Reviewed by Anastassia Zabrodskaja, Tallinn University

Thirteen contributions by José Lambert, one of the most influential figures in translation studies, are comprised in this volume. The first article, ‘Traduction et technique romanesque (1977)’, discusses linguistic and literary approaches to translation, proposes a new analytical model for translated texts, and observes French translations of Flemish and German prose from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. ‘Production, tradition et importation: Une clef pour la description de la littérature et de la littérature en traduction (1980)’, states that translation is a cross-cutting discursive procedure that establishes relations and defines configurations between the categories of production, tradition, and import. In ‘L’éternelle question des frontières: Littératures nationales et systèmes littéraires (1983)’, the tenacious equation of production and national literature is critically reviewed.

‘On describing translations (with Hendrik Van Gorp, 1985)’ replaces an atomistic approach to translation research with a functional and semiotic one. ‘Twenty years of research on literary translation at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (1988)’ is dedicated to historical research on translation. It provides an excellent methodological discussion on the principles and aim of the descriptive approach to translation.

Taking into account the mobility of nations, the languages and traditions idea of a new ‘cartography’ of cultures was one of Lambert’s favorite themes. Concerning microcosms and macrocosms, ‘In quest of literary world maps (1991)’ develops the idea of linguistic and literary maps from a fundamental and conceptual point of view. Focusing on descriptive studies, ‘Shifts, oppositions and goals in translation studies: Towards a genealogy of concepts (1991)’ discusses translation theoreticians’ debates on the tasks of the discipline.

‘Literatures, translation and (de)colonization (1995)’ integrates the question of translation into the question of literatures and cultures and formulates a number of basic import/export rules for the exchange of cultural traditions. ‘Translation, systems and research: The contribution of polysystem studies to translation studies (1995)’ offers the pros and cons of the polysystem approach. Distinguishing between translation as skill, art, science, and object of research, in ‘Problems and challenges of translation in an age of new media and competing models (1997)’, Lambert discusses the future of translation studies along with media translation and internationalization.

‘From translation markets to language management: The implications of translation services (with Johan Hermans, 1998)’, reports an investigation into the translation market in Belgium. ‘Cultural studies, the study of cultures and the question of language: Facing/excluding the new millennium (2000)’ introduces Lambert’s view on the cultural and societal importance of language and translation. Finally, ‘La traduction littérature comme problème belge, ou la littérature comme traduction (CETRA, 2004)’ raises fundamental questions about literature in a mixed culture.

This volume represents an extraordinary opportunity to become familiar with the history of translation studies and with Lambert’s research.