Translation and Reception in Spain of Francophone North African Literature

Abstract

The present thesis examines the translation of Francophone North African literature to Spanish. Assuming that the translated literary text is not isolated from its cultural environment, the analysis includes the study of the reception and diffusion contexts, and highlights the influence of some important factors such as publishing conditions, diffusion, critique, etc. on the translation processes.

Within a postcolonial context, the diffusion of the translated version of a text is as much of concern for the source culture as it is for the target culture. In order to situate properly the translated text within the target culture, study its diffusion and reception, and understand the impact it might have on the target reader, four fundamental questions are raised:

1) Which cultural context is the Francophone North African literary text emerging from?
2) How is the Francophone North African novel perceived in its own cultural environment?
3) What are the reasons that determine the choice of a text to be translated to a given language? 4) How is the translated text articulated within its new reception environment?

In order to answer these questions, the thesis examines the original environment, i.e. the North African linguistic and literary context, as well as the target environment. For the purpose of the study, two North African novels written in French are analyzed: Tahar Ben Jalloun’s Les yeux baissés and Assia Djebar’s L’amour, la fantasia. The analysis of the translated texts renders an accurate idea of the translation processes involved in the translation of Francophone North African literature and the position it occupies today in the Spanish literary field.