"Less-translated" Regional Languages? Inter- and Intra-Peripheral Translations in Wallonia (1870–1940)

Abstract

abstract:This article aims to open new avenues of thinking toward the "less-translated" dimension of regional minority languages by considering not only translations from and into major languages (verticality), but also from and into other minority languages (horizontality), namely inter- and intra-peripheral translations. This will be illustrated by the study of ultraminor(ized) Walloon literature in translation in the first phase of regional identity construction. Walloon literature from Belgium lacks legitimacy and is minorized both in the national and international frameworks. However, in the period between 1870 and 1940, literary translation practices from and into Walloon (oral and written) occurred incrementally, not only vertically but also horizontally. Walloon inter- and intra-peripheral translations—as well as the extension of the traditional written printed corpus—will showcase alternative literary circulation paths for regional minority cultures and illustrate the relevance of investigating the balance of translation flows on a larger scale.