Traduire entre l'Angleterre et la France: Les choix editoriaux et le discours de reception de la presse.

This work presents a study of the processes of editorial selection and critical reception which are associated with the translation of texts between England and France; it focuses principally upon literary texts, during the last two decades, from 1975 to approximately 1995. A survey was sent out to 90 literary publishers in both countries in order to identify the main features of the selection process. An analysis of the responses is presented, leading to some conclusions on the nature of the translated works published in the two countries, and some of the factors involved in editorial decision making. The reception of translated works in the press in both countries is considered and types of discourse are identified and illustrated with examples taken from a number of newspapers and weekly magazines in the English and French press. Four authors: Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, Georges Perec and Julian Barnes, were selected for detailed study of the key questions raised by the review of press articles. On the basis of these two types of evidence, some conclusions are drawn about the differences in the appraisal of translated fiction. There is an asymmetry in the amount of translated works published in the two countries. The small proportion of translations in the British publishing output leads both publishers and critics to place more emphasis on the quality of translation, whereas the French focus more on the writers of the original text and their works