AustLit

Windows on Australia: Perceptions in and through Translation is a major interdisciplinary research project being carried out by Translation & Interpreting Studies in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University in collaboration with the Postcolonial Studies Program at Free University Berlin.

The Windows on Australia project aims to advance understanding of Australia’s global role in literary production and clarify the marketability of Australian cultural exports to non-English-speaking countries. By mapping these exchanges, research will inform publishers, literary agents, authors, professional translators, and members of the public about the development and evolution of trends, norms, and perceptions pertaining to Australia's cultural contributions.

Windows on Australia considers the translation and reception of Australian literature in various languages.

Phase One

The initial phase (2009-2010) of Windows on Australia consisted of a quantitative study of the cultural flows of Australian literature to language-other-than-English (LOTE) countries. It involves extensive data collection by the Translation & Interpreting Studies team at Monash University, led by Associate Professor Rita Wilson. Research partners at the Free University Berlin, led by Professor Russ West-Pavlov, are key contributors to the data collection and analysis.

The focus is Australian novel-length literature translated into:

— Chinese

— German

— Italian

— Japanese

— Spanish

Note: These search results reflect currently known information about translations in the above languages at the moment the search is run. These are not static results and, as work continues within AustLit, these results will change.

Benefits from research

With no systematic investigation into the myriad ways in which Australia has been portrayed and translated for LOTE audiences to date, research will explore both the marketing of texts and the attitudes towards Australia and notions of Australianness in a wide range of countries. The research is designed to yield a range of benefits for cultural institutions and industry players:

• A comprehensive online bibliography of overseas editions of Australian literature
• Methodologies for increasing opportunities to advance the export of Australian works into a range of foreign-language markets
• New insights into the global flow of cultural production
• Evidence-based findings grounded in quantitative and qualitative methodologies to clarify the perception and reception of Australian literature in non-English-speaking countries
• Insights into Australia’s cultural prestige and promotion of international interest in contemporary Australian culture and literature
• Enhanced links between the university sector and libraries, archives, government agencies, and other stakeholders.