Sources used during translation

While I knew a lot about the subject from my many visits and reading the information plaques scattered around the site, I did require a number of secondary sources in Catalan, Spanish and English to provide context in order for me to accurately translate the leaflet from Catalan to English. These sources ranged from tourist websites to history texts and encyclopaedias: 

  1. http://museuhistoria.bcn.cat/en/node/662 Before starting the translation I did a broad web search for any sources referring to Turó de la Rovira. The first source I used was a page on the MUHBA website which was in english. This page provides a brief overview of the location as a heritage site. This webpage its self is easily identifiable as being a translation into english as it has some linguistic anomalies and some strange turns of phrase.
  2. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tur%C3%B3_de_la_Rovira#EB2 Also before starting the translation I read the Spanish language Wikipedia page for Turó de la Rovira. I used this to give me further historical information on the hill, allowing me to approach the translation of the Catalan document with a broader understanding of what was likely to be discussed. I was also able to use the wikipedia page’s bibliography to gather other sources that may be useful as the translation process progressed.
  3. During the translation process some instances arose where words were not directly translatable to English and needed further research, “fonolocalitzador” being a good example. This I found through extensive googling as being a form of listening apparatus used to detect war planes during WW1 and up until WW2 when radar came into being. My searches brought me to both a Catalan language site detailing the city’s Civil War air defences(http://www.btv.cat/lab/datalab/ca/projecte/la-defensa-antiaeria/) and an English language site on the evolution of acoustic location (http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/ear/ear.htm). Both of these sources I used to decide on wording for the translated text.
  4. In another instance of not understanding the source text completely, and literal translation being no good, I once again found myself using a secondary source to help me out. The sentence I was trying to translate was regarding the end of use of the location as an anti-aircraft battery but I wasn’t certain what the original author was trying to say. I used my own copy of The Spanish Civil War. A Very Short Introduction by Helen Graham to reference the dates and what was happening in Barcelona at the time. I managed to glean enough information to construct a sentence that hopefully preserves some of the original meaning.

Entre el 25 i el 26 de gener del 1939,en el moment de la retirada, l’exèrcit republicà va inutilitzar les peces d’artilleria, que acabada la guerra van romandre durant un temps al cim del Turó.

Became

Between the 25th and 26th of January 1939, during retreat, the republican army disabled the artillery but the battle continued on the hilltop for some while longer.

Deja una respuesta

Tu dirección de correo electrónico no será publicada.