The Basics: Who, What, Where, When, and Why

For my first blog post, I figured that I would explain the background of this translation project before I begin to post about my individual work on the translations.

Who:
Three faculty members from the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire from the Geography, Latin American Studies, and Education Departments and five students (including myself). Links to the other students' blogs can be found on the sidebar menu to the left on the homepage of this blog. Perhaps the most important "who" is Javier Pulgar Vidal, without whom we wouldn't have a book to translate.

What:
We seek to translate Javier Pulgar Vidal's book on Peruvian geography, Geografía del Perú: las ocho regiones naturales, from Spanish into English. We are starting with two short chapters on the eight human groups and the seven food regions of Peru.

Where:
This answer comes in a few parts. We are doing our work in Eau Claire, but the book is all about Peruvian geography and was written in Peru by a Peruvian, so although we are conducting this project here in the U.S., it is deeply rooted in Peru. We expect to be in contact with colleagues at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) with any questions that might arise during the translation process.

When: 
I received an email on January 25, about four days before the start of Spring Semester, briefly explaining this project and asking for students who would be interested in participating. Those of us who responded met about a week later to go over expectations and started to work on the translations shortly thereafter. Those of us who graduate in May will work until then, and those who return back to campus next fall will continue the translation along with any new students who are interested in participating.

Why:
This answer also comes in two parts; the first responds to the question of why this is important and

the second responds to why I chose to be a part of this endeavor.

1. Most of the geography corpus is written from a Western, white male perspective. By offering Javier Pulgar Vidal's work in English, we add a native Peruvian's voice to the discussion of his country, specifically to the discussion among English-speakers who would not otherwise be able to read his work. We hope that these translations can be used by UWEC Geography students heading to Peru this summer with the possibility of a wider distribution in the future. 

2. As a student of Spanish linguistics, the opportunity to dive into the language of the text (with all of its peculiarities and regionalisms) seemed too good to pass up. I have the the room in my class schedule to be able to devote time to this project in a way that I can truly be productive in turning out a finished product (as to a finished, polished product... well, it will be a journey to that point). However, more than all of that, I've never had the chance to do any formal translation at length. When I tell people that I study Spanish, they always ask if I want to be a Spanish teacher. I have the greatest respect for Spanish teachers-- after all, they are the ones who inspired and encouraged me to continue on in this wonderful language-- but I do not have the desire to teach (at least at this point in my life). I love speaking Spanish, listening to it, reading it, writing it. Translation, then, seems a viable option and a practical way that I could continue to use Spanish in my career, but I have had little actual experience in translating beyond acting as translator and interpreter for my family when they came to visit during my semester abroad in Granada, Spain. Thus, my personal motives for translating this work include viewing it as an opportunity to try something that has always interested me but until now has not presented me with a chance to pursue it.