The Art of Translator’s Portrait in the Francophone Area: Two Anthologies and One History of Translations

Abstract

The author studies the art of composing a translator’s portrait, a genre present in the francophone area since 1963 (E. Cary, Les grands traducteurs français). The texts analyzed are two anthologies directed by J. Delisle : Portraits de traducteurs, 1999, Portraits de traductrices, 2022, and the Histoire des traductions en langue française, XXe siècle directed by B. Banoun et al., 2019. The main components of a good portrait are : an interesting model, an intelligent structure, an objective and well documented content, a concise and eloquent style, a multifunctional title, an explanation of connections between an individual destiny and historical determinations, arousing and satisfying curiosity in the reader.