From Major to Minor: Swedish Working-Class Fiction in the UK and the US

Abstract

"This article explores the effects of one specific relation within [the] hierarchical system of literary translations: a semi-peripheral source language, Swedish, and a hyper-central target language, English. My main argument is that this particular movement often results in minorization. Central literary texts in semi-peripheral source cultures tend to become peripheral texts in hyper-central target cultures, and these effects are caused by a range of different dislocations, strategies, and adjustments. This article discusses
three kinds of minorization—distributional, thematic, and peritextual—and their effects, especially with regard to political issues. However, my case in point—Swedish working-class literature in English translation—does not always confirm this general minorization tendency, but also brings bring significant exceptions to light in which the dislocations lead to a majorization effect."