ABSTRACT
Literary translation has rarely been indifferent to wider spheres of influence. The Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the global spread of liberalism or communism, the adoption of new faiths, the transformation of trading relationships or the adoption of new technologies of communication and transmission, all of these changes presupposed translation and, in turn, helped to shape the types of translations that were produced (Delisle and Woodsworth 2012; Littau 2011, 261–281). In the contemporary moment, climate change has emerged as one of the most dramatic challenges confronting humanity and it is not surprising that translation theorists have begun, however tentatively, to ponder environmental questions as part of the wider context in which literary translation functions in the present and into the future. If literary translation is first and foremost a ‘human’ activity then any change to the status of humans must raise questions about the impact of that transformed status on the activity itself.
