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Translating for the Legions of Babel: Spain 1936–1938

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New Approaches to Translation, Conflict and Memory

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Languages at War ((PASLW))

Abstract

In this chapter I aim to trace underexplored aspects concerning the role of translators and interpreters in the International Brigades drawing on previous work on translation and conflict; historical accounts of the Spanish Civil War; monographic studies on the International Brigades; memoirs and narratives of foreign civil war veterans; and autobiographies by International Brigade translators. A special focus is given to the analysis of how competent translators and interpreters managed communication between brigaders of different nationalities; the multilingual publications edited by the battalions; the performance of their duties in heterogeneous military operations; and the impact of the translator’s ideology in a climate of political division and suspicion which cast a dark shadow over the Republican war zone throughout the conflict.

This article was supported by the Research Project ‘La traducción de clásicos en su marco editorial: una visión transatlántica’ [FFI2013-41743-P] (National Scientific Research, Development and Technological Innovation Plan), financed by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of the Government of Spain [I+D+I 2013].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dpto. Traducción e Interpretación, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain

    Marcos Rodríguez-Espinosa

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  1. Marcos Rodríguez-Espinosa
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Correspondence to Marcos Rodríguez-Espinosa .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Applied Languages and Intercultural Studies, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Lucía Pintado Gutiérrez

  2. School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Alicia Castillo Villanueva

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Rodríguez-Espinosa, M. (2019). Translating for the Legions of Babel: Spain 1936–1938. In: Pintado Gutiérrez, L., Castillo Villanueva, A. (eds) New Approaches to Translation, Conflict and Memory. Palgrave Studies in Languages at War. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00698-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00698-3_4

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00697-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00698-3

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