Abstract

Since the end of the 1990s, along with the availability of new technologies, globalization has stimulated local cultural industries and cultural exchange has increased. As a result, the number of books in translation in the world has grown from 50,000 published in 1980 to more than 75,000 in 2000. This represents a 50% growth in the number of translations published worldwide. However, the majority of these translations have English as a source language. Conversely, in the English book market the share of translations has fallen from 8.6% in 1960 to 2.8% today. This leads us to wonder: why is it that the more the world translates from English, the less it translates into English?

This thesis studies the various economic, political, and social aspects that influence the publishing industry in the United States, which have a clear impact on the attitudes of publishers regarding translated literature. The first half of the project examines the relationship between translation and globalization and the negative perceptions surrounding translation as process of deformation. The second half opposes independent and commercial publishing practices, especially regarding books in translation. Because 80% of books in translation are published by independent publishers, the last chapter presents an overview of ten small publishing houses, highlighting their approaches and thoughts about publishing international literature in English translation in the United States.