Handbook for translators of Spanish historical ... - University Library

PROCEDURE IN TRAMSLATIOM
carry over the complicated construction.. In the majority
of cases, not only is the flavor lost, "but the translation
turns out to be awkward, stilted, often inaccurate, and
occasionally utterly unintelligible.
VThen, in the judgment of the translator, it is deemed
advisable to change the construction of a long sentence,
he must do so without altering the original idea. The
exact points at which the original sentence may be broken
up is a matter to be decided entirely by the translator, and
no set rule can "be followed.
A change in the position of appositive or attributive
matter should "be mentioned in this connection, although,
strictly speaking, it is not a change in construction. It
is customary in Spanish historical documents to place attributes
before the noun, whereas in English they generally
follow the noun. For instance, it is not uncommon to read
lines like this: ... el tenient coronel de las tropas
destinadas a la f rontera Don Simon de Herrera . A correct
translation of this line should be: "Lieutenant Colonel
Don Simon de Herrera, commander of the troops assigned to
the frontier."
It is, as we have seen, impossible to set down a general
rule for recasting sentences, since personal taste or
preference may differ greatly on this matter. The construction
of the following sentence may be changed in various
ways without altering the meaning of the original:
i 2
Haviendoseme presentado ci jilosamente una persona
3
desente de este lugar haciendome presente hallarse en pe-
ligro de perder su vida, ^ honor a causa de la mala versa-
cion que positivamente ha advertido en su matrimonio con el
Ext range ro Jose Maria Rafael de la Trinidad de la &arza,
4 5
^ por no ser publico , queriendo tomar el remdio mas propio
]£_ cristiano me pidio justicia reservada para eVitar el es-
6
candalo, j[_ siendo un caso de necesidad, he tenido abien (no
7
hallando otro arvitrio) darle parte a V. S_. , para que en
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