BRAZILIAN PROSE WRITERS SHOULD BE MORE TRANSLATED INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES

  BRAZILIAN PROSE WRITERS   SHOULD BE MORE TRANSLATED  INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES .

BY 

 CUNHA E SILVA   FILHO

        I   think it is, mostly relevant  if you take into account the pivotal question of Brazilian authors who, in most cases, are good prose writers, but remain absolutely unknown outside of Brazil. The examples are many in this connection.The example discussed in the Maria Alice Antunes ( UERJ)  essay may serve as a starting point towards changing a poor reality in literary terms as far as translation of ficction or any other kind of gender is concerned. I tjhink that her article about self-translation activity actually is worthwhile.

          It is konw that lots for Braziliann authors would like  to have their works published in another language other than Portugugue,  especially the translation into the most important  four or five foreign modern languages, being the first one the English language, which is the most worldwide spoken tongue nowadays.  By highlightning  this matter,   Maria Alice has highly contributed to the desired need by Brazilian writers abroad, whether by the following João Ubado's initiative of turning two books of his into English or by boosting foreign translators who are familiar with Portuguese language to increase the number of both old and contemporary Brazilian authors available to be read in English or any other modern foreign languages.

          By doing so, I presume that we woud be giving an important step towards having Brazilian literature better known and better recognized abroad. Alice's reference to books translated  thanks to scholarships granted by Biblioteca Nacional in Rio de Janeiro was a  decisive step to achieve this specific goal  - I emphasize -  to spread Brazilian authors' works abroad, i,e,, a goal that has already  being achieved by writers who, irrespective of their native tongues, are thoroughly proficient in writing effectively in Shakespeare's language. Brazil , in literary terms, is far from achieving this relevant aim.

           In this direection  the late Brazilian writer  João  Ubaldo  did this kind of  translation of two books  of his  into the  English tongue.  Would to God  we  could have other Brazilian  fiction writers    do the same  kind of work, tha is to say,   turn  their book  into  the English language. Maybe   Brazil  has not   got the  Nobel Prize  in literature  because  Portuguese  is not so sufficiently  read by foreigners in  English  translations or in any  other foreign languages.  However,  I  hope  ttis  kind of  international  Prize wiil still be  awarded to  a  good Brazilina writer. It is quite a matter  of time and patience.