Translating for the Legions of Babel: Spain 1936–1938

Rodríguez-Espinosa, Marcos

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-00698-3_4

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Drawing on pioneering studies on the history of journalism in the Spanish Civil War (Armero, 1976, 1987; Piquero Cuadros, 2017), memoirs of foreign journalists based, in many cases, on their own reports published during the war (Burns 1993; Buckley, 2004; Cardozo, 1937; Cowles, 2014; Ehrenburg, 2014; Hughes, 1993; Knoblaugh, 2007; Last, 2010; Pruszynski, 2007; Tisa, 1985; Ziffren, 1937), historical studies of the period (Keene, 2007; Preston, 2009, 2012), autobiographies, biographies or articles including personal accounts of translators and interpreters (Arias 2013; García 2010, 2011; Moure-Marino, 1989; Pichler, 2019; Playà Maset, 2015; Redondo, 2020; Ripoll Sintes, 2015; Rogoyska, 2013; Todd, 2005), personal narratives of Francoist propagandists (Bahamonde, 2005; Bolín, 1967; Jerrold, 1938; Kemp, 1957; Knickerbocker, 1937; Lunn, 1937), historical studies on media and propaganda (Calvo Ibariez, 2018; Chomón Serna and Gallo Moreno, 2018; Díez, 2000; Moreno Cantona, 2008, 2016; Pena Rodriquez, 1999), and research on translation and conflict in the Spanish Civil War (Rodríguez-Espinosa, 2016, 2019), we discuss several up to now uncharted issues in the field of Journalistic Translation Studies within the context of the war in Spain, such as (a) the communication problems faced by foreign correspondents working for international newspapers, magazines and agencies such as The Daily Mail , The Times , The Daily Telegraph , The New York Times, O Século , Izvestia , Pravda, Wiadomosci Literackie , the International News Service (INS), and the Hearst papers, among others, during the conflict, and their symbiotic interaction with translators, interpreters, fixers, multilingual guides and Press Offic...…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the course of a 3-day sojourn, including dinner and champagne, David Jarret, a polyglot Russian-born New York court interpreter, would translate into English Gal’s long speeches on the blessings of Marxism, young Soviet writers and the outbreak of a Revolution in the United States. According to Rodríguez-Espinosa (2019:82–83), Jarret was one of the many multilingual volunteers recruited by the International Brigades to perform as translators under the surveillance of communist political commissars due to the lack of professional war linguists.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Taking sides: Translators and journalists in the Spanish civil war

Rodríguez-Espinosa

2022

Journalism

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Soon after the uprising of General Franco in July 1936, the elite of international journalism turned its attention to the political undercurrents of the emerging Spanish Civil War, a historical period which would become a ‘golden age’ for foreign correspondents, and a conflict where women would for the first time play a leading role in global war reporting. Their battlefield accounts often reflect a biased understanding of the ideological confrontation of the two warring factions, referred to in Anglosaxon media as ‘Loyalists’ (Republicans) and ‘Nationalists’ (Francoists), whereas domestic reporters preferred the more categorical ‘rojos’ (reds) or ‘fascistas’ (fascists). For many foreign journalists, sending their chronicles back home meant paying a heavy toll, since correspondents were only allowed on the frontline when accredited and any journalist held prisoner could easily be mistaken for a spy. Drawing on a selection of historical, journalistic, media and translation studies research sources, as well as on a number of memoirs, personal accounts and biographies, in this article we discuss some up to now uncharted issues arising from the symbiotic connection between translation and journalism during the Spanish Civil War: (a) their lack of proficiency in Spanish and their unfamiliarity with the country made it necessary for many correspondents to rely on the assistance of interpreters, fixers, guides and press officers, recruited for their ideological commitment to the rebel military uprising or to the Republican Government; (b) the role of translation in the Press and Propaganda Offices set up by the incipient Nationalist government, the Spanish Republic and the Catalan and Basque autonomous governments; and (c) the complex relationship between foreign correspondents and translators working for the censorship departments set up by Francoist and Republican Press Offices in order to prevent journalists from revealing information which might undermine the morale of civilians or troops, and the international reception of the narratives they sought to disseminate abroad.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taking sides: Translators and journalists in the Spanish civil war

Rodríguez-Espinosa

2022

Journalism

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Linguae francae als Instrument symbolischer Macht in den Internationalen Brigaden

Orlova

2020

Lebende Sprachen

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The multilingual nature of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War raises the question of means of communication in different war contexts. This article focuses on the use of a lingua franca as a strategy of understanding between volunteers from more than 53 nations, as well between these and their military and political leaders. Drawing on the Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of linguistic capital, the language choice is understood as a representation of social power relations. So that, the analysis of language choice and language usage in a Civil War conflict brings new insights about the organization and functioning of the International Brigades, the centers of power and their change in the course of the war.

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Translation und Transnationalität

Bischoff

2023

Transkulturalität – Translation – Transfer

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Translating for the Legions of Babel: Spain 1936–1938

Cited by 3 publications

References 12 publications

Taking sides: Translators and journalists in the Spanish civil war

Taking sides: Translators and journalists in the Spanish civil war

Linguae francae als Instrument symbolischer Macht in den Internationalen Brigaden

Translation und Transnationalität

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