Are you finishing a summer (or winter, if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere) reading list right now? If you’re anything like me, you still have a stack of books—or a list in Audible or your local library app—yet to read! I’ve had time to enjoy several titles, though, and I’m deep into the novel Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.
In other literary adventures, I recently came across an informative article about Pilar Ramírez Tello, who translated “The Hunger Games” trilogy from English into Spanish. The first installment of the saga arrived in Spain in 2009.
In the early days of the series, Ramírez Tello apparently had time to read through the entire English-language edition of the book before starting in on her Spanish translation. As time went on, deadlines shortened; she had to work quickly and couldn’t read through the whole manuscript beforehand. Nevertheless, her excellent translations reached a worldwide Spanish-speaking audience.
Ramírez Tello also coined Spanish terms unique to the series: “Jabberjay” became “charlajo” and “mockingjay” became “sinsajo.” If you’re a Hunger Games fan, or just curious to learn a little more about the literary translation process, you can read the Spanish-language article about Pilar Ramírez Tello here and some English-language information here.
Despite my stack of books to read, I’m always eager for recommendations. If there’s a great book you’ve enjoyed recently, please share!
Alison Trujillo Translations 