The translation of mass literature: specific challenges

Abstract

Much is discussed from a theoretical point of view about the translation of canonical and/or complex prose and poetry. Most of the literary market in Brazil, however, is concerned with the production of commercial books aimed at the general public, which constitute what is known as mass literature. This means that a large portion of literary translators deals with challenges peculiar to this type of text, which, as we argue in this article, do not coincide with those most debated in the literary field of Translation Studies. Based on Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical reflections on popular aesthetics and on John Milton, Pascale Casanova, Lawrence Venuti and Marie-Hélène C. Torres’ considerations on the circulation and translation of international bestsellers, we first outline a notion of “mass literature”, listing the main characteristics of this type of fiction. We then propose five professional skills that can help translators carry out their work with the “loyalty” proposed by Christiane Nord’s functionalism. Although there may be pertinent criticism against this approach, we believe that it better serves this specific translation practice than theories focused on the materiality of the literary text. Supported, at the same time, by a multidisciplinary bibliographic survey, by numerical data related to the sales of books and by examples of published translations, this is proposed as applied research, which, ultimately, aims to contribute both to a greater openness to mass literature in the realm of Translation Studies and to a better professional performance by translators working in the Brazilian publishing market.