A Corpus-Based Study on the Spanish Translation of 道 (dao) in The Analects

Abstract

This article has chosen seven Spanish translations of The Analects to conduct comparative research focusing on one culture-specific item, 道 (dao). Subscribed to a descriptive approach based mainly on norms postulated by Toury and Equivalence by Nida, it endeavors to answer the following research questions: 1) What are the main strategies in its translation? 2) What are the possible motivators of translation similarities and differences? This research combines quantitative and qualitative analysis methods based on corpus building. Corpus-based, this study describes the translation of 道 in Classical Chinese and its translation equivalence into Spanish. The findings demonstrated that various strategies and words are used to translate 道. When it functions as a verb, the literal translation is used, and different verbs are employed to express the meaning given the context. Moreover, decisions on verb tense, sentence structure, and grammatical subject also seem to vary significantly across translators. When 道 is used as a noun, translators show different preferences for word choices. Instances for both dynamic and formal equivalence have been observed, pointing out that these two concepts should not be analyzed in isolation, as they stand in a dynamic relationship. Translators also make adaptations to reach adequacy and acceptability in translation. Detailed results are discussed in light of these theories, and this study views translation as a socio, linguistic, cultural, and translator-based activity.