Thread: The Spanish translation of The catcher in the Rye

Hey Dillon

The catcher in the rye is one of my favorite books since I was a kid. I never liked reading translations, I get very mad at everything that gets left out, the expressions that have to be changed, etc. This was no exception. I could not read more than 20 pages and dropped it. There wasnt a thing I liked about the Spanish version. Did not catch my attention at all.. So, Im sorry that I cannot help, but please let us know how it goes.

J.

Hi
That's how I felt when I read the Spanish version of the book! It made me want to know just how much was lost/altered during the translation process. I can understand how translating this type of language, one which was very much bound to a certain place and time, into a second language must have been a tough process. However I personally think that if you're going to translate a book that uses an unconventional form of language, it's important to look for a variant of the target language which will produce the same effect in the translated version.

Thanks for your comment.

Actually, the translation into Spanish was problematic from scratch. It is very interesting to find out the changes in the translation of the title itself. Literates couldn't even agree on how the title was to be translated. Here's a link that can help you understand it even better. Careful, it's in Spanish:

The Catcher in the Rye - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre