In this section I will be analysing the source text in order to help understand the text more and as a foundation for the translation process. Before this module I viewed translation as simple direct translation and had no idea of the importance of background information and breaking down elements within the text for a better understanding.
This is an article published in the music section of the GQ magazine website by Emilio Doménech in October 2019 on the following link.
GQ is an American men’s magazine founded in 1931 and is published both in English and in Spanish. The magazine’s publications focus on fashion, style and culture for men as well as topics on celebrities, music and many more. The author of this article, Emilio Doménech is a video producer, editor, and writer from Alicante, Spain and currently a New York correspondent at La Sexta dedicated to translating interesting stories into educating and empowering articles.
This article was written about Spanish singer Rosalía’s response to accusations of her appropriation of Flamenco and Latinx. Rosalía is a 30 year old singer from Barcelona and though she first caught the attention of the Spanish general public with her hit “Malamente” she is now known worldwide for her genre-blending musical style. Her music ranges from flamenco pop to urban music and reggaeton. Due to this she has been surrounded by a lot of criticism and a wide range of articles and opinions can be found on this topic both positive and negative. This text focuses on her achievements throughout her career and her view on the music industry in regard to culture appropriation and music genre boundaries.
The function of this article is to inform the readers of the GQ magazine on the recent controversy surrounding Rosalía and her supposed appropriation of Latinx culture and Flamenco but also sharing her response to the backlash she has received. Especially after being nominated and receiving awards at the Latin Grammys in 2019. The article focuses on an interview between Rosalía and Colombian journalist Leila Cobo as part of the Latin Power players issue for Billboard where she gives her opinion on the current situation and what it’s like to be part of the music industry in this age. Background knowledge of this topic or on Rosalía may not be needed as there is information provided surrounding her background, music career and reasoning behind the controversy. It is enough for a Spanish reader to understand the source text although when translating into English some knowledge would be useful for the reader hence why it will be taken into consideration when translating this text.
This is a journalistic text, and it is both explanatory and argumentative as it explains the situation that the singer is dealing with and focuses on her response in her defence to the criticism she has received. The text’s informative function also provides background knowledge for the reader that they might have not known for example song names and her achievements.
Seeing as the GQ magazine is a men dominated magazine, the target audience of the source text would be mostly men who are interested in this topic. Predominantly Rosalía fans or critics, fans of reggaeton or Urban music, or those who wish to educate themselves on the controversy surrounding cultural appropriation. However of course, that does not exclude women who may also be interested in reading this article.
