The translation of food in literature: A culinary journey through time and genres

What is it about?

Studying the translation of cultural elements is one of the most interesting subjects in Translation Studies since the mid 1980s, as it often marks the limits of translatability and reveals not only specific translational strategy but also the attitude of the different agents, i.e. the translator, the editor and the reader, and of society general, towards the other or the foreign. Among all cultural elements the translation of food holds a special position, as it has always been one of the most common extralinguistic elements in literature, which constitutes an important marker of everyday life in the source culture often not having a proper equivalent in the target language.

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Why is it important?

The data gathered in this article show several trends in the translation of food lexicon into different languages since the 18th century, including various genres — from the ancient classics up to children’s or criminal literature. We will point out how, examining the translation techniques, it is possible to identify the dominant theoretical approaches according to the function of the texts as well as to their historical and sociopolitical context.