TEXT DEFORMATION AND PARATEXTS IN THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF HUASIPUNGO, BY JORGE ICAZA

ABSTRACT

Huasipungo, by Jorge Icaza, is perhaps the most recognized Ecuadorian novel in the world. This novel, whose first version was written in 1934, reflects the suffering of the indigenous huasipungueros before the mistreatment of the mestizos. Although Icaza uses several strategies to reflect the suffering of indigenous people and their way of life, the use of language is the most effective, because, through this, characterized by a marked influence of Andean Quichua, it seeks to give voice to those who do not. This strategy presents a difficulty at the time of translating the novel into other languages. In this paper we will analyze the features that characterize Huasipungo's English translation (entitled The Villagers), by Bernard Dulsey and published in 1964. This translation is based on the second version of the novel, from 1953, as Icaza reviewed it and reformulated prose. Dulsey resorted to several strategies that allowed him to maintain this essence. The paratexts of the translation (the title, the introduction and the glossary) will be analyzed to understand how they contribute so that the English-speaking reader approaches the problematic of the Ecuadorian indigenous of the decade of the thirties. However, many linguistic and cultural characteristics of indigenous people are lost when translated into English. These losses will be analyzed through a review of some of the deforming tendencies that Berman notes in his text 'L'analytique de la traduction et la systématique de la déformation' (1999).

Keywords:
Huasipungo; Jorge Icaza; deformation; translation