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COMPARATIVE TRANSLATION ANALYSIS
COMPARATIVE TRANSLATION ANALYSIS
BOOK: CADÁVER EXQUISITO
BOOK: CADÁVER EXQUISITO
(TENDER IS the FLESH)
(TENDER IS the FLESH)
Author: Agustina Bazterrica (Argentina)
Author: Agustina Bazterrica (Argentina)
Translator: Sarah Moses
Translator: Sarah Moses
Genre: Dystopian fiction / Horror / Social criticism
Style:
The novel is written in a direct, descriptive, and disturbing style. Bazterrica uses simple but powerful language to create a cold atmosphere that reflects the normalization of violence. The narrative combines technical vocabulary from slaughterhouses with emotional reflections, making readers question ethics, language, and humanity.
Topic of the novel:
Cadáver Exquisito presents a dystopian society where humans are legally bred and processed for consumption after animal meat becomes unavailable. Through this fictional world, the novel explores themes such as dehumanization, language manipulation, violence, power, and morality.
CADÁVER EXQUISITO
CADÁVER EXQUISITO
Media res. Aturdidor. Línea de sacrificio. Baño de aspersión. Esas palabras aparecen en su cabeza y lo golpean. Lo destrozan. Pero no son solo palabras. Son la sangre, el olor denso, la automatización, el no pensar. Irrumpen en la noche, cuando está desprevenido. Se despierta con una capa de sudor que le cubre el cuerpo porque sabe que le espera otro día de faenar humanos.
TENDER IS the FLESH
TENDER IS the FLESH
Carcass. Cut in half. Stunner. Slaughter line. Spray wash. These words appear in his head and strike him. Destroy him. But they’re not just words. They’re the blood, the dense smell, the automation, the absence of thought. They burst in on the night, catch him off guard.
When he wakes, his body is covered in a film of sweat because he knows that what awaits is another day of slaughtering humans.
Literal translation
Literal translation
Source: “Media res. Aturdidor. Línea de sacrificio. Baño de aspersión.”
Translation: “Carcass. Cut in half. Stunner. Slaughter line. Spray wash.”
The translator renders the slaughterhouse terminology using direct English equivalents. This preserves the technical vocabulary and the cold, industrial tone of the original text.
Modulation
Modulation
Source: “el no pensar”
Translation: “the absence of thought”
Instead of translating the phrase literally as “not thinking,” the translator changes the perspective by using a noun phrase. The meaning remains the same while sounding more natural in English.
Equivalence
Equivalence
Source: “faenar”
Translation: “slaughtering”
The translator uses equivalence by choosing “slaughtering” as the natural English term for “faenar” in a slaughterhouse context. This choice preserves the disturbing effect of the original expression, especially because the object being slaughtered is not an animal but a human being.
Nadie los llama así, piensa, mientras prende un cigarrillo. Él no los llama así cuando tiene que explicarle a un empleado nuevo cómo es el ciclo de la carne.
Podrían arrestarlo por hacerlo, podrían incluso mandarlo al Matadero Municipal y procesarlo. Asesinarlo sería la palabra exacta, aunque no la permitida. Mientras se saca la remera empapada trata de despejar la idea persistente de que son eso,
humanos, criados para ser animales comestibles. V a a la heladera y se sirve agua helada. La toma despacio. Su cerebro le advierte que hay palabras que encubren el
mundo.
No one calls them that, he thinks, as he lights a cigarette. He doesn’t call them that when he has to explain the meat cycle to a new employee. They could arrest him for it, even send him to the Municipal Slaughterhouse and process him. Assassinate him, would be the correct term, but it can’t be used. While he removes his soaked shirt, he tries to clear the persistent idea that this is what they are: humans bred as animals for consumption. He goes to the refrigerator and pours himself cold water. He drinks it slowly. His brain warns him that there are words that cover up the world.
Literal translation
Literal translation
Source: “Hay palabras que encubren el mundo.”
Translation: “There are words that cover up the world.”
The translator closely follows the wording of the original because the metaphor works naturally in both Spanish and English.
Modulation
Modulation
Source: “son eso, humanos, criados para ser animales comestibles.”
Translation: “this is what they are: humans bred as animals for consumption.”
The translator applies modulation by changing the expression from a direct identification (“ser animales comestibles”) to the concept of being bred specifically for consumption. The meaning remains the same, but the perspective is slightly changed.
Equivalence
Equivalence
Source: “Matadero Municipal”
Translation: “Municipal Slaughterhouse”
The translator uses equivalence by choosing the natural English term “slaughterhouse” to represent “matadero.”Although the words are not identical, the translation preserves the same meaning and industrial context.
Hay palabras que son convenientes, higiénicas. Legales.
Abre la ventana, el calor lo sofoca. Se queda fumando mientras respira el aire quieto de la noche. Con las vacas y los cerdos era fácil. Era un oficio aprendido en el
frigorífico El Ciprés, el frigorífico de su padre, su herencia. Sí, el grito de un cerdo siendo volteado podía petrificarte, pero se usaban protectores auditivos y después ya se convertía en un ruido más. Ahora que es la mano derecha del jefe tiene que controlar y preparar a los nuevos empleados. Enseñar a matar es peor que matar. Saca la cabeza por la ventana. Respira el aire compacto, que arde.
There are words that are convenient, hygienic. Legal.
He opens the window; the heat is suffocating. He stands there smoking and breathes the still night air. With cows and pigs it was easy. It was a trade he’d learnt at the Cypress, the meat processing plant he’d inherited from his father. True, the screams of a pig being skinned could petrify you, but hearing protectors were used and
eventually it became just one more sound. Now that he’s the boss’s right-hand man, he has to monitor and train the new employees. Teaching to kill is worse than killing. He sticks his head out the window. Breathes the thick air, it burns.
Adaptation
Adaptation
Source: “el frigorífico El Ciprés”
Translation: “the Cypress, the meat processing plant”
Explanation:
The translator uses adaptation by rendering “frigorífico” as “meat processing plant.” A literal translation would not accurately convey the meaning in this context, so the translator chooses a term that English readers readily understand.
Equivalence
Equivalence
Source: “volteado”
Translation: “skinned”
Explanation:
The translator uses equivalence by choosing “skinned” as the most appropriate English term for the slaughterhouse process described in the novel. Rather than translating the word literally, the translator selects a term that conveys the intended meaning within the context of meat processing.
Literal translation
Literal translation
Source: “Hay palabras que encubren el mundo.”
Translation: “There are words that cover up the world.”
The translator uses literal translation by preserving the structure and metaphor of the original sentence, maintaining the author’s idea that language can hide reality.
Quisiera anestesiarse y vivir sin sentir nada. Actuar de manera automática, mirar, respirar y nada más. V er todo, saber y no decir. Pero los recuerdos están, siguen ahí. Muchos naturalizaron lo que los medios insisten en llamar la «Transición». Pero él no, porque sabe que transición es una palabra que no evidencia cuán corto y despiadado fue el proceso. Una palabra que resume y cataloga un hecho inconmensurable. Una palabra vacía. Cambio, transformación, giro: sinónimos que
parece que significan lo mismo, pero la elección de cada uno de ellos habla de una manera singular de ver el mundo. Todos naturalizaron el canibalismo, piensa.
Canibalismo, otra palabra que podría traerle enormes problemas.
He wishes he could anaesthetize himself and live without feeling anything. Act automatically, observe, breathe and nothing more. See everything, understand and not talk. But the memories are there, they
remain with him. Many people have naturalized what the media insist on calling the “Transition”. But he hasn’t because he knows that transition is a word that doesn’t convey how quick and ruthless the process was. One word to sum up and classify the unfathomable. An empty word. Change, transformation, shift: synonyms that appear to mean the same thing, though the choice of one over the other speaks to a distinct view of theworld. They’ve all naturalized cannibalism, he thinks. Cannibalism, another word that could cause him major problems.
Literal translation
Literal translation
Source: “Quisiera anestesiarse y vivir sin sentir nada.”
Translation: “He wishes he could anaesthetize himself and live without feeling anything.”
Explanation:
The translator uses literal translation by closely preserving the wording and meaning of the original sentence. The translation maintains the emotional tone and the author’s imagery.
Modulation (Semantic Shift)
Modulation (Semantic Shift)
Source: “Una palabra que no evidencia cuán corto y despiadado fue el proceso.”
Translation: “A word that doesn’t convey how quick and ruthless the process was.”
Explanation:
The translator applies modulation by changing the perspective from “evidencia” (“shows/reveals”) to “convey”(“communicates”). The semantic shift preserves the original meaning while making the expression more natural in English.
conclusion
conclusion
The translation preserves the meaning, tone, and impact of the original text. By using procedures such as literal translation, modulation, equivalence, and adaptation, the translator creates a natural English version while remaining faithful to the author’s style and message.
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