Cultural Mediation and Cultural Creativity: The Translating Activities of Multilingual Jewish Authors from Bukovina

The selected authors were all of Jewish background, lived in Bukovina for a long time, and had to flee their home because they were, directly or indirectly, victims of the Holocaust. Moreover, all of them spoke German as either their primary or only mother tongue, could speak at least three or four languages fluently, and in exile further expanded their multilinguality. After leaving their home region, these authors were not only actively engaged in literary activities but devoted themselves to translation, in which they self-consciously understood themselves as cultural mediators.

The exploration of the translation and literary activities of these Bukovina authors is a case study that offers the possibility of comparing aspects of these two different activities. The study allows different exilic situations as well as commonalities between the authors (given their grouping under a common place of origin) to be reliably determined while at the same carefully distinguishing between the individual profiles.

Seven working groups of researchers representing the languages of the respective countries of origin will explore the translation activities of the Bukovina authors on the basis of given issues and criteria in translation theory. Outcomes of the investigation will be presented in a concentrated way at working meetings.

Term of Project: 2004
Research endowment funding 2004

Project Members:
Prof. Bernhard Spies (German Literary Studies)
Dr. Frank Hoffmann (History Studies; Institut für Deutschlandforschung (IDF), University of Bochum)
Dr. Natalia Shchyhlevska (German Literary Studies)

Publications:
Shchyhlevska, Natalia (2004): Bukowiner Dichter als Übersetzer Jessenins. In: Exilforschung. Ein internationales Jahrbuch, Vol. 25/2007. P. 227-246.