Der Übersetzer als Akteur im Literaturbetrieb

Abstract

The Translator As an Agent in the Literary Industry Based on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of field and capital the author describes the status of the literary translator inside the literary industry. He tries to answer the question why translators have to work under unsatisfactory circumstances (e.g. pressure of time, low pay). The most important reason for this seems to be that translators don’t dispose within the literary field of symbolic capital, which guarantees appreciation. Literary translation is not regarded as a creative activity as for example writing itself. As the author underlines in the summary numerous initiatives raising the awareness of literary translation may change this situation in the future.

Keywords

• sociology of translation
• status of the translator
• literary industry
• Pierre Bourdieu
• literary translation