El poder de la lengua, la lengua del poder: emixiliados ecuatoguineanos ante la lingua franca

In 1968 Equatorial Guinea became independent from Spain but inherited its cultural architecture. Current identity claims made by Equatoguinean emixiles (Ugarte’s term, 2010) are rooted in the social and territorial exclusion suffered by ethnic groups during their colonial past. In this paper I will explore the role that the Spanish language played in the identity construction of six Equatoguinean emixiles living in the city of Alicante (Spain). My interviewees’ life-stories reveal valuable information on vernacular languages, but also on the lingua franca, a tool of liberation (granting access) but also of repression. By comparing their recollections of themselves (either as Guinean or ethnic citizens) back in Guinea, to their perceptions of themselves in Spain, I intend to delve into the mutual gaze between transnational identities (Vertovec) here and there, now and then. Given Bhabha’s concept of “third space” I argue, using specific samples from my corpus, that the synchronic analysis of emixiles’ discourses within a perverse diasporic perimeter (the land of the former colonisers), needs to be completed with the diachronic view of the patterns of power which influenced postcolonial (re)construction of national/ethnic identity.En 1968 Guinea Ecuatorial se independizó de España, aunque heredó su arquitectura cultural. Las actuales reivindicaciones identitarias de los emixiliados ecuatoguineanos (término acuñado por Ugarte, 2010), tienen sus raíces en la exclusión territorial y social sufrida por los grupos étnicos a lo largo de su pasado colonial. En este trabajo se explora el papel desempeñado por la lengua española en la construcción identitaria de seis emixiliados ecuatoguineanos que viven en Alicante (España). Las historias de vida de estos informantes revelan datos valiosos sobre las lenguas vernáculas y la lingua franca, que era, a la vez, instrumento de liberación y de represión. Comparando sus memorias del tiempo vivido en el país de origen (en tanto que guineanos y miembros de las respectivas etnias) con las percepciones de sí mismos en España, este artículo indagará en la mirada refractada de las identidades transnacionales (Vertovec) del aquí y del allí, del ahora y del entonces. Esta mirada es posible dentro de lo que Bhabha llama “tercer espacio”. Partiendo de este concepto y analizando los datos del corpus, este artículo avanza la idea de que el análisis sincrónico del discurso de los emixiliados (basado en testimonios extraídos del corpus de entrevistas) en un perímetro diaspórico perverso (la antigua metrópoli), ha de completarse con el escrutinio diacrónico de los patrones de poder que influyeron en la (re)construcción postcolonial de la identidad nacional/étnica

Rebel with a Cause: Domnica Radulescu’s Theater Translated into Spanish

This paper focuses on Domnica Radulescu’s creative solutions when deconstructing myths, stereotypes, and prejudices and on the translator’s responses. In Domnica Radulescu’s plays, Exile is My Home and The Virgins of Seville (compiled, in their Spanish versions, in Dos Obras Dramáticas/Two Plays), the translator’s knowledge of both the author’s background and the target readership’s duality (Spanish host society and Romanian migrants) plays an important role in her decisions. Acknowledging that theater as a genre directly exposes hybridity of the author, translator, actors, and audience, this paper discusses the cultural context underpinning the original texts and translational options. At the same time, the reception of the translation into Spanish is partially confirmed through a small survey of Romanian diaspora and Spanish readers

A taxonomic analysis proposal for research in diplomatic interpreting

This paper focuses on Diplomatic Interpreting (DI), a speciality often included either in the conference or dialogue interpreting branch, depending on geographic and modal variables. Historically, diplomatic interpreters resorted to bilateral interpreting or mediation, but in the modern day, they oscillate between short and full consecutive, and on occasion simultaneous (presidential press conferences). This diffuse affiliation and the relatively small job market niche – hence its absence from degree syllabi – might be two of the motives why DI has not captured more attention from scholars. One interesting avenue for researchers might be the identification and classification of those aspects DI has in common with other types of interpreting, and what makes it different. In my discussion, I recapitulate DI specificities, encompassing requirements, expectations and devices, among which optimisation (as a strategy to overcome barriers and ensure full communication) is pivotal. As an illustration, I analyse an example of optimisation in the case of Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă’s political blunder on her first visit to Montenegro. Finally, I advocate the recognition of the specificity of DI and I call for focussed research in this area

Thème translation as means of propaganda. The case of Romanian Review

In this paper I will try to draw a comparison between two different stages which can be clearly identified throughout the evolution of a rather unusual product of translation. I am referring to a journal issued in Romania under the name of Romanian Review and made up entirely of thème translations. One can identify two distinct periods in the history of Romanian Review – before and after the fall of communism. The former reveals interesting cases of manipulation (either con- or inter-textual), applied by a highly efficient system that dismissed anything that appeared likely to become subversive; a system operating at all social levels, known as “censorship” or “political visé” in totalitarian Romania. Romanian Review was intended for distribution exclusively outside the country’s borders, as a propaganda instrument. This paper will try to answer the following research questions: are the mechanisms through which censorship intervened in the shaping of this cultural product (by means either of omission, attenuation, extirpation or selection of authors, titles and translators) still visible after the fall of the dictatorship? Are there any radical changes in the form or content of this publication after the demise of the system? The Translation Studies descriptive framework may provide one possible approach (among many others) to these issues while the methodological tools for its observation might be borrowed from the field of pragmalinguistics

Propaganda and Cultural Diplomacy through Translation in Communist Romania. A Case in Point: Romanian Review

Some authors understand paradiplomacy, classified by Kuznetsov (2015) into eleven major domains, as the participation of non-central governments in International Relations through networking (permanent, or ad-hoc) with public or private entities to promote socioeconomic or cultural development (Cornago Prieto, 2000). Cultural diplomacy has been, and still is, an essential tool not only in its international dimension, but also as a decisive device in domestic projection (labelled by some scholars “intermestic affairs”). In this paper I will bring into discussion a cultural product based entirely on translations and intended as a propaganda tool during the communist era in twentieth century Romania

Mihai Eminescu in Spanish. Preliminaries to a comparative translational study

Este trabajo se propone abordar la figura del poeta rumano más universal desde la proyección que ha tenido en el ámbito hispano, a través de sus exégetas y sus traductores, tanto españoles como latinoamericanos. Una vez fijadas brevemente las coordenadas de su lugar en la literatura rumana, así como en las letras universales, identificaremos algunos condicionantes que intervienen en el nivel preliminar de decisión (según el modelo Lambert-Van Gorp) del proyecto traductor, susceptibles de tener un nivel de incidencia significativo en la prevalencia de uno de los dos polos en binomios traductológicos básicos como pueden ser: aceptabilidad-adecuación; traducción filológica-traducción poética; o rasgos prosódicos-complejidad semántica. A continuación, propondremos una clasificación de estos condicionantes extraídos de la observación de cuatro versiones en lengua española de la poesía de Eminescu y analizaremos su posible influencia en el nivel preliminar de estas traducciones.This paper approaches the most universal Romanian poet from the viewpoint of his projection within the Hispanic context through his exegetes and translators, both in Spain and in Latin America. Once I have outlined his position within Romanian and universal literature, I will identify some of the determinants which intervene on the preliminary decision level of the translational project (according to the model introduced by Lambert and Van Gorp in modern translatology) and which are likely to intervene significantly when one of the poles prevails in such binomials, as: acceptability vs adequacy; philological vs poetic translation or prosodic features vs semantic complexity. I will also propose a classification of these determinants drawn from the observation of four Spanish versions of Eminescu’s poetry and I will analyse their influence on the preliminary level of these translations.Este trabalho se propõe abordar a figura do poeta romeno mais universal desde a projeção que teve no âmbito hispânico, através dos seus exegetas e tradutores, tanto espanhóis como latino-americanos. Uma vez fixadas brevemente as coordenadas do seu lugar na literatura romena e universal, identificaremos alguns condicionantes que intervêm no nível preliminar de decisão (segundo o modelo Lambert-Van Gorp) do projeto tradutor, susceptíveis de ter um nível de incidência significativo na prevalência de um dos dois polos em binômios tradutológicos básicos como por exemplo: aceitabilidade-adequação; tradução filológica-tradução poética; ou características prosódicas-complexidade semântica. Seguidamente, proporemos uma classificação destes condicionantes extraídos da observação de quatro versões em língua espanhola da poesia de Eminescu e analisaremos a sua possível influência no nível preliminar destas traduções

Humor, ironía y actualidad en la dramaturgia de Susan Glaspell

Critical review of Nieves Alberola Crespo, Susan Glaspell y los Provincetown Players. Laboratorio de emociones (1915-1917), ISBN: 9788491340829, Valencia, Publicaciones de la Universidad de Valencia, 2017, 180 pp.Reseña crítica de Nieves Alberola Crespo, Susan Glaspell y los Provincetown Players. Laboratorio de emociones (1915-1917), ISBN: 9788491340829, Valencia, Publicaciones de la Universidad de Valencia, 2017, 180 pp

La traducción en los tiempos del vírus: estudio de caso sobre una actividad profesional pro bono, sus dificultades y lecciones

En los momentos de profunda crisis sanitaria, social, económica y política que España y el mundo entero atravesaban, la Universidad de Alicante, a través de sus voluntarios, ayudó a paliar los efectos devastadores que se cernían sobre el segmento más vulnerable de la sociedad en esta pandemia: las personas mayores. Traductores, lingüistas, profesores, estudiantes y egresados del Grado en Traducción e Interpretación entendimos que la sociedad necesitaba nuestros conocimiento y pericia, por lo que nos pusimos a disposición del Ayuntamiento de Alicante y de varias ONGs e instituciones para colaborar traduciendo documentos de máxima urgencia en la prevención de contagios, facilitando el conocimiento exacto de las instrucciones transmitidas por las autoridades sanitarias,  subtitulando y locutando material audiovisual imprescindible para toda la población extranjera residente en la región y sobre todo para aquellos segmentos más vulnerables o en riesgo de exclusión. A través de asociaciones sin ánimo de lucro, se canalizaron y publicaron estas traducciones que eran posteriormente recogidas por los Ayuntamientos de localidades de la provincia para una urgente y amplia difusión, contrarrestando así la circulación de bulos y falsas noticias. Los destinatarios de estas traducciones no eran solo las personas mayores o con movilidad reducida, sino también sus cuidadores, a menudo pertenecientes a colectivos migrantes a quienes se les pidió ampliar su horario de atención en el domicilio o incluso una presencia continuada en los aislamientos por casos leves. La conjunción del trabajo de gerontólogos y traductores mejoró las condiciones de vida de algunos mayores durante esta emergencia, pero sin duda, habrá que hacerlo regularmente, con las medidas adecuadas, de aquí en adelante

Arguments for a Translanguaging Approach to the Case of Romanian Diaspora in Spain

Cultural diplomacy actions carried out by state institutions, NGOs or diaspora personalities help linguistic diversity to be preserved and homeland cultural values to be safeguarded and conveyed to second generation migrants. The aim of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, a short discussion on how phenomena such as globalisation or migration affect the process of integration of Romanian migrating populations in a (recent) host country like Spain will be presented. On the other hand, several arguments will be put forward advocating a translanguaging approach to the relationship second generations establish with their mother tongue (relegated to the family context) and with their own languages (Spanish and Valencian) used by their teachers, by their media idols and by themselves in almost all aspects of everyday life. A translanguaging approach might help experts understand better this relationship and might help teachers find pedagogical tools to maintain and develop these students’ linguistic and cultural experience and make them regard it as an asset rather than a hindrance

Equatorial Guinean Migrants in Spain. An Analysis of implicit Discourse

Rather than making a theoretical point, this paper intends to provide support for an analysis model of implicitness in non-fictional, non-professional discourse. By applying it to self-narrations of life-stories, I hope to demonstrate not only its methodological viability for this type of discourse (almost monological, highly emotional and requiring a special trust with the interviewer) and in this particular case of Equatoguinean emixiles in Spain, but also its efficacy as a tool for Postcolonial Studies which researchers might apply to the discourse of migrants from former colonies who settled after independence in the metropolis. Such may be the case of Indians and Pakistanis in UK, or Algerians in France, who manage invisibility or empowerment issues. This methodological tool might help researchers better to understand non-verbalized problems that migrants face between their present and their past.This research was conducted within the HAR2011-22752 project, entitled “The Handling of Cultural Diversity and the Socio-political Influence of Transnational Migration in Two Former Spanish Colonies: Equatorial Guinea and Morocco”