La España profunda de los años sesenta ante el lector italianoreflexiones sobre la traducción de Los Santos inocentes

Abstract

Of all the great literary works by Spanish author Miguel Delibes, Los Santos Inocentes probably best depicts 1960s Spain in all of its hues. The novel was written in 1981 and translated to Italian thirteen years later. Most notable, perhaps, is the coexistence of orality and more elaborate literary technique present in the descriptive sections. Three distinct narrative voices can be heard: the narrator-witness, the narrador-accorde, and the voices of the different characters. This paper looks at the way in which the novel was translated into Italian, a language and a culture seemingly so close to Spanish. We will classify hurdles faced by the translator in six categories: a) use of language as a distinguishing feature of characters; b) identification of the narrator with humble sorts; c) phraseological units; d) cultural references and features; e) lexis; f) vulgar language.