Translating Oneself on the World Stage. Global Literature and Minority Languages in Italy, Scotland and Ireland

Writing in a minority language means going towards difficult translatability and the preservation of culture-specific elements, which is the opposite of what is required for global literature. The common practice of self-translation, however, points to an ambiguity in minority language writing. After redefining the concept of “minority language”, which has acquired a new meaning in the context of globalization, it is essential to define whether the languages involved in self-translation are of the same type or not. A comparison of minority language literature in Italy, Scotland and Ireland shows how crucial the role of translation and self-translation is. These countries are only an example, since in recent decades minority language writers all over the world have felt the need to publish their works with parallel texts – be it translation or self-translation. Despite the variety of motivations, the primary reason seems to be the desire to widen the audience beyond the limits of the minority language. Translation offers the seductive possibility of crossing the borders of one’s beloved cultures, whose virtue – the shared values of an “organic” community – implies temporary limitation and isolation. This is all the more true for the writers whose other tongue is English. Local products have a well-established niche in national and international trade, where they meet the taste of audiences in search of exotic specialities. However, the global prestige of English can weaken the creative impulse towards the minority language, since English offers much more visibility, fame and money. Despite the ambiguous status of self-translation, which is often considered as a symptom of subordination, it remains the only way of opening oneself up to the world. In sum, the position of minority language literature on the international stage looks to be twofold: on the one hand, it is a form of resistance to global literature; on the other hand, immediate translation and self-translation imply a desire to be part of the global scenario