The translations of the
Communist Manifesto,
1919-1951: some
preliminary findings and
remarks
Christina Delistathi
Middlesex University
c.delistathi@mdx.ac.uk
1
Aims of the presentation
To show how certain translational
choices made by the translator of the
Communist Manifesto can be linked
to politico-ideological struggles in
Greece.
To show how translational choices
assisted the KKE’s wider political
project: to appropriate the Marxist
theory.
2
The corpus
Lefevere (1992:14) “Translations are not made in
a vacuum. Translators function in a given culture
at a given time.”
1919
1933
1948
1951
The translation/publication/dissemination:
institutionally organised activities
Diachronic discussion during a period of intense
linguistic and socio-political change
All translations were in Dimotiki
All were booklets except the 1951
3
Translational choices
Four translational choices:
1. 1919: Addition of verbs in the first person
plural in the TT
2. Thematic paragraph numbering
(educational role)
3. 1933: The translation of the title
4. The presence of German words in the
translation (linked to a political project)
4
The 1919 translation
The SEKE a new party
without internal
ideological coherence
The Communist
Manifesto: symbolic
significance
Marxist principles and
not many Marxist texts
translated: educational
significance
5
The educational role of the
Communist Manifesto: the 1919
translation
To educate the audience in Marxist ideas
Part of the intended audience was largely
illiterate
Sipitanou (Σηπιτάνου,1998:42):
throughout this period half the population
was illiterate.
How could the workers and peasants
access the Communist Manifesto’s
ideas?
6
Institutionally organised efforts for
education in Marxism despite illiteracy:
Party meetings - communal reading
(Chartier, 1992) of the Communist
Manifesto
Public reading: established social practice
Translational choice: potential audience
participation in the text
Addition of verbs in the first person, plural
(20 instances in TT/8 in ST – 13 additions)
7
Βλέπουμε λοιπόν πως οι εργάτες, σ’ αυτό το βαθμό
της εξελίξεως, δεν αγωνίζονται εναντίον των αληθινών τους
εχθρών, αλλά πολεμούν τους εχθρούς των εχθρών τους, …
(p. 37)
• 1919:
•1933: Στη βαθμίδα λοιπόν τούτη οι προλετάριοι δεν
πολεμάνε τους εχθρούς τους, μα τους εχθρούς των εχθρώνε
τους, … (p. 34)
•1948: Σαυτή τη φάση οι προλετάριοι δεν πολεμάν ακόμα
τους δικούς τους εχθρούς, αλλά τους εχθρούς των εχθρών
τους, … (p. 31)
•1951: Σ’ αυτό το στάδιο οι προλετάριοι δεν καταπολεμούν
ακόμα τους δικούς τους εχθρούς, αλλά τους εχθρούς των
εχθρών τους,... (p. 38)
8
•ST gloss: At this stage, therefore, the proletarians fight not
2. Thematic paragraph numbering
Signalled new theme or concept
Re-focused hearer/reader’s attention
Facilitated memorising and
referencing
Re-segmented and reorganised the
text
9
The 1933 translation
KKE: consolidated its
ideological identity.
First Trotskyist
organisations in
Greece: Archives of
Marxism and
Pouliopoulos’s group
The symbolic
significance of the
Communist Manifesto
10
3. The translation of the title
1919: The Communist Manifesto (front
cover and beginning of text)
1933: The Communist Manifesto (front
cover) and Manifesto of the Communist
Party (beginning of text)
1948: Manifesto of the Communist Party
(front cover and beginning of text)
1951: Manifesto of the Communist Party
(front cover and beginning of text)
11
The translation of the title
Yiannis Kordatos (1927:15-16):
“Firstly, this title is now well-known...
Secondly, nowadays, that there are
Communist Parties all over the world, there
can be a confusion. Moreover, at that time,
the title Manifesto of the Communist Party
meant the Manifesto of a worldwide
Communist League. It did not, thus, have
the meaning that it was coming from a local
organisation.”
12
The CC’s 1927 “Decision on the activity of the
propaganda section”:
T h e m o n o p o l y o f t h e o r y. [emphasis in
the original]. Our Party ought to aim at the
monopoly of representation of the MarxistLeninist theory. This is also one of the numerous
criteria of the theoretical and political maturity of
the Party. It must also seek through the
operation of a wide propaganda the spread of
the Marxist-Leninist literature.
Securing the monopoly of the Marxist and Leninist
theory strengthens the Party against hostile
organisations reactionary at heart, but which are
hidden under the mask of communism and the
communist teaching. (KKE Επίσημα Κείμενα, 1965, 2: 242-243)
13
4. German words in the translated text
1919: Ο νεώτερος εργάτης απεναντίας, αντί να
υψώνεται από την πρόοδο της βιομηχανίας,
κατεβαίνει ολοένα πειό κάτω από το ύψος της
τάξεώς του. Ο εργάτης μεταβάλλεται σε φτωχό,
και η φτώχεια μεγαλώνει πειό γλήγορα ακόμα
από τον πληθυσμό και τον πλούτο.
1933: Αντίθετα ο σύγχρονος εργάτης, αντίς ν’
ανεβεί με την πρόοδο της βιομηχανίας όλο και
ξεπέφτει χαμηλότερα απ’ το επίπεδο των όρων
της δικής του τάξης. Ο εργάτης καταντά
θεόφτωχος (Pauper), και η αδιάκοπη αύξηση της
μαζικής φτώχειας (Pauperismus) αναπτύσσεται
γληγορότερα παρά ο πληθυσμός και τα πλούτη.
14
Concluding remarks
1919 translation: Thematic paragraph
numbering and the addition of verbs in the
first person plural can be linked to the
reading context: to assist an audience with
limited literacy.
1933 translation: quest for accuracy with
the presence of German words in the TT
and the use of two titles can be interpreted
by looking at the political struggles within
the Left at the time for the monopoly over
Marxism.
15
Thank you!
16