Translating the vernacular lexicon of Portuguese postcolonial literature. Reframing and paratextual strategies in translations of Caderno de Memórias Coloniais [Notebook of Colonial Memories], by Isabela Figueiredo
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26512/belasinfieis.v14.n1.2025.58664Keywords:
Contemporary Portuguese literature. Postcolonial translations. Vernacular vocabulary. Cultural reframing. Paratextual tools.Abstract
In postcolonial works of Portuguese literature, the use of vernacular terms is a key element within a fictional device marked by its hybrid character. Caderno de Memórias Coloniais, an autobiographical novel written by Isabela Figueiredo and published in Portugal in 2015, features a poignant account of colonial times, based on the interweaving of the point of view of the white girl in Mozambique and the critical view of the adult woman in Portugal on this traumatic past. In the translations of Caderno de Memórias Coloniais, the way in which this cultural reframing is carried out is a decisive element in the materialization of the meaning of the work, in that it reveals multiple paratextual strategies aimed at transposing this omnipresent African reality into the plot. Based on a corpus consisting of two translations into Spanish and a French translation of Figueiredo's book, we will comment on the linguistic variations and the different choices made by the translators in relation to this vernacular dimension, with the aim of highlighting both the engaged and the collective nature of the translating gesture.
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