Preservation of chileanisms and culturemes in the translation of the short story Bestias

Abstract

This translation takes us to Chile and conveys the everyday life that Arelis Uribe, the author, captures marvelously in her work. Bestias is part of a collection of short stories, Quiltras, that reveals more about Chile than what can be seen at first glance. Quiltras was published in 2016 and since then has won several awards, was published in Mexico and Spain, and even has been translated to Brazilian Portuguese. This story has crossed borders and solidified the author as one of the most relevant contemporary voices of Latin American narrative writing. In this translation, the translator adopts a foreignization approach that preserves characteristics and linguistic aspects of Chilean culture. Within the story, there are many Chilean culturemes, and the translation uses footnotes to maintain the lively language and the social reality portrayed by Uribe. Furthermore, the translation keeps the original rhythm, quick and energetic, of Uribe’s prose, rebelling against the established language and orthographic conventions of the English language. Without a doubt, Bestias has a rich cultural and social background that is undetectable through superficial reading. The way the narrator expresses herself, her way of thinking, acting, and the places she visits, allows the reader to better understand the life of the everyday Chilean people. This community is reflected in her prose in a subtle way that provokes a feeling of familiarity to the reader, because in those streets and words they can see their home.