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Chapter 31 - Translation and International Reception

from Part IV - Reception and Criticism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 December 2019

By
Selina Lai-Henderson
Edited by
John Bird
John Bird
Affiliation:
Winthrop University
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Summary

Mark Twain’s works have been translated into hundreds of languages, a testament to his enduring worldwide popularity. Translation has often posed difficulties, as translators attempt to render his American English and use of dialect and the vernacular into other languages. From the start, Twain had an avid following in Europe, especially in England, where he often published his works before he did in America, to deal with problems with international copyright. He was popular in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which the government encouraged, seeing in Twain a critic of American capitalism. His reception in China and Japan has always been very strong, despite the challenges of translation to those languages.

Keywords

Mark TwainSamuel Clemenstranslationinternational receptionChinese translation
Type
Chapter
Information
Mark Twain in Context , pp. 317 - 326
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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References

Works Cited

Ceng, Xubai. Meiguo Wenxue ABC [American literature ABC]. Shanghai: Shijie Shuju, 1929.Google Scholar
Fishkin, Shelley Fisher. “American Literature in Transnational Perspective: The Case of Mark Twain.” In A Companion to American Literary Studies. Ed. Levander, Caroline F. and Levine, Robert S.. Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell, 2011. 279–93.Google Scholar
Fishkin, Shelley Fisher.“‘Originally of Missouri, Now of the Universe’: Mark Twain and the World.” In Developing Transnational American Studies. Ed. Gernalzick, Nadja and Spickermann, Heike. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2019. 19–31.Google Scholar
Li, Xilao. “The Adventures of Mark Twain in China: Translation and Appreciation of More than a Century.” Mark Twain Annual 6 (2008): 65–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Twain, Mark. Ha-keni Beili, Feien Lixianji [Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]. 1989. Trans. Cheng Shi. Beijing: Renmin Wenxue Chubanshe, 2004.Google Scholar
Twain, Mark. The Innocents Abroad. 1869. New York: Signet Classics, 2007.Google Scholar
Twain, Mark. “The ‘Jumping Frog.’ In English. Then in French. Then Clawed Back into a Civilized Language Once More by Patient, Unremunerated Toil.” New York: Harper & Bros., 1903.Google Scholar
Twain, Mark. Wantong Liulang Ji [Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]. Trans. Zhang Duosheng and Guozhen. Shanghai: Guangming Shuju, 1947.Google Scholar
Yu, Lei. “Minguo Shiqi Ma-ke Tuwen Zai Zhongguo de Wenxue Luxing” [Mark Twain’s literary journey in nationalist China]. Mei Yu Shi Dai 8 (2010): 54–56.Google Scholar

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