"Lengua e identidad": La traducción literaria y el compromiso ético del traductor

Abstract

The responsibility and autonomy of an ancient work that has survived along generations and has left as a heritage the knowledge of different people and the reconstruction of their cultures throughout our history lies in the hands and mind of the translator. A reconstruction based on moral and ideological values belonging to the horizon and the point of view of translators. The aim of our article is to outline a theoretical reflection about the language and identity of the translator, manifested in literary translation, where we have been able to diagnose a major interference by the translator-writer, in his quest to achieve equivalence in language. The translation experience, and primarily aesthetic, which we use for such a reflection takes as a starting point the analysis of fragments from the play Esau and Jaco by the Brazilian writer Machado de Asis, translated in 2006 into Chilean Spanish. In the analysis of the units we are faced with some problems of translation, and according to our reading, these problems provide important material for linguistic and cultural reflection. Finally we conclude with a discussion about the ethics of the literary translator, and his hard commitment to building a culture.