L2 translation: the purist approach vs practical reality

Abstract

The implementation of the EHEA has brought with it a change in syllabus for many European universities, particularly those whose graduate and undergraduate studies have been modified in length. In Translation Studies in Spain, the specific distribution of the various subjects, or subject areas, comprising undergraduate degrees, is largely left in the hands of the university/faculty in question. In the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, this has led to the disappearance, on paper, of translation into the foreign language (L2, or L3/L4) and the decision as to whether or not to include credits or modules of traducción inversa is left to the criteria of each individual lecturer. While traditional theory, and many major international institutions today, insist that translators should always work into their mother tongue, professional reality often differs. This is particularly so in places, such as the Canary Islands, whose economy relies heavily on foreign tourism and/or international agreements, subsidies or special financial or tax regimes, but also pertains when working for international organisations such as the UN. This paper will first look at student attitudes to translation into the mother tongue/foreign language (based on 5 years worth of questionnaires completed by third-year students from the pre-EHEA degree in translation and interpreting), and offer a brief overview of the advantages that, contrary to popular opinion, L2 translation offers to translators. It will then present some examples, taken from authentic texts, in which mistranslations from Spanish into English not only fail to hit the mark, but threaten possible business opportunities for companies in the Canary Islands. Finally, some considerations as to the types of texts that may most successfully be translated into English by Spanish graduates from our faculty will be offered, together with (time permitting) some golden rules for these cases.