Europe, Literary Translation and Slave Labor

By Bruce Humes, published March 11, 2009, 5:47a.m.

A few factoids from the latest CEATL Survey of Working Conditions (CEATL=Conseil Européen des Associations de Traducteurs Littéraires):

--- Only in one country, France, does a literary translator typically earn more than 80% of the average gross income

--- Only in three (Ireland, UK, Sweden) does a literary translator typically earn above 70% of the average gross income

--- Those figures, still high in the EU as a whole, drop to typical earnings of more than 60% of the average gross income in Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands.

--- To quote: "In Italy, the situation is disastrous. In Greece, Germany, Finland, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland, the material situation of translators is critical and professional literary translators are virtually on the bread line."

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Comments

# 1.   Here's a related report on poverty wages for translators in Finland.

 Lucas Klein, March 11, 9:58p.m.

# 2.   

Translators are as important as authors. They should not be treated as ordinary labour. There should be a revolution about this.

Joy, March 12, 10:59a.m.

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