Translation in the Borderlands of Spanish: Balancing Power in English Translations from Judeo-Spanish and Spanglish

Abstract

Literature emerging from borderland, transnational or diaspora contexts does not always fit the mould of the dominant national culture where the author resides. Usually this literature is published in the language of the larger society, but sometimes authors prefer to use the language variety in which they write as one of many tools to resist assimilation and highlight their independent or hybrid identity; such is the case with Matilda Koén-Sarano's Judeo-Spanish folktales and Susana Chávez-Silverman’s Spanglish crónicas, which are the focus of this study. In both cases the authors undermine the prevailing power structures of the societies in which they live in order to prioritize their own linguistic identities. Given this, if there is any hope that the reader of the translation will understand the contribution of the work to the source culture, translation from these varieties must be done in a way that preserves the resistance to assimilation in a different linguistic context. The overarching goal of this study is to present a critical framework that translators and Translation Studies scholars can use to reflect on how such literature, that has received relatively little critical attention to date, can be approached in a way that is mindful of the larger intersecting cultural concerns. This study is timely as more and more literature is emerging in transnational Spanish varieties such as Judeo-Spanish, Spanglish, and Portuñol and with an increase in production may come an increasing demand for translation.

In this thesis I draw from postcolonial and borderlands theories to understand the tools available to the translator for approaching literature such as this. I begin with a sociolinguistic description that defines Judeo-Spanish and Spanglish as language varieties, considers who uses them and who writes in them. I then lean on Literary Studies and Jewish and Latinx Studies to understand the political context and personal motivations of the authors. I then problematize the broad issue of translating texts written in nonstandard language varieties into a global language. I consider power in translation generally and into English more specifically and nuance the binary between rejecting translation completely, as some theorists may suggest, and embracing it wholeheartedly as essential. In the final two chapters I turn my attention to specific challenges that presented themselves in English translations from Judeo-Spanish and Spanglish and explain how these challenges informed my approaches and strategies.

No single translation approach or strategy emerges as a monolithic solution to all of the problems that this thesis raises. Nevertheless, my original contribution to knowledge lies in the critical approach to translation and unconventional applications of varying degrees of ethnolects (or literary dialects), Global Englishes, writing based in phonetics, and intralinguistic translation that are explained and that are illustrated in the original translations found in the appendices. While translators rarely use such literary devices, this study shows that at times such approaches to translation may be among the few tools available to convey the linguistic resistance in the source text into a different cultural context.