Abstract

Abstract: In the 1939 exile, translation played a somewhat subsidiary role. Original works were the priority, because saving words had become urgent. “Professional” translators had to use other languages, especially Spanish, while “vocational” translators translated into Catalan for themselves, for the future. The press in exile could only access a few token literary translations or anonymous translations of informational documents. The journals Full Català, Quaderns de l’Exili and Lletres, published in Mexico in the 1940s, illustrate differing conceptions of language and translation.Key words: Exile, translation, Catalan language, Full Català, Quaderns de l’Exili, Lletres, Lluís Ferran de Pol, Joan Sales, Agustí Bartra.

Abstract

This paper attempts to draw a general perspective, from the main aspects that take part in them, of the discourses on the origin and the appearance of Catalan language that have been proposed since there has been works of historical reflection on this language. Without claiming to be exhaustive, authors and works are cited only with the intention of illustrating the different positions.

Abstract

This paper analyses the descriptions of the Catalan language made by travellers who traversed the Catalan Countries and, especially, the Valencian Country during the first third of the 19th century. It is also aimed at examining the linguistic observations and perceptions of these travellers about the Catalan language, especially about its internal unity/diversity, its classification within other Romance languages, and its use by the inhabitants of these territories. The works studied are not only travel books, but also those informative texts that serve travellers to guide and contextualize their itineraries: travel guides and topography and geography works, among others. All these authors come from outside the Catalan-speaking territories: there are Germans, English, French, Scots and Americans who, for different reasons, travelled throughout the Catalan Countries, described this territory and explained —with greater or lesser attention and precision— the language spoken by its inhabitants and its main characteristics.