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Data: 2002ko urria

Anjel Lertxundi et Jorge Gimenez Bech : l'écrivain et son traducteur (entrevue) - Gotzon Egia

SUMMARY

In this interview, author Anjel Lertxundi and translator Jorge Gimenez discuss a range of issues, including the general relationship between author and translator and some of the specific problems of translating to and from Basque.

To date, Gimenez has translated four of Lertxundi's books from Basque into Spanish and the two have developed a close symbiosis: the translator takes an active part in the process of creation, and at the same time, Lertxundi feels that the Spanish translation of his writing contains something more than the Basque; together they have used the Basque text as a sort of work in progress, to develop a translation which is free of the faults of the original.

Gimenez feels that from a purely technical point of view, his translations bear little of the original author: the need to reproduce the story itself as faithfully as possible requires the translator to make different lexical choices. Specifically, he feels that whereas Lertxundi deliberately selects a high register, in Spanish the genre requires a plainer, more everyday lexicon.

The two touch on the validity of any review of a book based solely on its translation, but Gimenez concludes that since the potential reader will be equally ignorant of the source language, it is reasonable for the critic to use the translation.

Lertxundi discusses the problem of the standardisation of the language, which though desirable in itself, tends to result in a homogenisation of translation styles: Faulkner and Hemingway, or Russian and American authors tend to sound exactly the same in Spanish translation. Lertxundi considers himself fortunate to have a translator who works with him and is capable of creating an individual style and he trusts Gimenez to the point of giving complete liberty to transform his voice into Spanish as he sees fit. He also sees a growing trend in Europe for translators to specialise in one or two authors rather than attempting to work for seven or eight.

The two discuss the use of the Labourd dialect in historical novels, the result of its predominant place in early Basque writings, and the difficulties of rendering this nuance into Spanish.

Finally, they touch on some of the technical differences between the two languages and the obstacles to transferring Basque syntax and chain of logic to Spanish.