La traducción como reescritura. Las dos versiones en inglés de Caras viejas y Vino nuevo de Alejandro Morales

Abstract

The article examines some examples extracted from the two English translations of the Chicano novel Caras viejas y vino nuevo (1975), by Alejandro Morales. The analysis focuses on the strategies used to render pretérito imperfecto narrativo, which is one of the most conspicuous features of Morales’s style. The solutions adopted in the two translations are discussed taking into account the different socio-historical contexts in which they were produced and drawing on the theoretical construct of translation as rewriting (Lefevere, 1992). While the earlier translation of Caras tends to simplify Morales’s experimentalism in many respects, the later one, possibly as a result of an improved understanding and acceptance of the novel, as well as stronger translating skills on the part of the translator, is more respectful of Morales’ twisted style and tries to reproduce it in English, including the aspect nuances provided by pretérito imperfecto narrativo in the source text.