Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 External Linguistic Politics and Policies in the German-speaking Countries of Central Europe in Early Modern Times and in the Nineteenth Century: With Some References to the Present Age
- 2 German Global Soft Power, 1700–1920
- 3 French as a Polemical Language for Russian Writers in the Age of Nicholas I
- 4 The External Cultural and Linguistic Policy of the Italian Government in the Mediterranean Region and the Issue of the National Association for Aid to Missionaries (1886–1905)
- 5 Expansion Du Français Et Des Manières Françaises en Europe Aux Dix-septième Et Dix-huitième Siècles: Résultat d’une Politique Royale Extérieure Ou Effet D’un Certain Prestige?
- 6 Literary Translation As a Foreign Language Policy Tool: The Case of Russia, Mid-eighteenth – Early Nineteenth Centuries
- 7 L’usage Diplomatique De La Langue Française, Instrument De La Puissance?
- 8 The Political Implications of the Idea of Génie De La Langue in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
- Index
6 - Literary Translation As a Foreign Language Policy Tool: The Case of Russia, Mid-eighteenth – Early Nineteenth Centuries
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 December 2020
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 External Linguistic Politics and Policies in the German-speaking Countries of Central Europe in Early Modern Times and in the Nineteenth Century: With Some References to the Present Age
- 2 German Global Soft Power, 1700–1920
- 3 French as a Polemical Language for Russian Writers in the Age of Nicholas I
- 4 The External Cultural and Linguistic Policy of the Italian Government in the Mediterranean Region and the Issue of the National Association for Aid to Missionaries (1886–1905)
- 5 Expansion Du Français Et Des Manières Françaises en Europe Aux Dix-septième Et Dix-huitième Siècles: Résultat d’une Politique Royale Extérieure Ou Effet D’un Certain Prestige?
- 6 Literary Translation As a Foreign Language Policy Tool: The Case of Russia, Mid-eighteenth – Early Nineteenth Centuries
- 7 L’usage Diplomatique De La Langue Française, Instrument De La Puissance?
- 8 The Political Implications of the Idea of Génie De La Langue in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
- Index
Summary
Abstract
Translations from Russian into French often show propaganda objectives. From the middle of the eighteenth century literary works played a key role in this propaganda, literature being regarded in Europe as a sign of cultivated society. Translation into European languages, French in particular, was a ‘soft power’ used quite often by the Russian government and by high-ranking dignitaries as a means of presenting the Empire in Europe. The Russian language became a subject of debate in these translation projects: it was often presented as one of the major European languages supported by literature which was young, but of excellent quality. Thus, Russian literature and language became a tool which ultimately helped Russia to be considered as a European nation.
Keywords: Russia, literary translation, French, propaganda, Russian language, soft power
In the middle of the eighteenth century, despite several efforts to improve its image, Russia was still often represented in Western Europe just as it was in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when it was thought to be a country of ‘infinite brutality’, a ‘rude and barbarous kingdom’. The image of a country and that of its court was of particular importance in Europe because diplomatic, dynastic, and even economic relations depended on it.
Several actions that could be described today in terms of ‘media’ or ‘propaganda’ helped improve the image of Russia in Europe. Some of them, like Voltaire's famous book on Peter the Great, were only indirectly related to translation; for others, translation was central to the issue. Among the best known is the translation of Catherine II's Instruction to the Legislative Commission, or the famous Nakaz (1767), which was guided by enlightened principles and therefore presented a positive image of the sovereign and her country; or the translation of the Plans and Statutes of the educational establishments instituted by Catherine II, written by Ivan Betskoy, translated by the historian Nicolas-Gabriel Le Clerc, and published with the help of Diderot. Such books, translated into Western European languages and published in Europe, sometimes in Russia too, enjoyed a certain popularity. Though the question of the language arose from time to time in the discussion of these works, it still remained secondary.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Linguistic and Cultural Foreign Policies of European States18th–20th Centuries, pp. 139 - 156Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2016