The French Connection: Mediated Translation into Catalan during the Interwar Period

Abstract

English novels generally came into Catalan culture during the interwar years via France. The process of mediation is reflected in the canon of authors translated during a period of renewal, which witnessed heated debate on the novel in both France and Catalonia. According to French critics, the English novel was an alternative to their own tradition, and their discourse of mediation informed the translation projects and practices of Catalan writers and critics. A Catalan translation of Joseph Conrad’s ‘Typhoon’ reveals not only the depth of the French mediation, but the extent to which the objectives set by the Catalan cultural elite were fulfilled.