The Linguistic Variation in the Spanish Translation of Per cosa si uccide by Gianni Biondillo

Abstract

The Spanish translation of the novel Per cosa si uccide (Guanda 2004) by Gianni Biondillo, published in Spain with the title Motivos para matar (Tropismos 2007), is a compendium of the multiple translation choices that the translator has to deal with when translating the diatopic diastratic and diaphasic variation. The presence of four dialects (Milan, Piacenza, Naples and Sicily), of sociolects that reflect the social background of the characters and of a dynamic variation of register represent a real challenge for the translator. This article is structured in three parts: the first outlines the functions of linguistic variation in literary texts; the second summarizes the main lines of the debate, still open, on the most suitable methods and techniques for the translation of dialects and sociolects; finally, in the third, the translation choices of the Spanish version are analyzed with the aim of observing whether and to what extent it was possible to transfer the richness of the diatopic, diastratic and diaphasic dimensions into the target language.