Translation and analysis of Alfonso Sastre’s “Escuadra hacia la muerte” from Spanish to Maltese

Abstract

Alfonso Sastre’s theatrical work was chosen for translation not only on its own mertis in Spanish, but also to better explain the problems which theatre translators would have to face when translating drama, which is not intended for reading, but to be adapted and performed for a target audience. The theories mentioned further on in this chapter were a useful guide in this translation. As will be noted, Sastre uses a good number of symbols, some more direct than others, to show his audience the turmoil which the Spaniards faced during that particular period under Francisco Franco. The aim of this thesis is to transfer these symbols, the soldiers’ anger, their emotions and the atmosphere created in the original work to the translated version. These factors should not be side-stepped, otherwise such changes would alter the objectives of both the play and those of the author. The vocabulary and tones used by Sastre are chosen specifically to clearly depict the anger that the soldiers had. These too had to be appropriately translated into the target text. However, in certain parts these emotions, particularly anger, are more evident through the Maltese language. According to the theorist Hans J. Vermeer, translation, like any other action, has an aim which he calls skopos. He states that if no aim can be attributed to an action, then there is no action. Translation in itself is an action, thus it also has a skopos. Similarly, the hare-andtortoise theory claims that a skopos is always present in each and every type of translation. The skopos of this translation is that the play would not only be read, but also performed and understood by the target audience. The source text was targeted for the Spaniards to show them better the harsh reality they would have to face under the new dictatorship and the never ending cycle of revolutions. The translated version should be able to help the audience/readers understand better the period immediately following Spain’s civil war, as portrayed by Sastre. The brutal killing of Goban has not been tamed but left as is since it is the most important action in the whole play. The scenes chosen for translation are those where the actions leading to Goban’s death happen and where the audience gets to know what happens to every soldier after the tragedy happens. In addition, some of these scenes also include information about the soldiers’ past – an important factor which could explain the anger they have. This is transmitted well in the scenes which have been translated. In the first chapter, one will find some background information about that period in Spain under Franco’s rule and its theatrical production, about the author and about the play itself. It will also incorporate some of the most important translation theories which discuss theatrical translation. The source text and the target text are presented in tandem in the second chapter, so that it is easier for the reader to compare both texts. The target text incorporates slight changes. These were necessary so that the effect presented in the source text would be kept and the target audience would understand better what the dramatist wanted to portray. Brief comments and explanations are presented alongside the translated version and are then analysed further in the last chapter. Examples are obviously taken from the play itself. The scenes and the dialogues are kept in the same order as presented in the source text.