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Article published In: Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts
Vol. 10:2 (2024) ► pp.139–165

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Delving into the translator identity from a translingualism perspective

In the Palm of Darkness (1997)

 | Minzu University of China
 | Indiana University
Published online: 13 May 2024
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ttmc.00131.lei
Abstract
The theory of translingualism has been well constructed in sociolinguistics, yet it has not been applied fully to the study of literary translation and translator identity. This paper attempts to analyze the English version of Mayra Montero’s Spanish novel In the Palm of Darkness (. 1997. In the Palm of Darkness. Translated by Edith Grossman. New York: HarperCollins.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) within the framework of translingualism. Through the analysis of code-meshing and code-switching events, this article focuses on the identity construction of Edith Grossman, the English translator of the novel In the Palm of Darkness. The occurrence of translingualism is attributed to the complex dynamics of ethnic identity. Through co-participating in the construction process of Montero’s identity in different scenarios, namely resistance, transformation, and inclusiveness, translingualism helps to solve problems of translation methods on a micro scale, translator identity on a meso scale, and the approach of native culture ‘going global’ on a macro scale.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Translingualism
    • 2.2Code-switching and code-meshing as forms of translingualism
    • 2.3Identity
  • 3.Theoretical framework
    • 3.1Canagarajah’s theory of translingualism
    • 3.2Identity within translingualism
    • 3.3Model of cosmopolitanism
    • 3.4Translator’s identity vs translingualism
  • 4.Introducing the author and the translator
    • 4.1Author introduction: Mayra Montero
    • 4.2Translator introduction: Edith Grossman
      • 4.2.1Grossman’s translation career
      • 4.2.2Evaluation of Grossman’s translation
  • 5.Translingualism and translator’s identity construction
    • 5.1Introduction of the novel In the Palm of Darkness (1997)
    • 5.2Studies of the novel In the Palm of Darkness
    • 5.3The relationship between translingualism and translator identity
    • 5.4The essential relations of translingualism
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (89)
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