Escobar López, Nelson Bladimir and Reyes López, Nohemy Elizabeth (2019) Factors that influenced Julio Cortazar and Francisco Torres Oliver’s translations of the tale “the fall of the house of usher” by Edgar Allan Poe. Master thesis, Universidad de El Salvador.

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Abstract

Throughout history, translation has been a fundamental tool to transmit the work of authors in different languages. For instance, the literary works studied in schools around the world to learn about styles and genres of different writers have been translated into different languages and some of these works have been translated into the same language more than once. The different translations of literary works are accepted as if the original author had written them and this is a consequence of the quality of an accurate translation. It is necessary to mention that in orderto create an accurate translation, professional translators are taught how to analyze texts, apply techniques and also to theorize (Anthony Pym 2012). However, since translation is a relatively new area of study there is still so much to learn especially from translators that worked with complex books in the past. It is imperative then, to study and analyze the translation work of different literary texts. In academic terms, this is called passive translation,which is the study and analysis of a translated work.Studying literary translation is a fundamental tool for professional translators who want to learn why different translators create such different translations of the same text. There are many well-known authors whose texts have been translated into different languages as a result of their talent and styles. One example of a prominent author, who has been defined as the father of a complete genre is Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar Allan Poe is one the most influential writers of the gothic literature and his influence can also be perceived in modern horror literature. Reason why his works have been translated to several languages. One of his tales “The Fall of the House of Usher” was translated for Hispanic readers by several translators and in this study the following translations were studied: Francisco Torres Oliver’s translation, an illustrated collection published by Nórdica Librosin 2015; the second translation in Spanish was the one written by Julio Cortazar in 1956 and it was presented in Obras en Prosa. Cuentos Edgar Allan Poe. In order to study and identify the answers to the Research Questions, it was necessary to select samples of the tale The Fall of the House of Usher written by Edgar Allan Poe. The analyzed sample texts were chosen for convenience in order to compare the same passages of the two translations. Once these sample texts were selected, it was necessary to identify vocabulary features, genre characteristics,and other peculiarities that the author used in his text to compare them later on with the translations written by Julio Cortazar and Francisco Torres Oliver. The point here was to find out what decisions the translators made in order to convey those elements. During this process the intention was to fulfill the objectives previously established and identify to what extent the author’s style, the translators’ background and the stylistic features of the original text influenced on their translations.Consequently, the original tale and its translations went through a rubric analysis process. The first rubric helped consider the type of register in each translation; this means that the characteristics and aspects of frozen and formal registers. Then, the second rubric dealt with the type of vocabulary; so the two types of vocabulary that were analyzed were archaic and gothic. A third rubric was used to study the use of three stylistic devices in each translation. Finally, a comparative chart with the background information of the translators’ background was employed to compare all the data.

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