Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula Tourists in the Crossfire of Translation: a Translation Criticism of Los mayas en las rocas by Javier Covo Torres

Abstract

Since the advent of the functional approach in translation science, any translation criticism has to take into account the target group of a translation. This is to be our starting point to analyze the Spanish-German and Spanish-English translations of Los mayas en las rocas by Javier Covo Torres, an illustrated book that seeks to give a didactic introduction to the culture of the pre-Hispanic Maya and is aimed mainly at tourists who visit the Yucatan Peninsula. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the adequacy of translations in relation to their addresses. In order to accomplish this objective, we rely methodologically on some of the parameters of Silvia Parra Galiana, who proposes a review of a translation in two phases, covering different criteria. We devote special attention to the interrelation between text and illustrations (including mini-cartoons), since the latter represent a special challenge for the translator. The findings will be placed within a context of editorial decisions taken far from the knowledge and discussions of academic discipline.

Keywords:
translation criticism; target-group-specific; translation and illustration; Maya