A review by spacestationtrustfund
The Three Percent Problem by Chad W. Post

2.0

This is a book of compiled blog entries; the title refers to the fact that only 3% of all the books published in the U.S. are in translation. There were some interesting (and frustrating) elements, but overall the tone is that of a blog entry, not an academic work.

At Frankfurt 2007, PEN and the Institut Ramon Llull released a report entitled To Be Translated or Not To Be regarding the "international situation of literary translation." This report has gotten some decent attention online and is one of the most impressive worldwide studies of the state of literary translations. The report is full of statistics, information, opinions, and analysis, and because it’s such a rich and useful document, I think it’s worthwhile taking some time to go over it in more specific detail.

"Translators are the shadow heroes of literature, the often forgotten instruments that make it possible for different cultures to talk to one another, who have enabled us to understand that we all, from every part of the world, live in one world." —Paul Auster

The first part of the report—"Translation, Globalization, and English" by Esther Allen—is a brilliant overview essay of the state of translations, and one of those pieces that will be cited years into the future.

There are two main aspects to this section: 1) the depiction of English as an "invasive language" that serves as a mediating language between "smaller" tongues; and 2) current statistical information about the number of literary translations being published in English.

In terms of English as an "invasive language," what Esther has to say is a bit disturbing, but not all that surprising. The English language now dominates the world to such a degree that kids in China and Chile are taught English from a very early age despite the fact that Spanish and Chinese are two of the top five most widely spoken languages in the world. English has become the language of businesses, and as a result, participation in the global economy is much easier for those who are fluent.

As a result, more than 3,000 languages are endangered:

David Crystal reports that of the 6,000 languages currently in existence, half will have died out within the next century. "It turns out," he writes, "that 96% of the world's languages are spoken by just 4% of the world's people." Only 600 of the world's languages are not presently in danger.

The impact of this situation on literature should be fairly clear—a book published in English truly reaches a global audience, not just an American or British one. Because of the reach, English can serve as a sort of mediating language—books translated into English have a better chance of then being translated into other languages.