Translation and food: the case of mestizo writers

Abstract

ABSTRACTFor many years, different disciplines have approached the concept of food as a complex semiotic system that reflects diverse lifestyles and cultural values. Not until very recently, however, was it first acknowledged in Translation Studies that mestizo writers, those who live in a global society within two cultures and who use an equally hybrid language politically in order to combat the asymmetry between their culture and the stronger culture, use food as a concept that reflects this clash of values and identities. What is interesting is that the writers mentioned in this article (Gloria Anzaldúa, Esmeralda Santiago, Chimamanda Adichie, Najat El Hachmi, among others) write the words related to food from the colonized culture in their ‘minor’ language, so as to reclaim its values as a challenge to the status quo. Taking as starting points Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of ‘minor’ language and Derrida’s ‘relevant’ translation, our proposal is that if translators wish to offer an ethical translation of these novels, they should leave these food-related words untranslated, (i.e. in the ‘minor’ language). Their non-translation creates that ‘third space’ (Bhabha) or ‘in-between’ (Spivak). It becomes a plural, heteroglossic rendition based on the belief that monolingualism is imposed by hegemonic power.