The adventures of a Amsterdam Spaniard
-
Yolanda Rodríguez Pérez
Abstract
Translations are not produced in a void, but in a continuum of textual and extra-textual constraints. The history of translation is rich in examples of the ways translation can be used in the service of ideological agendas. Particularly interesting is the genre of pseudo-translations, since they attempt to match the existing images and expectations of their readers, while engaging with contemporary discourses. In the context of the Eighty Years’ War between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish monarchy (1568–1648), it is not a coincidence that translator and pseudo-translator G. De Bay decided to use this recent period of Dutch history in his pseudo-translations (1658, 1671). In his On the Hell and Purgatory of the world or The Life of the Amsterdam Spaniard (1671), De Bay plays with and perpetuates images about a past that were shared by his audience and that were starting to become a ‘national’ past. To attract his readers’ attention, he presented his works as translations from the Spanish to give them an air of mystery, since they were supposed to have been written by the old enemy. His imitation of the successful Spanish genre of the picaresque novel was also a successful narrative strategy since this genre was much liked among the Dutch public and presented – when taken literally – a negative image of the Spaniards and their country. Literary works such as those by De Bay render the origin of collective national identities tangible, since we know that a collective sense of identity is derived from shared historical awareness.
Abstract
Translations are not produced in a void, but in a continuum of textual and extra-textual constraints. The history of translation is rich in examples of the ways translation can be used in the service of ideological agendas. Particularly interesting is the genre of pseudo-translations, since they attempt to match the existing images and expectations of their readers, while engaging with contemporary discourses. In the context of the Eighty Years’ War between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish monarchy (1568–1648), it is not a coincidence that translator and pseudo-translator G. De Bay decided to use this recent period of Dutch history in his pseudo-translations (1658, 1671). In his On the Hell and Purgatory of the world or The Life of the Amsterdam Spaniard (1671), De Bay plays with and perpetuates images about a past that were shared by his audience and that were starting to become a ‘national’ past. To attract his readers’ attention, he presented his works as translations from the Spanish to give them an air of mystery, since they were supposed to have been written by the old enemy. His imitation of the successful Spanish genre of the picaresque novel was also a successful narrative strategy since this genre was much liked among the Dutch public and presented – when taken literally – a negative image of the Spaniards and their country. Literary works such as those by De Bay render the origin of collective national identities tangible, since we know that a collective sense of identity is derived from shared historical awareness.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- On translated images, stereotypes and disciplines 1
-
Translation and historical trajectories of images
- Translating identity 21
- The adventures of a Amsterdam Spaniard 37
- National images in transit 53
- The image of Spain in Flanders as shaped by the translations of Jozef Simons 69
-
Translation and the construction of hetero-Images
- Englishness in German translations of Alice in Wonderland 87
- Champion of the humiliated and insulted or xenophobic satirist? 109
- Italians in films 127
-
Translation and the reconstruction of hetero-images
- Comparing national images in translations of popular fiction 145
- Bel Paese or Spaghetti noir ? 163
- How Algeria’s multilingual condition and colonial history is obscured 181
- Translation as blockage, propagation and recreation of ethnic images 201
-
Translation and auto-images
- The construction of national images through news translation 219
- Images of turmoil. Italy portrayed in Britain and re-mirrored in Italy 239
- Images of Italy? 257
- (Trans)forming national images in translation 277
- Nation in translation 299
-
Envoi
- Sundry remarks about a discipline in the making by an eye-witness 317
- Name index 325
- Subject index 329
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- On translated images, stereotypes and disciplines 1
-
Translation and historical trajectories of images
- Translating identity 21
- The adventures of a Amsterdam Spaniard 37
- National images in transit 53
- The image of Spain in Flanders as shaped by the translations of Jozef Simons 69
-
Translation and the construction of hetero-Images
- Englishness in German translations of Alice in Wonderland 87
- Champion of the humiliated and insulted or xenophobic satirist? 109
- Italians in films 127
-
Translation and the reconstruction of hetero-images
- Comparing national images in translations of popular fiction 145
- Bel Paese or Spaghetti noir ? 163
- How Algeria’s multilingual condition and colonial history is obscured 181
- Translation as blockage, propagation and recreation of ethnic images 201
-
Translation and auto-images
- The construction of national images through news translation 219
- Images of turmoil. Italy portrayed in Britain and re-mirrored in Italy 239
- Images of Italy? 257
- (Trans)forming national images in translation 277
- Nation in translation 299
-
Envoi
- Sundry remarks about a discipline in the making by an eye-witness 317
- Name index 325
- Subject index 329
