Keeping Regional Identities Through Translation

Abstract

The paper tackles the notion that translation builds a bridge through different languages and cultures by analyzing the double function of translation in the analysis of two ‘regional’ works: Sergio Atzeni’s Bakunin’s Son (1991) and Bellas Mariposas (1996). These translations, of which the latter consists of film subtitles, are considered in terms of ethical reciprocity, on the basis of the three common alternatives a translator has to face: a non-translation, an equivalent translation and a manipulated translation. The study claims that, from a perspective of reciprocity, translation has to imply a project where either active parties (individuals, collectivities and nations) or passive entities (texts, languages and cultures) ought not to be harmed but rather mutually benefited, aiming at ethical reciprocity. The analysis concludes that translations should strike a balance between the ethical aspects related to this field, as far as a faithful transfer of form and content from the source text into the target language is concerned.