engleski

Translations of children’s literature in Croatia in the mid-20th century: publication trends revealed

The paper focuses on the trends in the translation of children’s literature in Croatia from the 1930s to 1970s. Following World War 2, Croatia became a member state of a communist federation. Publishing policies and the selection of texts to be translated and their availability to child readers were all affected. The study aims to describe the trends and to clarify the roots, implications and effects of these publishing and selection practices on the representation of children’s classics in the Croatian context. Children’s literature from various source cultures and languages is included, but the focus is on the narratives from the English-speaking world. Recent studies reveal growing interest in the topic (Oittinen 2000, Hallford and Zaghini 2005, Lathey 2010, 2015, Kocijančić Pokorn 2012, Lindseth 2015), including Croatian perspectives (Engler et al. 2009, Narančić Kovač & Milković 2011, Engler 2015). Data are collected from bibliographic, educational, cultural and other sources and are interpreted by means of qualitative research methodology of comparative children’s literature, appropriate for intercultural transfer and contacts studies (cf. O’Sullivan 2005). Book selection norms and trends are revealed and practices such as relay translations, parallel publications in Croatian and in Serbian, and the adoption of narratives through adaptation are considered. The findings indicate that trends, selection criteria and publishing practices were influenced by the ideological context, lists of required reading in the educational context, and the body of texts translated in previous periods.

translation; Croatian; mid-20th century; publishing practices; children's classics

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