete stories", "complete poems", or even "selected works", etc., in the various cataloging databases.

6. For relatively recent works, note the publisher/copyright holder for the latest edition of the source text and inquire with them to see if anyone ever requested permission to translate and publish the work. Start with the publishing directories listed below.

7. Finally, as a last resort, one could also send out a query over the Internet to one or more of the electronic discussion groups that focus on translation.

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Printed Guides to Translations

It would be impossible to list all the guides to works that have been translated. This section gives just a sampling, focusing on translations into English, since that has been the Libraries' collecting emphasis. For other translation directions, use the suggested subject heading formats.

Non-Literary Translations

Subject heading format:Translations--Bibliography Translations--Indexes

Literary Translations

Subject heading formats: [name] literature--Translation into [target language]--Bibliography
[name] fiction--Translations into [target language]--Bibliography
[name] poetry--Translations into [target language]--Bibliography
[name] drama--Translations into [target language]--Bibliography

You can also use the above formats with the subheading "Translations from [source language]"Again, the following examples emphasize translations into English.

Use the above subject heading formats for other languages and translation directions.

Polyglot

Arabic & Persian Chinese Classical languages German Hebrew Italian Japanese Russian Spanish & Portuguese Finding Translations of Shorter Works

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Translating Tools

Again, the titles listed here are merely examples, Use the suggested subject heading format to locate other similar tools.

Monolingual Dictionaries

Subject heading format: [name] language--Dictionaries

Slang Dictionaries

Subject heading formats: [name] language--Slang--Dictionaries

Thesauri, Dictionaries of Synonyms

Subject heading format: [name] language--Synonyms and antonyms

Bilingual Dictionaries

Subject heading format: [name] language--Dictionaries--[name of language]

Field-Specific Dictionaries

Subject heading format: [field]--Dictionaries--[name of language]

For listings and links to numerous dictionaries worldwide, try the following web sites:

YourDictionary lists dictionaries which you can then search individually. OneLook allows searching across numerous dictionaries. These are just two of many other such sites.

Copyright and Permission

Published works, both literary and non-literary, are considered to be intellectual property and are subject to the laws and regulations governing intellectual property rights. Basically, this means that any use of a work, including translations, must be authorized by the copyright holder. The following books provide overviews of copyright laws.

Publishing Directories

Copyright information, especially for contemporary works, may be available from the publisher of the work being translated.

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Internet Resources

Gateway Sites

ILoveLanguages is a commercial site with links to every conceivable language. It covers all aspects of language learning and use, including translation.

The Translator's Home Companion is another very well-organized commercial site that focuses entirely on translation.

Bates Information Services publishes monthly "tips" and in October 2007 produced one on Translation Tools, with a number of useful links.

Identifying Translations

Index Translationum, UNESCO's bibliography of translations going back to 1979. The database consists of information voluntarily supplied by publishers in each country.

Translation Tools

The online dictionary sites listed above also include links to online translation tools. However, note that many of them are machine-based programs.

Eurodicautom is the European Community's free online translation system designed to move among all the official languages of the EC. Note that they are in the process of testing a new interface -- try it out.

Systran's Babel Fish software is available on Alta Vista, a web search engine. Note: it is an interesting example of machine translation, with no human intervention...

Media And Broadcast

Most newspapers,radio and television stations have some kind of web presence, and have useful applications in both translating and interpreting.

News and Newspapers Online, maintained by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, has excellent links to newspapers worldwide.

COMFM is a site that provides links to live radio web stream broadcasts. Search by continent and then by country. Note that most stations require a specific type of sound software.

World News is very current and includes materials from a number of European and African languages.

EuroNews includes videos and does include materials in Russian.

Organizations

The American Translators Association is the national professional organization for translators in the U.S. The site includes information on accreditation, full-text articles, going back 5 years, from the Chronicle, ATA's monthly journal, and links to other useful sites.

American Literary Translators Association includes a link to publishing opportunities.

The International Federation of Translators is the major international organization. It is especially useful for its extensive listing of upcoming events around the world.

Education and Training

The following institutions all have formal programs designed to teach translation theory. Many offer online newsletters and also links to other web resources for translators and interpreters.

Binghamton University's Translation Research and Instruction Program (TRIP).

Kent State University's Institute for Applied Linguistics

Monterey Institute of International Studies, Graduate School of Translation & Interpretation,

University of Massachusetts Translation Center.

University of Ottawa's School of Translation and Interpretation. Especially useful is the listing of its theses.

Copyright and Permission

The U.S. Copyright Office provides the most current version of the law in this country. It includes registration forms, instructions, various circulars and brochures for printing or downloading, etc.

Stanford University Libraries have an excellent site on Copyright and Fair Use with many useful links, especially to international resources. Its emphasis is, of course, on the academic interpretation of "fair use".

Electronic Discussion Groups

University of Oregon's Yamada Language Center has an extensive listing of language-related news groups and discussion lists.

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